Former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, a giant of his country’s post-World War II politics, has died. He was 101.
The office of his son, Hirofumi Nakasone, confirmed that Nakasone died Friday at a Tokyo hospital, where he was recently treated.
As prime minister from 1982 to 1987, he was a stalwart ally of America known for his warm relations with President Ronald Reagan.
FILE - In this May 1, 2015, file photo, former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone delivers a speech during the annual meeting on Japan's constitution reform in Tokyo. Nakasone, a giant of his country’s post-World War II politics, died on Friday, Nov. 29, 2019. He was 101. (AP PhotoKoji Sasahara, File)
Nakasone boosted defense spending, tried to revise Japan’s U.S.-drafted pacifist constitution and was remembered for his unabashed appeals to patriotism that drew criticism.
A World War II naval officer, Nakasone had witnessed the depth of Japan’s defeat and devastation. Four decades later, he presided over Japan at the pinnacle of its economic success.
He became one of Japan’s leading elder statesmen in his later years. He promoted his ruling party’s longtime goal of revising the constitution and pronounced his views on national and international affairs.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s motorcade took a different route than usual to the airport as he was departing Florida on Sunday due to a “suspicious object,” according to the White House.
The object, which the White House did not describe, was discovered during security sweeps in advance of Trump’s arrival at Palm Beach International Airport.
“A further investigation was warranted and the presidential motorcade route was adjusted accordingly,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement Sunday.
The president, when asked about the package by reporters, said, “I know nothing about it.”
Trump left his Palm Beach, Florida, club, Mar-a-Lago, around 6:20 p.m. for the roughly 10-minute drive to the airport, but took a circular route around the city to get there.
During the drive, police officers on motorcycles created a moving blockade for the motorcade, at one point almost colliding with the vans that accompanied Trump.
Air Force One was parked on the opposite side of the airport from where it is usually located and the lights outside the plane were turned off.
Anthony Guglielmi, the spokesman for U.S. Secret Service, said the secondary route was taken just as a precaution and that “that is standard protocol.”
President Donald Trump departs Trump International Golf Club in the presidential limousine, known as The Beast, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
