Former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, dies at 90

Former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, who used his brief period in office to seek closer ties with Asian neighbours, particularly China, has died at the age of 90, the Nikke business diaily reported on Monday.

The Japanese politician, the first son of a prime minister to become premier himself, died on Thursday from heart failure, the Nikkei said.

Becoming prime minister on the sudden resignation of Shinzo Abe in 2007, Fukuda lasted less than a year — a tenure even shorter than his father Takeo's two-year stint.

A graduate in economics from Tokyo's prestigious Waseda University, Fukuda spent nearly two decades working his way up the ranks of an oil company — including a two-year posting in the United States — before resigning to become a political secretary when his father became premier in 1976.

Elected to Japan's more powerful lower house of parliament in 1990, Fukuda was chief cabinet secretary from 2000 to 2004, resigning as one of several cabinet ministers to admit not paying into the pension system.

Known for his testy manner, the bespectacled Fukuda drew criticism in 2003 for off-the-record comments in which he suggested women who dressed provocatively were asking to be raped.

When Fukuda succeeded Abe he joked he might have drawn the short straw in assuming office given the divided parliament and opposition parties' ability to delay legislation.

Frustrated with the stalled legislative process, Fukuda resigned in 2008, the second of six prime ministers to quit after only around a year in office.

Known as a diplomatic dove, Fukuda made several visits to China after leaving office in an effort to improve often fraught relations.

Fukuda leaves a son, Tatsuo, who is also a lawmaker and has been viewed as a potential future prime minister.