中曽根康弘先生が２０１９年１１月２９日朝７時２２分、１０１歳の天寿を全うされ、永眠されました。
衷心よりお悔やみを申し上げます。
長年に亘り秘書を務め、最も尊敬する先生がお亡くなりになり滂沱たる涙を禁じえません。
先生は戦後の数多くの政治家の中で、まさに巨星にふさわしくひときわ大きな輝きを放った政治家でした。遠くにいても、またお側近くに仕えていても常に燦然と輝いておられました。ケネディ大統領は「私は理想主義者だが、幻想は抱かないリアリストだ」と言いました。まさに先生はそのような政治家であり、アメリカ留学は未経験でしたがプラグマティスト的思考、アメリカナイズされた徹底した合理主義者でした。
私は、先生が総理を辞任される少し前に中曽根事務所に入所し、その後２０数年にわたり秘書としてお仕え致しました。先生は政治家として何をなすべきか、ゆるぎない信念と明確なビジョンを常にお持ちでした。その最終的な目標は日本の平和と繁栄、そして世界との共生にあり、そのために為すべき日本の役割を生涯にわたり追求し、発信してこられました。
政治家としての先生の面目は、何といっても外交にありました。レーガン大統領との「ロン・ヤス」関係は、政治信条は言うに及ばず人間としての深い信頼で結ばれていました。最近公開された当時のＩＮＦ交渉を伝える外交文書のなかで、レーガン大統領自ら「中曽根首相の考えがとても役に立った」と感謝の意を表わしていたことが明らかになっています。レーガン大統領との信頼関係を基軸として、サッチャー英首相、ミッテラン仏大統領、コール独首相、ファンファーニ伊首相、マルルーニー加首相などサミット諸国の首脳と結束を固めソ連と対峙し、共産主義指令経済の歴史的な崩壊を導いたことは外交上の最大の功績と言えます。
国内においては「戦後政治の総決算」を掲げ、経済主義に偏った吉田茂政治からの脱却を進めました。経済至上主義は、権利と義務の観念を捻じ曲げた自分さえよければいいという利己主義をもたらし、自国さえ平和であればいいという一国平和主義、とりわけ平和もお金で買えるという意識を生み出しました。先生は国に蔓延したこの考えを是正し、自分の国は自ら守る気概を持つことを訴え、国民の考えを引き上げることを目指したのです。それは無責任な一国平和主義から、世界と共に歩く国への転換を意味しました。
総理退任後に自らすべき仕事として、三つのテーマを掲げられました。
第一に、日本及び世界の平和に貢献するために世界平和研究所(現：中曽根平和研究所)を設立すること。世界平和研究所は１９８８年に設立され、憲法改正をはじめとする日本の重要な政治課題について研究すると同時に、世界情勢を分析し独自の提案を行っています。
第二にアジア共同の家の構築の一手段として、アジア太平洋議員フォーラム(APPF)を設立すること。これはアジア各国の国会議員が交流し、議員同士の信頼関係を醸成することを目的としたものです。APPFは１９９３年東京で中曽根先生が創設者として設立総会が開かれました。以後、毎年各国の持ち回りで開催されています。現在の参加国は２９カ国。２０１９年の１月にはカンボジアで第２７回の総会が開催されました。
第三に自ら｢国際的球拾い｣と称して、世界各国の大学やシンクタンクなどから依頼された講演活動や提言などを行うこと。５年間の総理大臣という重責から開放された先生は、翼の生えた鳥のように自由に世界を飛び回り世界平和、世界と日本の関係、日本人の考え方などを講演して回りました。政治、経済の分野で発展を遂げた日本に対する世界各国の関心は強く、講演依頼は引きも切らず、退任後の１０年間は年に８、９回、海外での講演を行っていました。
APPF、外国での講演、その全てに随行させて頂いたことは、私の貴重な財産になっています。
講演で海外を飛び回っていた時の忘れられない思い出があります。『中曽根康弘の長寿の秘訣 １００歳へ！』(２０１５年 光文社刊)を執筆したときに、あとがきに書いたエピソードをあらためてご紹介したいと思います。
―滞在していたロンドンのホテルの部屋にサッチャーさんが訪ねられたときのことです。サッチャーさんが首相を辞められた直後のことでした。会談を終えた後、玄関口までお送りするために、私は一緒にエレベーターに乗りました。するとサッチャーさんが突然私に、「ミスター・ナカソネは相変わらず理路整然としていて明晰ね、彼の話にはいつも触発されるわ。あなたは幸せね、あんな素晴らしい政治家と一緒に仕事ができて」とおっしゃったのです。秘書冥利に尽きる至福の瞬間でした。
