WEBRyutaro Hashimoto (橋本 龍太郎, Hashimoto Ryūtarō, 29 July 1937 – 1 July 2006) was a Japanese politician who served as the Prime Minister of Japan from 1996 to 1998. He was the leader of one of the largest factions within the ruling LDP through most of the 1990s and remained a powerful back-room player in Japanese politics ...