Misoji Sakamoto, a former chief Cabinet secretary in the government of Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu, died of stomach cancer Sunday at a hospital in Anamizu, Ishikawa Prefecture. He was 83.
Sakamoto, a native of Ishikawa, was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1967 after campaigning on the Liberal Democratic Party ticket.
He became the government's top spokesman when Kaifu launched his second Cabinet in February 1990. He also had a stint as labor minister.
He retired from politics in 2000.