Former Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker and trade minister Shinji Sato has died, a source from his hometown in Yamaguchi Prefecture said Wednesday. He was 84.
In December 2012, Sato drew public attention when he said he had a document on a secret Japan-U.S. pact, signed by his father and U.S. President Richard Nixon in 1969, allowing the United States to introduce nuclear weapons into Okinawa in the event of a contingency.
Sato, who was transport minister from 1988 to 1989 and trade minister from 1996 to 1997, was the second son of former Prime Minister Eisaku Sato. He was also the cousin of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's mother.
After serving as a House of Councilors member from 1974, he was elected to the House of Representatives eight times from 1979.
He retired from politics in 2005.
