Taichi Sakaiya, a bestselling author and an economist who served in key government posts, died of multiple organ failure Friday at a Tokyo hospital, his office said. He was 83.
Sakaiya, whose real name was Kotaro Ikeguchi, left the Ministry of International Trade and Industry in October 1978 to become a full-time writer. But between July 1998 and December 2000 he headed the Economic Planning Agency, now the Cabinet Office, under two former prime ministers, Keizo Obuchi and Yoshiro Mori.
During the second administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, he served as a special adviser to the Cabinet.