Author and fiery nationalist Shintaro Ishihara ¡ª a former Tokyo governor whose outbursts and views stoked anger among both Â鶹´«Ã½ neighbors and allies ¡ª died Tuesday after a reoccurrence of pancreatic cancer last October, his family said. He was 89.
Ishihara, an award-winning writer before turning to politics, served nearly three decades in both houses of Â鶹´«Ã½ parliament under the banner of the long-dominant Liberal Democratic Party before being elected governor of Tokyo in 1999, a post he held through 2012.
Known abroad for stoking international controversy during the peak of Â鶹´«Ã½ bubble era with the publication of his 1989 book ¡°The Japan That Can Say No,¡± co-authored with then-Sony Corp. chief Akio Morita, Ishihara used the tome to urge Japan to forge a more independent path.
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