Shintaro Ishihara, a fiery nationalist who was governor of Tokyo for more than a decade and set off a territorial row with China over a plan to buy islands claimed by both nations, died on Tuesday, NHK public television said. He was 89.
An award-winning novelist before turning politician and serving in parliament for almost 30 years, Ishihara's tenure as governor of the Japanese capital was marked by controversy due to his outspoken right-wing views and his penchant for controversial comments about, for instance, China, the LGBTQ community, foreigners and elderly women.
(Reporting by Elaine Lies; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
