Kiichi Miyazawa | Ex-prime minister, 87

Former Japanese Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa, 87, who served from 1991 until 1993, died Thursday at his home in Tokyo.

Mr. Miyazawa, who was first elected to parliament in 1953, returned to high-profile politics late in life in 1998 when he was named finance minister by then-Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi. He retired in 2003.

Despite being at the helm as prime minister during Japan's long-term economic malaise, he was well-regarded as an architect of the government's plan to bail out its debt-laden banking system. But his term as prime minister was short, ending as he was hounded by scandal and toppled as leader of the long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

Mr. Miyazawa was educated at Tokyo University and later joined the Finance Ministry. He served as director-general of the Economic Planning Agency, minister of international trade and industry, chief cabinet secretary, and foreign minister. - AP