Makoto Saito, a leading expert on the history of U.S. politics and foreign policy, died Thursday of chronic bronchitis in a Tokyo hospital, his family said. He was 86.

A native of Tokyo, Saito graduated in political science from the University of Tokyo in 1942. He served as a professor at his alma mater and at International Christian University in Tokyo, and as president of the Japanese Association for American Studies.

He was given the Order of Culture by the government in 2005 and was a member of the Japan Academy.