Ken Harada | |
|---|---|
原田 憲 | |
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| Director-General of the Economic Planning Agency | |
| In office 27 December 1988 – 25 January 1989 | |
| Prime Minister | Noboru Takeshita |
| Preceded by | Eiichi Nakao |
| Succeeded by | Kōichirō Aino |
| Minister of Posts and Telecommunications | |
| In office 25 November 1973 – 11 November 1974 | |
| Prime Minister | Kakuei Tanaka |
| Preceded by | Chūji Kuno |
| Succeeded by | Toshio Kashima |
| Minister of Transport | |
| In office 30 November 1968 – 14 January 1970 | |
| Prime Minister | Eisaku Satō |
| Preceded by | Yasuhiro Nakasone |
| Succeeded by | Tomisaburō Hashimoto |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 12, 1919 Osaka Prefecture, Japan |
| Died | January 29, 1997 (aged 77) Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture, Japan |
| Education | Meiji University |
Ken Harada (原田 憲, Harada Ken, February 12, 1919 – January 29, 1997) was a member of the Diet of Japan from the Liberal Democratic Party[1] until resigning his office on January 24, 1989[2] following alleged involvement in the Recruit scandal, where Harada admitted Recruit had given him donations, in the form of seasonal summer gifts,[3] for ten years.[4] While the donations were not illegal, they raised questions of political ethics which eventually led Harada to resign.[3] As a member of the Diet, Harada served as Minister of Economic Planning, and earned the close trust of Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita.[5] He was the third minister to resign over the scandal.[2] Harada had been appointed to direct the Ministry of Economic Planning only one month before his resignation.[6][7] After party officials had already placed him as the chair of a committee in charge of investigating the Recruit stock scandal,[8] where he had concluded that nothing illegal had taken place.[9] In 1992, Harada backed Keizō Obuchi as new leader of the Liberal Democratic Party.[10] Kōichirō Aino replaced Harada as Minister of Economic Planning.[3]