その後、サッチャーさんとまったく同じ称賛と励ましを二人の政治家からいただきました。一人はロシアのゴルバチョフ氏で、もう一人はカナダの首相だったマルルーニー氏からでした。先生の偉大さを再認識する瞬間でもありました。
私個人の思い出も尽きないほどありますが、最も印象に残っているのは最初で最後でしたが先生から怒られたことです。
あるとき、車の中で「原稿を見せてくれ」と言われました。その原稿は先生から口述筆記したもので、チェックした上でパソコンで打ち出しお渡しするものでした。先生の指示は2日以内に必ず行っていましたが、何度もやってるうちに慣れもあったのでしょう。先生は原稿をまだ見ないと勝手に思い込み、先生の他の仕事を優先し、チェックはしていませんでした。先生から「原稿を」と聞かれた時に「まずい!!」と思いつつも先生にお渡ししました。
眼鏡を取り出して読み始めた先生が、突然原稿を私の目の前で振りながら「キサマ、俺にチェックさせる気か!」と案の定怒鳴られたのです。当然、私がいけなかったのですが、これまでそのように叱られたことがなく、特に「キサマ」と呼ばれたことがショックでした。
数日後、先生をご自宅までお送りしたとき、蔦子夫人が「田中さん、一緒に夕飯をどう？」と言われ、先生と夫人、そして私の３人で夕餉の食卓を囲みました。そのとき、夫人が「最近、仕事の方はどう？」と尋ねられたので、「実は大失敗をして、先生からキサマ！と怒鳴られました」と顛末を話しました。すると夫人が笑われて、「あら田中さん、キサマなんてうちではしょっちゅうよ。私も頭にきたので『貴方からキサマ呼ばわりされるなんて、しかも女性に対して失礼よ』と言ったことがあるのよ。そうしたら何と言ったと思います。『キサマというのは貴様と書くんだ。読んで字のごとし、あなたさまと尊敬してるんだ』ですって。海軍では仲間は誰でも貴様と呼ぶでしょう、それが抜けないんですね」。先生は苦笑いしながら、黙って食事を続けられていました。
今から思えば、私を励ますために、夫人に頼んで夕食に誘って下さったのでしょう。その蔦子夫人も１０年ほど前にお亡くなりになりましたが、先生も夫人も人との縁を大切にする優しい心をお持ちの素晴らしい方でした。
総理在任中、谷中の全生庵で毎週一回の割合で座禅を組み精神を落ち着かせ、外国から帰国すると水泳に行き体調を管理し、週末には東京都下の日の出山荘で静養しつつ１人で政策を練り、国家の運営を考える。先生は「何の事故もなく無事に１週間を終えた時は心から“ほっ”とする」と、私に言われたことがありました。それほど内閣総理大臣とは自己研鑽を積み重ね、国家、国民の安寧を常に考え、その重責を背負っていると痛感したことがあります。
先生は、学生時代、教養主義の中で読書に明け暮れ、パスカルの『パンセ』を全訳し、カントをこよなく愛し、ノーブレス・オブリージュの精神を持ち続け、自ら「私のなかには国家がある」と喝破した最後の国家エリートでした。
自国第一主義の下、世界が再び散乱を始めています。日本では政治に対する不信感が国民の間に広がっています。この難局に羅針盤の如く日本の進むべき道を明確に示してくださった先生はもういらっしゃいません。先生の死とともに、先生が示されるはずだった未来図も失われてしまいました。
先生が残された数多くの資料や書物などから、先生が考えられた我々が進むべき道をお伝えしていくことが、残された私の一つの使命と考えております。
敬愛してやまない中曽根康弘先生、長い間、お疲れ様でした。ゆっくりお休み下さい。
In Memoriam: A Tribute to the Late Former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone
Former member of the House of Councillors
Former Executive Assistant to Yasuhiro Nakasone
Shigeru Tanaka
A Great Star Falls
On November 29, 2019, the great statesman Yasuhiro Nakasone Sensei breathed his last and completed his life at 101 years of age.
