born March 1, 1901, Tabuse, Yamaguchi prefecture, Japan
died June 3, 1975, Tokyo
Prime minister of Japan (1964–72) who presided over Japan's post-World War II reemergence as a major world power.
For his policies on nuclear weapons, which led to Japan signing the nuclear nonproliferation treaty, he shared the 1974 Nobel Prize for Peace. As prime minister Satō improved relations with other Asian countries and oversaw the return of the Ryukyu Islands from U.S. to Japanese jurisdiction.