Masayoshi Ōhira (大平 正芳, Ōhira Masayoshi^?, March 12, 1910 – June 12, 1980) was a Japanese politician and the 68th and 69th Prime Minister of Japan from December 7, 1978 to June 12, 1980. He is the most recent Japanese prime minister to die in office.

He was born in present day Kan'onji, Kagawa and attended Hitotsubashi University.

At the apex of his political life, Ōhira came to represent what were known as "mainstream factions" within the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) which put him at odds with Prime Minister Takeo Fukuda, who led what were known as an "anti-mainstream" faction.

Ōhira was elected to the presidency of the LDP in late 1978.

On December 7, 1978, he was appointed 68th Prime Minister, successfully pushing Takeo Fukuda from his position.

Ōhira was the sixth Christian to hold this office after Hara Takashi, Takahashi Korekiyo, Ichirō Hatoyama, Tetsu Katayama, and Shigeru Yoshida.

In the general election of 1979, the LDP narrowly failed to win an outright majority, but enough independent members of the Diet joined the party to enable Ōhira to remain in office, and he was duly reappointed on November 9 of that year. On May 16, 1980, a vote of no confidence was held in the Diet.

Michael Schuman (born October 16, 1968) is an American author and journalist who specializes in Asian economics, politics and history. He is currently the Asia business correspondent for TIME Magazine, based in Hong Kong. Prior to writing for TIME, Schuman spent more than six years as a correspondent in Asia with The Wall Street Journal.

Schuman started his career as a reporter and staff writer for Forbes Magazine based in New York City. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and a Master of International Affairs from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University in New York City.

Schuman has covered Asia for over a decade and has interviewed numerous government and business leaders, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former South Korean President Kim Dae Jung, Singapore's Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, Taiwan’s President Ma Ying-jeou, Malaysia's former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, former Sony chief executive Nobuyuki Idei, and the founder of India's Infosys Technologies, Narayana Murthy. He has covered some of the most important events in Asia since the mid-1990s, including the North Korea nuclear crisis, the first summit between North and South Korea in 2000, and the 2002 terrorist bombings in Bali, Indonesia. Schuman won an Overseas Press Club award as part of the team covering the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis for The Wall Street Journal.

Barry J. Naughton is the So Kwanlok Chair of Chinese International Affairs at the Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies at the University of California, San Diego. He specializes in the Chinese economy and is a recognized expert in the field. His 1995 book "Growing Out of the Plan: Chinese Economic Reform, 1978–1993" won the Masayoshi Ohira Memorial Prize. He stated that the Chinese economic reform was accomplished without a grand vision. Rather, it was the result of a mix between laissez-faire and experimentation with business incentives by the government.

He received his Ph.D. in Economics and M.A. in International Relations from Yale University in 1986, and a B.A., Chinese Language and Literature from the University of Washington.