I would like to express my deepest and most sincere condolences.
Having served as his executive assistant for many years, I cannot hold back bitter tears at the loss of my most respected teacher.
Of all the statesmen in the postwar era, Nakasone Sensei was exceptionally brilliant as a Great Star of all time. His brilliance reached faraway and also shone brightly to those serving by his side. President Kennedy once said, “I’m an idealist without illusions.” This fundamental standpoint corresponds exactly to the perspective of Mr. Nakasone, whom in Japanese we called with respect, “Nakasone Sensei.” (“Sensei” is a title used to address or refer to a teacher or other respected figure.) Although Sensei never studied in the United States, he was also a pragmatic thinker and thorough rationalist with an American approach to working out solutions.
Shortly before he resigned as Prime Minister, I joined the Nakasone Office and served as executive assistant for more than 20 years. Nakasone Sensei always possessed a firm conviction and a clear vision of what he should do as a statesman. His ultimate goal was to achieve peace and prosperity for Japan and to live in harmony with the rest of the world. Over the course of Sensei’s life, Japan has pursued and conveyed to the world the role it should play in this regard.
Prime Minister Nakasone’s greatest contribution was in diplomacy. The well-known “Ron-Yasu” relationship he enjoyed with US President Reagan was based on deep mutual trust founded on a common political creed. In recently disclosed diplomatic files covering the INF (intermediate-range nuclear forces) negotiations in the 1980s, it has been revealed that President Reagan himself expressed gratitude by saying, “Prime Minister Nakasone’s idea was very helpful.” Based on the relationship of trust with President Reagan, Nakasone Sensei’s greatest diplomatic achievement was his leadership in the historical confrontation and collapse of the Soviet communist command economy and the formation of solidarity with the leaders of the summit countries, including British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, French President Francois Mitterrand, German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, Italian Prime Minister Amintore Fanfani, and Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.
In Japan, undertaking a review of postwar economic policy, Sensei broke away from Shigeru Yoshida’s over-emphasis solely on economic growth. Economic supremacy had given rise to egoism, in which the concept of rights and obligations was distorted; further, the sense that peace for one’s own country alone is good, and, in particular, that peace can be bought with money had emerged. Sensei worked to correct this widespread belief throughout the country, to call for a spirit of self-protection, and to raise the public’s awareness. It meant a shift from irresponsible one-country pacifism to a country that walks with the world.
Nakasone Sensei set three themes as tasks he would undertake after he retired the prime ministership. The first was to establish Global Peace Institute (currently Nakasone Peace Institute, NPI) to contribute to peace in Japan and the world. The Institute was established in 1988. It conducts research on important Japanese political issues, including constitutional revision, and at the same time analyzes the world situation and makes policy proposals.
The second was establishment of Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF) as a means of building a common Asian home. The purpose of this Forum is to promote exchanges among Asian parliamentarians and to foster mutual trust among them. The inaugural meeting of the APPF was held in Tokyo in 1993 with Nakasone Sensei as its founder. Since then, it has been held annually, rotating the meeting venue among the 29 member countries. The 27th General Assembly was held in Cambodia in January 2019.
Third, Sensei called himself what could be translated as a kind of a vagabond ball retriever, responding to requests for speeches by universities and think tanks around the world. Freed from the heavy responsibility of being prime minister for five years, he traveled around the world like a winged bird, giving lectures on world peace, the relationship between the world and Japan, and the Japanese way of thinking. In the 10 years after his retirement, he went overseas to give speeches eight or nine times a year.
Accompanying him to each APPF Meeting and all the lectures around the world has been a great privilege and valuable honor.
