Ichiro Nakagawa

Ichiro Nakagawa was a Japanese politician, born 9 March 1925 in Hiroo, Hokkaido, who served as Japan's Minister of Agriculture and Forestry from November 1977 and continued as Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries once the post was renamed, through December 1978, under Prime Minister Takeo Fukuda. A member of the House of Representatives for Hokkaido's 5th district from 1963 until his death, he was a significant leader of the Liberal Democratic Party's right wing and in 1973 co-founded the Seirankai, a cross-factional rightist group known for dramatic displays of political loyalty. After his agriculture post he served as Director-General of the Science and Technology Agency and chaired the Atomic Energy Commission, both from 1980 to 1982, under Prime Minister Zenko Suzuki, and he ran unsuccessfully for the LDP presidency in 1982. He died by suicide at a Sapporo hotel on 9 January 1983; his son Shoichi Nakagawa later also served as Japan's agriculture minister.