Former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, who used his brief period in office to seek closer ties with Asian neighbours, particularly ​China, has died at the age of 90, the Nikkei ‌business daily reported on Monday.

The Japanese politician, the first son of a prime minister to become premier himself, died on Thursday from heart failure, the Nikkei ​said.

Becoming prime minister on the sudden resignation of Shinzo Abe in 2007, ​Fukuda lasted less than a year — a tenure even shorter than his father Takeo’s two-year stint.

A graduate in economics from Tokyo’s ​prestigious Waseda University, Fukuda spent nearly two decades working his way up ​the ranks of an oil company — including a two-year posting in the United States — before resigning to become a political secretary when his father became premier in 1976.

Elected ​to Japan’s more powerful lower house of parliament in 1990, Fukuda was ​chief cabinet secretary from 2000 to 2004, resigning as one of several cabinet ministers ‌to ⁠admit not paying into the pension system.

Known for his testy manner, the bespectacled Fukuda drew criticism in 2003 for off-the-record comments in which he suggested women who dressed provocatively were asking to be raped.

When Fukuda succeeded ​Abe he joked ​he might have drawn the short straw in assuming office given the divided parliament and opposition parties’ ability to delay legislation.

Frustrated with the ​stalled legislative process, Fukuda resigned in 2008, the second ​of six ⁠prime ministers to quit after only around a year in office.

Known as a diplomatic dove, Fukuda made several visits to China after leaving office in ⁠an ​effort to improve often fraught relations.

Fukuda leaves ​a son, Tatsuo, who is also a lawmaker and has been viewed as a potential future ​prime minister.