I’d like to share an unforgettable memory from one of these trips abroad for a lecture. It is an episode that I recorded in the afterword of Living to 100! The Key to Longevity—Yasuhiro Nakasone (published by Kobunsha in 2015).
Mrs. Thatcher visited in the hotel in London where Nakasone Sensei was staying. This was just after Mrs. Thatcher’s term as prime minister. After their meeting, I escorted Mrs. Thatcher to the elevator. On the way, she suddenly turned to me and said, “Mr. Nakasone is as logical and clear as ever, and his stories always inspire me. It is your great good fortune to be able to work with such a splendid politician.” It was a moment of bliss for an executive assistant to hear her words.
Following that, two other politicians expressed the same admiration for Nakasone Sensei together with their encouragement of me. One was Mr. Mikhail Gorbachev of Russia and the other was Mr. Mulroney, who was the Prime Minister of Canada. Each of their words was also a moment of rediscovering the greatness of Nakasone Sensei.
I have so many personal memories, but one that is particularly memorable is the first and last time he scolded me.
One day in the car, I was told, “Show me the manuscript.” The process was for him to dictate the contents for a speech or article manuscript which I would input into the computer, check, and then hand the print to him when he asked for it. Usually I would input and check the text within two days, but this time for some reason I assumed that the manuscript could wait. So after inputting the text, I did not check it right away.
When Sensei asked me for the manuscript, I knew that this would not turn out well, but I handed it to him.
Sensei took out his glasses and started reading. Suddenly, shaking the manuscript in front of me, he yelled, “Kisama! What is this? Are you expecting me to check it?” It turned out as I feared. Of course it was my fault, but I had never been scolded like that before, and I was especially shocked to be called “Kisama.” (“Kisama” is an archaic honorific title that today can be used to express displeasure to someone.)
Some days later, when I escorted him home, His wife Tsutako-san asked me, “Mr. Tanaka, would you like to have dinner with us?” and we sat around the dinner table together. When she asked, “How’s work lately?” I responded, “Actually, I made a big mistake and he yelled at me, calling me ‘kisama.’” Then she laughed and said, “Oh, Mr. Tanaka. ‘Kisama’ is very often used at home. Once when he called me ‘Kisama,’ I got mad and told him it was rude, especially to say to a woman. What do you think he said to that? He said, ‘Kisama is written using kanji characters combining “you” and “honorable.” So that means I respect you. It’s a navy expression and everyone uses it, so it is hard to get rid of it.’” Sensei continued eating silently with a wry smile.
Now that I think about it, I realize that Sensei had asked his wife to invite me to dinner to cheer me up. It has been about 10 years since Mrs. Nakasone passed. They were truly wonderful people, kind-hearted and considerate, and cared deeply about personal relationships.
During his tenure as Prime Minister, Mr. Nakasone practiced Zen meditation once a week at Zenshoan in Yanaka, Tokyo to calm his mind, went swimming to manage his health after returning from abroad, and spent the weekend relaxing at Hinode Sanso in Tokyo to make policy and think about the administration of the state. Sensei once said to me, “When one week goes by without any accident, I breathe a sigh of relief from the bottom of my heart.” I keenly felt that he carried a heavy responsibility as Prime Minister and was always thinking about the well-being of the nation and its people.
When he was a student, Mr. Nakasone devoted himself to studying the liberal arts. He was a voracious reader, acquiring knowledge, culture, and personal growth through books which nurtured both his intellect and his personality. He was the last national elite who had the interest, drive, and capacity to translate the entire text of Pascal’s Pensees, to love Kant profoundly, to maintain the spirit of noblesse oblige, and to proclaim about himself, “There is a nation in me.”
The world is starting to scatter again under the principle of putting one’s own country first. Mistrust of politics is spreading among the Japanese people. Nakasone Sensei, who, like a compass, clearly indicated the way that Japan should go in difficult situations, is not with us anymore. With Sensei’s passing, the map to the future he endeavored to present was also lost.
I believe that one of my remaining missions is to express the path he thought we should take as recorded in the many documents and books that he left.
Most respected Yasuhiro Nakasone Sensei, we thank you for many years of dedication, effort, and hard work. Please have a good rest.
