Hyosuke Kujiraoka, a former vice speaker of the House of Representatives, died Tuesday of colon cancer at his home in Adachi Ward, Tokyo, his family said. He was 87.
The Fukuoka Prefecture native and graduate of Waseda University retired from politics in June 2000 after first serving as a member of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly and later in the Lower House for 12 successive terms starting in 1963.
He was director general of the former Environment Agency in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Zenko Suzuki from July 1980 to November 1982. He became vice speaker of the Lower House in August 1993 when Takako Doi, head of the Social Democratic Party, was the speaker.
Although a member of the Liberal Democratic Party since its founding in 1955, Kujiraoka -- known as an advocate of working-class people -- sometimes opposed LDP policies, including introduction of the consumption tax.
While head of the Environment Agency, Kujiraoka signed the Japan-China treaty on the protection of migratory birds. He met regularly with sufferers of Minamata disease and members of environmental-protection groups.
For 30 years, he belonged to the faction of the late Prime Minister Takeo Miki, to whom he was a close aide. He left the faction in 1992 to deal with political reform, particularly in terms of political ethics.
He joined hands with Doi in addressing political corruption and the issue of international disarmament.