Chikako Asō
Chikako Asō | |
|---|---|
麻生 千賀子 and 麻生 ちか子 | |
Chikako Asō, 2008 | |
| Spouse of the Prime Minister of Japan | |
| In role September 24, 2008 – September 16, 2009 | |
| Monarch | Akihito |
| Prime Minister | Tarō Asō |
| Preceded by | Kiyoko Fukuda |
| Succeeded by | Miyuki Hatoyama |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Chikako Suzuki May 30, 1950 |
| Party | Liberal Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent |
|
| Relatives | Shun'ichi Suzuki (brother) |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation | Businesswoman |
Chikako Asō (麻生 千賀子, also 麻生 ちか子),[a] (born May 30, 1950), née Suzuki (鈴木 千賀子), is a Japanese businesswoman, daughter of the 44th Prime Minister of Japan, Zenkō Suzuki, wife of the 59th Prime Minister of Japan, Tarō Asō, and elder sister of the politician Shun'ichi Suzuki. Her husband is the brother of Princess Tomohito of Mikasa.
Career
Asō is on the board of directors of Aso Cement, part of Aso Group, an Asō family-run conglomerate with divisions in mining, cement, medical care, theater, education, and the environmant.[1][2][3][4] During World War II, Aso Mining used Koreans and prisoners of war (POWs) as slave labor under brutal conditions. After decades of seeking an apology, Asō's husband, Tarō Asō, finally admitted POWs had been used in the mines on December 18, 2008, but he refused to apologize.[5][6][7]
Tarō was often on business in Tokyo, so Asō became the link between him and his constituency back in Fukuoka Prefecture on Kyushu Island. She spent three years learning the local dialect. She often campaigned for him in his hometown of Iizuka,[8] where she is considered "more popular than Aso himself".[9]
Personal life
Asō was born May 30, 1950 in Tokyo to Zenkō Suzuki and Sachi Hagiwara.[10][11] Suzuki was serving in the House of Representatives at the time and representing Iwate Prefecture's 1st district, which is where he was from.[12][b] He later served as Japan's Prime Minister from July 17, 1980, to November 27, 1982.[7] Her younger brother, Shun'ichi Suzuki is a politician.[11] She graduated from the Home Economics Faculty of Japan Women's University.[9]
Asō met her future husband, Tarō Asō,[10] was invited to dinner with her family by her father Zenkō Suzuki while he was Prime Minister. Tarō was impressed with Chikako because she said he did not have to eat sea cucumber since he genuinely did not like it.[8][c] They married on November 3, 1983.[13][14] Tarō served as Prime Minister of Japan from September 24, 2008, to September 16, 2009.[15] Tarō is Roman Catholic and he and Chikako and met Pope Benedict XVI.[10][16][17][d] Her husband is the brother of Princess Tomohito of Mikasa.[18]
Tarō and Chikako have two children: Masahiro (麻生 将豊) (b. December 29, 1984) and Ayako (麻生 彩子) (b. April 27, 1987). Masahiro is the CEO of Aso Corporation, the holding company of Aso Group and the chairman of Junior Chamber International Japan, a youth leadership organization.[19][20] Asō enjoys cooking and gardening, especially growing roses.[9]
Notes
- ^ Asō's real name is the kanji form, 麻生 千賀子, but she uses the kana form, 麻生 ちか子, for things like signatures.
- ^ Asō's place of birth is also reported as Iwate Prefecture, but this seems to be a confusion as that is where her father was from and the prefecture he represented.[12]
- ^ This dinner might have been a Red Cross charity dinner.
- ^ It is believed Chikako is also Roman Catholic.
References
- ^ "Aso Cement Overview". Aso Cement. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
- ^ "Aso's History". Aso Group. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
- ^ "Environmental solutions and infrastructure". Aso Group. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
- ^ "Education and human resources". Aso Group. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
- ^ Underwood, William (October 28, 2008). "WWII forced labor issue dogs Aso, Japanese firms". The Japan Times. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
- ^ Ito, Masami (June 19, 2009). "Pair seek POW apology from Aso". The Japan Times. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
- ^ a b Reed, Christopher (May 6, 2006). "Family Skeletons: Japan's Foreign Minister and Forced Labor by Koreans and Allied POWs Japanese Translation Available". Asia-Pacific Journal. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
- ^ a b Kin, Kwan Weng (September 26, 2008). "Aso's love story". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on February 1, 2010. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
- ^ a b c "基礎からわかる麻生太郎氏" [Understanding Tarō Asō From the Basics]. The Japan Times via Yomiuri Shimbun (in Japanese). September 24, 2008. Archived from the original on September 27, 2008. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
- ^ a b c "Japan's Catholic deputy PM was born for the job". Union of Catholic Asian News. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
- ^ a b "Soft-spoken Shunichi Suzuki is son of ex-PM and brother-in-law of Taro Aso". Mainichi Shimbun. October 7, 2025. Archived from the original on October 10, 2025. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
- ^ a b Rothacher, Albrecht (1993). The Japanese Power Elite. London: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 50. doi:10.1007/978-1-349-22993-2. ISBN 9781349229956. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
- ^ "Lower House Lawmaker Taro Aso Wedding". Getty Images. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
- ^ "我こそが自民党 大宏池会構想にひそむ自負" [We are the LDP: The pride hidden in the Great Kochikai plan] (in Japanese). Nikkei. February 4, 2019. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
- ^ "Japan's prime minister and Cabinet resign". The Denver Post. September 15, 2009. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
- ^ "Pope Meet Prime Minister Of Japan Taro Aso". Getty Images. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
- ^ "Japan's Catholic Leader". National Catholic Register. Retrieved November 4, 2025.
- ^ "Japan's Princess Nobuko diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer". Japan Wire by Kyodo News. November 15, 2022. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
- ^ "Vision" (in Japanese). Aso Corporation (aso Shoji). Retrieved November 4, 2025.
- ^ "JC会頭に麻生太郎氏長男 将豊氏「日本取り戻す」" [Taro Aso's eldest son, Masatoyo, becomes JC chairman: "Take back Japan"] (in Japanese). Nikkei. Retrieved November 4, 2025.