IZUMO, Shimane Pref. — The younger brother of the late Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita, the Liberal Democratic Party kingmaker, recently addressed a crowd of some 5,000 people, pledging to carry on his brother's wish to revitalize Japan's "furusato," or hometowns.
The elder Takeshita, 76, who died Monday, had long been an advocate of developing rural areas, a grand scheme he called furusato "sosei" (development).
The former prime minister had been hospitalized since April last year, reportedly due to lower back pains, and announced in early May that he would retire from politics. The task of keeping his Lower House seat has been placed on the shoulders of his 53-year-old brother, Wataru.
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