Keizo Obuchi, Japan's former prime minister, who died on May 14th aged 62, struggled for 20 months to revive his nation's economy.
A career politician, he was regarded as a steady and colourless leader whose end was perhaps more remarkable than his tenure.
His legacy will depend largely on the course of Japan's economy in the near future. He might be noted just as Japan's 26th prime minister since the second World War, or he might be recalled as a leader whose decision to spend Japan's government into debt succeeded in breaking the country's long recession.
During his term, he oversaw the approval of a massive bail-out of Japan's Long-Term Credit Bank and dealt with the nation's worst nuclear disaster, a release of radioactivity at a uranium processing plant that killed two.
At the time of his recent stroke, he was coping with Japan's ever-fractious political machinations and the eruption of a volcano on Japan's northern island.
To boost Japan's economy, he pursued massive, public-works projects, pumping money into construction companies and outlying prefectures. He also poured public funds into ailing banks, a first for Japan. In the process, the country ran up a debt of more than $6 trillion.
One political analyst gave him credit for putting the economy back on track. "The fact is, he took the Japanese economy when it was at the bottom, and put it on an upward trend," he said.
But another analyst said his policies "have just transferred the headaches from the present to the future. They have put a big burden on the future of Japan".
The economic gamble was remarkable largely because it was made by Keizo Obuchi, who had a reputation as a bland and unimaginative party hack with few ideas of his own.
He became prime minister as reward for his political service with the Liberal Democratic Party when his predecessor quit after a disastrous election.
He had an unflattering nickname - "slow cow" - and was described by an American political analyst as having the personality of "cold pizza".
The label stuck, but Keizo Obuchi turned the cold pizza sobriquet into a self-deprecating joke, even posing with pizza for the cover of Time magazine. And he began using the backroom skills that had served him as political insider to pass legislation and embark on a new economic course.
"I am said to be very, very ordinary. I am said to be mild and [too] good in nature," Keizo Obuchi said as he took office. "But I want you to understand that I am a man who does what should be done."
The economy was his chief concern and boldest platform. In other areas, change during his term was more incremental. He presided over a revision of the Japan-US defence guidelines that nudged pacifist Japan toward a more active supporting role with US forces in the region.
A former foreign minister, he was active in international affairs. As prime minister, he moved to improve relations with South Korea, Russia and China, and he endorsed the resumption of negotiations with North Korea.
He was born in the mountainous Gunma prefecture in central Japan. His father, a silk factory manager who was elected to the Diet, died when Keizo Obuchi was a 21-year-old student studying literature at prestigious Waseda University.
After graduating, he embarked on a nine-month backpacking trip to 38 countries, boldly seeking - and securing - a private meeting with US attorney general Robert F. Kennedy. He then returned to Japan to carry on his father's political career, and was elected to the House of Representatives in 1963. At the age of 26, he was the youngest member ever elected to the Diet. He served 12 terms, over 35 years.
Keizo Obuchi is survived by his wife, Chizuko, a son and two daughters.
Keizo Obuchi: born 1937; died May, 2000