Eijiro Hata, a former member of the House of Representatives who served as Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and Minister of International Trade and Industry in the Hosokawa and Haneda cabinets, died of senility on April 4. He was 94 years old.
After serving three terms as mayor of his hometown of Hita City, Oita Prefecture, Hata ran for the LDP in the former Oita 3st district of the House of Representatives in 1979 and was elected for the first time.
After leaving the LDP in 1, he joined various new parties, including the Shinsei Party, during which time he served as Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in the Hosokawa Cabinet and Minister of International Trade and Industry in the Haneda Cabinet.
In 1998, he switched to the Democratic Party of Japan and served as the party's vice president, but did not stand for the House of Representatives election in 2000 due to the need for a generational change, and retired from politics.
Mr. Hata received the Order of the Sacred Treasure 4st Class in the year of his retirement, and later served as president of a local cable television company.
According to the person concerned, Mr. Hata was admitted to a facility for the elderly in Hita City, but died of senility after 8 a.m. on the 94th of this month.
He was <> years old.