Michita Sakata

Michita Sakata
坂田 道太
Official portrait, 1968
Speaker of the House of Representatives
In office
24 January 1985  2 June 1986
MonarchShōwa
DeputySeiichi Katsumata
Preceded byKenji Fukunaga
Succeeded byKenzaburō Hara
Minister of Justice
In office
30 November 1981  27 November 1982
Prime MinisterZenkō Suzuki
Preceded bySeisuke Okuno
Succeeded byAkira Hatano
Director-General of the Japan Defense Agency
In office
12 September 1974  24 December 1976
Prime MinisterTakeo Miki
Preceded bySōsuke Uno
Succeeded byAsao Mihara
Minister of Education
In office
30 November 1968  5 July 1971
Prime MinisterEisaku Satō
Preceded byHirokichi Nadao
Succeeded bySaburo Takami
Minister of Health and Welfare
In office
12 January 1959  18 June 1959
Prime MinisterNobusuke Kishi
Preceded byRyogo Hashimoto
Succeeded byYoshio Watanabe
Member of the House of Representatives
In office
11 April 1946  24 January 1990
ConstituencyKumamoto Prefecture (1946–1947)
Kumamoto 2nd (1947–1990)
Personal details
Born(1916-07-18)18 July 1916
Yatsushiro, Kumamoto, Japan
Died13 January 2004(2004-01-13) (aged 87)
Political partyLDP (1955–2004)
Other political
affiliations
JLP (1945–1948)
DLP (1948–1950)
LP (1950–1955)
Parent
  • Michio Sakata (father)
Alma materTokyo Imperial University
AwardsJunior Second Rank
Order of the Paulownia Flowers

Michita Sakata (Japanese: 坂田 道太; 18 July 1916 – 13 January 2004) was a Japanese politician and member of the House of Representatives. Throughout his career, he served as the Minister of Education, Head of the Defense Agency, Minister of Justice, Minister of Health and Welfare, and Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Sakata's prolific career spanned over 40 years, beginning in 1946 and ending in his retirement in 1990, being reelected 16 times to the House of Representatives. He is most known for his role in the suppression of the 1968-69 Japanese university protests as Minister of Education, as well as for his tenure as the Director of the Defense Agency, when he helped write the National Defense Program Outline and set guidelines for US-Japan cooperation.