元北海道知事、元衆議院議長の横路孝弘さんがご逝去されました。お悔やみ申し上げます。
東大で学部こそ違いましたが、横路孝弘さんと盟友関係にあった高木郁朗さんも昨年ご逝去されました。
横路孝弘さんは、私にとって記憶に残る政治家でした。お近くで拝見したり、奥尻島大地震のときの北海道知事であり、私の東洋大学の友人も被災し、横路孝弘知事は私の友人をご存知でした。
当時、島民が一番困ったのが棺桶であり、一番喜ばれたのは入れ歯とメガネだったというお話しを直接伺うことができました。
横路孝弘さんの著作や講演資料もいくつか手元にありました。ご講演やごあいさつは何回となくお聴きしました。残念ながら、横路孝弘さんのようなカリスマ性のある政治家は、今はなかなか見当たらないですね。
Takahiro Yokomichi, former Governor of Hokkaido and former Speaker of the House of Representatives, has passed away. We extend our condolences.
Ikuro Takagi, who was an ally of Takahiro Yokomichi, also passed away last year, although we were in different faculties at the University of Tokyo.
Mr. Takahiro Yokomichi was a memorable politician for me. I saw him nearby, he was the governor of Hokkaido at the time of the Okushiri Earthquake, and a friend of mine from Toyo University was affected by the disaster, and Governor Takahiro Yokomichi knew my friend.
I was able to hear directly from him that at that time, the most difficult thing for the islanders was coffins, and the most appreciated things were dentures and glasses.
I also had on hand several of Takahiro Yokomichi's writings and lecture materials. We listened to his lectures and greetings many times. Unfortunately, a charismatic politician like Mr. Takahiro Yokomichi is hard to find nowadays.