JAPAN – Ex Japanese prime minister Yasuhiro Nakasone has died at the age of 101.

He entered politics after the second world war during the United States of America occupation of his country and channeled his energy towards championing a stronger and more assertive Japan according to the New York Times.

He is said to have died on Friday at Tokyo Hospital as confirmed by sources from his office.

Nakasone’s prime ministerial stint lasted for five years from 1882 to 1887.

Long after leaving office, he continued to exert his influence and weigh in on topical political issues of the day affecting his country.

He had long wanted the Japanese pacifist constitution re-looked but failed to do so.

The American-drafted constitution placed a legal obligation on Japan to renounce war in Article 9.

“Revising the Constitution takes time. I stressed to the public that it was necessary, but it was not possible to begin the revision quickly,” Nakasone said in an interview in January 2010 according to the Japan Times.

Yasuhiro Nakasone wore his nationalist credentials on his sleeves and campaigned on a bicycle decorated with the Japanese national flag.

Such obvious appeals to nationalism led to him being criticized.

The prime minister opposed the American occupation of his country which lasted from 1945 to 1952 according to the Washington Post.