Hamaguchi Osachi
Hamaguchi Osachi | |
---|---|
濱口 雄幸 | |
Prime Minister of Japan | |
In office 10 March 1931 – 14 April 1931 | |
Monarch | Hirohito |
Preceded by | Kijūrō Shidehara (acting) |
Succeeded by | Wakatsuki Reijirō |
In office 2 July 1929 – 14 November 1930 | |
Monarch | Hirohito |
Preceded by | Tanaka Giichi |
Succeeded by | Kijūrō Shidehara (acting) |
Member of the House of Representatives for Kochi 1st District Kochi (1919-1920) Kochi 2rd District (1920-1928) | |
In office 26 March 1919 – 26 August 1931 | |
Member of the House of Representatives for Kochi City | |
In office 25 March 1915 – 25 January 1917 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Rikken Minseitō (1927–1931) | 1 April 1870
Other political affiliations |
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Spouse | Natsuko Hamaguchi |
Alma mater | Tokyo Imperial University |
Signature | |
Hamaguchi Osachi (
Early life and career
Hamaguchi was born in
Political career
Hamaguchi joined the
In June 1924, Hamaguchi served as Finance Minister under the first Katō administration, holding the same portfolio under the 1st Wakatsuki administration from January to June 1926. As Finance Minister, he pursued fiscal retrenchment, and proposed reducing government spending by 17 percent and laying off tens of thousands of government workers; however, his policies had to be scaled considerably back due to strenuous opposition from government bureaucrats.[3]
Hamaguchi was subsequently
In 1927, Hamaguchi became the chairman of the new
The 1st Hamaguchi administration
After the collapse of the administration of Tanaka Giichi in June 1929, Hamaguchi was selected to become Prime Minister of Japan and formed a cabinet based largely on Minseitō party members, which supported domestic economic reforms over overseas military adventurism.[5] With a strong sense of his own rectitude and a tough, stubborn temperament, Hamaguchi inspired trust, promising that he was "ready to die if necessary" for the good of the country during his inaugural speech and promising an administration free of corruption.
Hamaguchi's primary concern was the Japanese economy, which had been in an ever-increasing recession since the end of World War I, and had been greatly weakened by the devastation caused by the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake. Hamaguchi promoted retrenchment, deflation and the rationalization of industry. The 1929 Great Depression, starting soon after he took office, put further pressure on the economy.
Initial public confidence and strong support from Emperor
The failure of Hamaguchi's economic policies played into the hands of right-wing elements, already enraged by the government's conciliatory foreign policies and Japan's increasing unemployment problems. The opposition
Hamaguchi's initial popularity quickly waned, and he fell victim to an assassination attempt on 14 November 1930 when he was shot inside Tokyo Station by Tomeo Sagoya, a member of the Aikokusha ultranationalist secret society. (Nine years earlier another Prime Minister, Hara Takashi, had been assassinated near the same place.) The head of the Aikoku-sha was Seiyūkai politician Ogawa Heikichi.[7] The wounds kept Hamaguchi hospitalized for several months.
The 2nd Hamaguchi administration
Hamaguchi was reelected to a second term as Prime Minister of Japan in March 1931. However, with his health continuing to deteriorate, he was unable to attend the 59th Session of the Imperial Diet, which opened with Foreign Minister Kijūrō Shidehara as acting Prime Minister. The Seiyūkai immediately attacked the government on the grounds that the Prime Minister was not physically present, and that Shidehara was not even a member of the Minseitō. When Shidehara further created an uproar with a comment concerning Emperor Hirohito's support of the London Naval Treaty, the Seiyūkai refused to participate in budget deliberations until Hamaguchi could attend. Despite his failing health, Hamaguchi was forced to attend the Diet, but resigned a month later to be replaced by Wakatsuki Reijirō.[8] He died on 26 August of the same year, and his grave is at the Aoyama Cemetery in Tokyo.
Tomeo Sagoya was not tried for murder. Nevertheless, in 1932, he was sentenced to death for attempted murder, after the judge ruled that the bullet had caused Osachi's death. Yoshikatsu Matsuki was sentenced to 13 years in prison as an accomplice, while Ainosuke Iwata received a 4-month sentence. However, in 1934, Sagoya's death sentence was reduced to life in prison in a general amnesty. He was one of many people involved in politically motivated murders, including that of prime ministers, to have their sentences reduced. Sagoya was released from prison in 1940, and died in 1972. He continued to be involved in far-right activities until his death.[9]
In 1931 Hamaguchi's cabinet sponsored a bill on women's suffrage. It would have granted women over the age of 25 the right to vote in local elections and stand for office given their husbands' approval. The bill passed the lower house, but it was defeated in the House of Peers in March 1931 by a vote of 184 to 62.[10]
Honours
- Grand Cordon of the Order of the Sacred Treasure (July 1926)
- Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun (April 1927)
- Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun with Paulownia Flowers (April 1931)
Notes
- ^ Hotta, page 99
- ^ Jansen. The Making of Modern Japan. Page 510
- ^ Lever of Empire, p. 155.
- ^ Metzler, page 155
- ^ Hirohito, p. 208-209.
- ^ Bix. Page 210
- ^ Bix. Page 211-212
- ^ "3-18 Shooting of Prime Minister HAMAGUCHI Osachi". Modern Japan in Archives. National Diet Library of Japan. 2006. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
- ^ "Amnesty of 1934". The Cincinnati Enquirer. 1934-02-11. p. 18. Retrieved 2023-07-21.
- ^ Nolte, Sharon H. "Women's Rights and Society's Needs: Japan's 1931 Suffrage Bill," Comparative Studies in Society and History, October 1986, Vol. 28, No. 4, p. 690-714.
References
- OCLC 247018161
- ISBN 0-8129-7286-4
- ISBN 978-0307739742
- ISBN 9780674003347; OCLC 44090600
- Metzler, Mark. Lever of Empire: The International Gold Standard and the Crisis of Liberalism in Prewar Japan. University of California Press (2006) ISBN 0520244206