Former Foreign Minister Kabun Muto dies at 82

Former Foreign Minister Kabun Muto died of pancreatic cancer Wednesday morning at a Tokyo hospital, sources close to him said. He was 82.

Kabun Muto

In addition to the Foreign Ministry portfolio, the former Lower House member held ministerial posts at the old Management and Coordination Agency and then the Ministry of International Trade and Industry before retiring from politics in 2005.

Muto, a Gifu Prefecture native, also served as chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party's General Council.