Ex-LDP upper house heavyweight Mikio Aoki dies at 89

Former Liberal Democratic Party heavyweight Mikio Aoki, known for the strong influence he wielded as head of the party's upper house caucus, has died of old age, LDP lawmakers said Monday. He was 89.Aoki, who was elected four times as a House of Councillors member starting in 1986, died Sunday at a facility in Kawasaki, near Tokyo, the lawmakers said. He retired from politics in 2010.Before becoming a member of the upper house, Aoki served as a secretary to the late Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita and a prefectural assembly member in Shimane Prefecture in western Japan.He was chief Cabinet …READ FULL ARTICLE