Former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, one of Japan's longest reigning premiers, died at the age of 101 on Friday morning at a hospital in Tokyo.

Nakasone, born in 1918, served as Japan's prime minister from 1982 to 1987.

During his time in office, Nakasone advocated to revise the country's constitution and was dedicated to strengthening Japan's defense forces and its alliance with the United States.

Widely regarded as a strong political figure, the late Japanese leader was also known to have a close, first name-basis relationship with former U.S. President Ronald Reagan during the 1980s. 

During his tenure, he was an advocate for and worked towards the privatization of Japan's national railway system and was also a proponent of revising Japan's pacifist constitution. 

Nakasone pursued domestic reforms aggressively, privatizing Japan's state-run railways as well as tobacco and telecommunications monopolies. Nakasone also broke an unwritten rule on limiting the annual defense budget to 1 percent of gross national product. 

In an interview in 2007, he said Japan-China cooperation was the basis for the stable development of Asia, and the friendship between the two countries would make them have more say in global affairs.

Born in Gunma Prefecture's Takasaki City in 1918, Nakasone entered politics in 1947, securing a seat in Japan's lower house of parliament, and went on to hold his seat for 20 successive elections. 

(With input from Xinhua and Reuters)