Gōtarō Ogawa
Gōtarō Ogawa 小川郷太郎 | |
|---|---|
Satoshō, Okayama, Japan | |
| Died | April 1, 1945 (aged 68) |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Occupation(s) | educator, politician, cabinet minister |
Gōtarō Ogawa (小川郷太郎, Ogawa Gōtarō, 9 June 1876 – 1 April 1945) was an economist, educator, politician and cabinet minister in the pre-war Empire of Japan.
Background
Ogawa was born in
Kyoto Imperial University, which had just established a Department of Economics, and was sent to Europe for six years to study public finance
in Germany and Austria. On his return, he worked at Kyoto Imperial University as a professor of economics, specializing on the economic effects of war. In 1917, he was awarded a doctorate in law.
Ogawa then entered politics, winning a seat in the
Rikken Minseitō when the Seiyu Hontō merged with the Kenseikai
.
Ogawa left Kyoto Imperial University in 1924 to accept the post of dean of
Hamaguchi
administration.
In 1936, Prime Minister Kōki Hirota asked that Ogawa accept the post of Minister of Commerce and Industry. In this position, he opposed many of the ministry bureaucrats who were pushing towards increased state control over the economy, and forced a number, including Nobusuke Kishi, to resign.[1]
In 1940 he served in the second
Taisei Yokusankai. However, later in 1943, he was invited to the nominally independent State of Burma by President Ba Maw
as a special advisor on economics and finance. He spent the remainder of the war years in Burma, attempting to set the country on a secure footing through financial consolidation.
On April 1, 1945, while attempting to return to Japan, Ogawa was killed as a passenger on the
Awa Maru, which was sunk by the US submarine USS Queenfish (SS-393) in the East China Sea despite its status as a hospital ship under Red Cross protection. In 1968, he was posthumously awarded with the Order of the Rising Sun
, 3rd class.
References
- Dingman, Roger. (1997). Ghost of War: The Sinking of the Awa Maru and Japanese-American Relations, 1945-1995. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press.
- Iguchi, Haruo. Unfinished Business: Ayukawa Yoshisuke and U.S.-Japan Relations, 1937-1953. Harvard University Asia Center (2003) ISBN 0674003748
Notes
- ^ Iguchi, Unfinished Business. Page 28-30
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