Former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, who died Saturday at age 68, was a passionate, tough politician with a great deal of policy expertise.

Although he usually appeared before reporters as a short-tempered politician who often threw tough questions back at them, Hashimoto was a warm-hearted man devoted to medical and social welfare issues and a dove when it came to diplomacy.

Several years ago, when he was asked why he became a politician, he related a story about when he was a student at Keio University. He accompanied his father, Ryugo, then welfare minister and wheelchair-bound, to a home in the Tohoku region for children with muscular dystrophy.