Former Agriculture Minister Masaharu Tanabe passes away; first elected as a member of the Liberal Democratic Party in 1979 (Kyodo News)

Masami Tanabe, Minister of Agriculture in the Kiichi Miyazawa Cabinet, who served six terms as a member of the House of Representatives and two terms as a member of the House of Councillors, passed away at 3:47 a.m. on the 26th at Hachinohe Municipal Hospital in Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, due to septic shock. He was 90 years old. He was a native of Hachinohe. His funeral and farewell ceremony will be held among close relatives, and a farewell…