Kenzō Matsumura
Kenzō Matsumura | |
---|---|
松村 謙三 | |
Prince Higashikuni | |
Preceded by | Tadahiko Okada |
Succeeded by | Hitoshi Ashida |
Personal details | |
Born | Toyama prefecture, Empire of Japan | January 24, 1883
Died | August 21, 1971 | (aged 88)
Alma mater | Waseda University |
Kenzō Matsumura (松村 謙三, Matsumura Kenzō, January 24, 1883 – August 21, 1971) was a Japanese politician in the prewar and postwar periods, serving stints in the cabinet as
Early life and education
Kenzō Matsumura was born on January 24, 1883, in Nishinami district,
Political career
In 1917, Matsumura was elected to the Fukumitsu town assembly, and in 1920, he was elected as a member of the Toyama prefectural assembly.[2] In 1928 he was elected to the House of Representatives as a candidate for the Minseitō party, representing Toyama prefecture's second district.[2] In total he would be elected or reelected to represent this district 13 times.
After many years as a loyal Minseitō backbencher with growing expertise in agricultural policy, by 1938 Matsumura had risen to become the Chairman of the Minseitō's Policy Research Council, and in January 1939 he was appointed Vice-Minister of Agriculture and Forestry in the Hiranuma Cabinet.
In 1942, he was reelected as a "recommended" candidate of the Imperial Rule Assistance Association, signaling his collaboration with the wartime one-party state that he would later name as one of his life's greatest regrets. But Matsumura's collaboration was more than partial, as in 1944 he chaired the Imperial Rule Assistance Political Association's Policy Research Council, and in 1945 he was named its Secretary-General. Finally in late 1945, Matsumura served brief stints as Minister of Health and Welfare and Minister of Education in the Higashikuni Cabinet and Minister of Agriculture in the Shidehara Cabinet before he was purged from all government offices by the US occupation authorities as a collaborator with the wartime militarist regime.[3]
During his time as a purged politician, Matsumura made pocket money by farming
In 1951, Matsumura was de-purged and immediately set about attempting to foment political opposition to the government of Prime Minister
In 1959, Matsumura was still at the apex of his political power and influence, and challenged Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi for the presidency of the LDP as the unified candidate of the LDP "anti-mainstream," but was easily defeated by a tally of 320 votes to 166.[6] This is the closest Matsumura would come to the premiership in his political career.
In addition to agricultural policy, Miki had a strong interest in improving
The following year, Matsumura was harshly critical of Kishi's mis-handling of the massive 1960 Anpo protests against the Security Treaty.[7] When Kishi rammed the treaty through the Diet on May 19, 1960, Matsumura's faction absented itself from the vote in protest of Kishi's heavy-handed approach.[7] On May 28, Matsumura and Miki issued a public call for Kishi's resignation,[7] and Kishi was ultimately forced to resign in July.[8] However, when Ichirō Kōno floated a plan later that summer to split up the LDP and form a new splinter party of party politicians, Matsumura and Miki ultimately declined to support him.[9] As punishment for taking part in the anti-Kishi rebellion, Kishi made sure that Matsumura was excluded from the cabinets of Kishi's successor Hayato Ikeda, and his star began to fade within the LDP.[10]
In 1962, Matsumura made another trip to China, where he was instrumental in negotiating the Liao-Takasaki Trade Agreement. This agreement paved the way for the resumption of a small amount of unofficial "friendship" trade between Japan and China, but trade with China still remained less than 1 percent of Japan's overall trade, and the Japanese government's stated policy was to continue the US line of isolating China diplomatically and economically.[11]
Although Ikeda was re-elected as LDP party president in 1964, he retired soon afterwards due to illness.[11] In the debate over who would succeed Ikeda as prime minister, Matsumura supported veteran party politician Ichirō Kōno, who favored dramatically increasing trade with China, whereas Miki broke ranks with Matsumura and supported Kishi's brother Eisaku Satō, an ex-bureaucrat who promised to maintain low levels of trade in accordance with US wishes.[12] This led to a falling out between Matsumura and his erstwhile ally Miki, and thereafter the two men went their separate ways.[12] Miki was rewarded for his support with powerful posts in the Satō cabinet, whereas Matsumura continued to be excluded. Matsumura's lack of access to power led to defections from his ever-shrinking faction; his most loyal remaining lieutenants begged him to retire and step aside for a younger leader, but Matsumura refused, and his faction sank into irrelevance and eventually disappeared, while Miki's gained strength and eventually Miki would rise to become prime minister in 1974.
Finally, in 1969, Matsumura's eldest son convinced him to retire from politics. In 1970, he made one last mission to China, as part of a non-sanctioned trip to introduce former foreign minister former Foreign Minister
Global policy
He was one of the signatories of the agreement to convene a convention for drafting a
References
Citations
- ^ a b c Kotobank.
- ^ a b c Watanabe 2013, p. 215.
- ^ a b Watanabe 2013, pp. 215–216.
- ^ a b c Watanabe 2013, p. 216.
- ^ Calder, Kent E. Crisis and Compensation: Public Policy and Political Stability in Japan. Princeton University Press. p. 56.
- ^ Watanabe 2013, pp. 216–217.
- ^ a b c Kapur 2018, p. 89.
- ^ Kapur 2018, p. 34.
- ^ Kapur 2018, p. 90.
- ^ Kapur 2018, p. 94.
- ^ a b Kapur 2018, p. 71.
- ^ a b Watanabe 2013, p. 217.
- ^ "Letters from Thane Read asking Helen Keller to sign the World Constitution for world peace. 1961". Helen Keller Archive. American Foundation for the Blind. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
- ^ "Letter from World Constitution Coordinating Committee to Helen, enclosing current materials". Helen Keller Archive. American Foundation for the Blind. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
- ^ "Preparing earth constitution | Global Strategies & Solutions | The Encyclopedia of World Problems". The Encyclopedia of World Problems | Union of International Associations (UIA). Retrieved 2023-07-15.
Sources cited
- Kapur, Nick (2018). Japan at the Crossroads: Conflict and Compromise after Anpo. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0674984424.
- Kotobank. "Matsumura Kenzō". Kotobank (in Japanese). Retrieved May 25, 2023.
- Watanabe, Tsuneo (2013). Japan's Backroom Politics: Factions in a Multiparty Age. Lexington Books.