Elder statesman as a jack-of-all-trades: The case of Satō Eisaku in 1970s Japan

Abstract

Studies of political leaders tend to focus on their time wielding formal authority as well as the political “coming-of-age” that brought them to that crucial moment. Yet recent headlines about exceptionally powerful former heads of government such as Donald Trump and the recently-deceased Abe Shinzō suggest a greater need to examine politicians who have left top official posts. Such scholarship remains scarce even relating to the Japanese context, where elder statesmen have been particularly influential in the political process throughout history. This paper highlights the significant and complex role of former leaders by examining the case of former prime minister Satō Eisaku in 1970s Japan. Known for being the Japanese prime minister with the longest continuous tenure until Abe Shinzō broke his record in 2020, Satō’s activities as a retired leader have been largely overlooked. This study challenges the conventional wisdom about Satō, demonstrating that even as an elder statesman he exerted a pivotal, stabilizing influence in a tumultuous era of Japanese political history. Indeed, his accomplishments despite the brevity of his prime ministerial “afterlife” underscore the importance of taking political actors seriously even after they have vacated their formal public roles.