Japan's LDP member Kuniko Inoguchi's house was in ablaze on Wednesday night and two bodies were found by the fire rescue personnel.
Flames and smoke were seen rising from the apartment building on the night of November 27, 2024 in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo, about 500 meters north of the Tokyo Dome. Orange flames briefly rose from the scene, and smoke filled the surrounding area.
According to the police and witnesses, the scene of the fire was on the top floor of a six-story apartment building, with only one apartment on the floor. The Fire Service personnel transported one woman's body to the hospital, believed to be his daughter's. The fire was extinguished around 12:40 a.m. and rescue vehicles were dispatched to the scene.
Prof Takashi Inoguchi, husband of Senator Kuniko Inoguchi (72) and one of their two daughters were at home when the fire engulfed the condominium, police initially told the media.
Professor Inoguchi (80), and his daughter (33) were confirmed dead in the fire, according to the Metropolitan Police Department, who ruled out that a third party was involved. The damage at the scene was so extensive that the cause is unknown, but it is highly likely that it was an accidental fire, said the police.
Asian Perspective Amid American Thinkers
Prof. Takashi Inoguchi's 50 years of academic career spanned several institutions from Sophia University in Japan to the University of Tokyo, the United Nations University and Niigata University in Japan.
Born in Niigata Prefecture in 1944, he went on to study at the University of Tokyo and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he earned his doctorate. After serving as an assistant professor at Sophia University, he went on to serve as a professor at the University of Tokyo and president of the Japan Association of International Relations. He also served as president of Niigata Prefectural University, which opened in 2009.
Professor Inoguchi has written many books on international relations, including "A View of Global Changes," and in 1982 his book "The Structure of International Politics and Economics" won the Suntory Prize for Social Sciences and Humanities.
Following his Ph.D., he taught at Sophia University from 1974 to 1977, where he met his future wife and academic Kuniko Yokota. He returned to his alma mater, the University of Tokyo, in 1977 and was associated with the Institute of Oriental Culture of the University since then. He was also at the University of Geneva from 1977 to 1978, and at Harvard University from 1983 to 1984.
Prof Inoguchi also served as Senior Vice Rector with the rank of Assistant Secretary General at the United Nations University from 1995 to 1997. He later served as the president of the University of Niigata Prefecture, and remained a professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo.
"Depending on where you stand, the political scenario changes," is one of his famous quotable quotes attributed to him and often quoted by his students and fellow academics across Asia and Pacific in political perspectives of Asia vis-a-vis the Western perception.
A well-known author of several research books in Political science and International Relations, Prof. Inoguchi (80) had remained a key commentator on global politics throughout his academic career and mentored many research graduates across the globe spanning from Southeast Asia, India, the US and UK.
(Updated on Dec. 1, 2024)
