was an economist, educator, politician and cabinet minister in the pre-war

Empire of Japan The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent fo ...

Background

Ogawa was born in Satoshō, Okayama as the son of Murayama Kikuzo, but was adopted into a prominent family of doctors in

Okayama is the capital city of Okayama Prefecture in the Chūgoku region of Japan. The city was founded on June 1, 1889. , the city has an estimated population of 720,841 and a population density of 910 persons per km2. The total area is . The city is ...

. He graduated from

Tokyo Imperial University , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project by ...

Imperial College of Law in 1903 with honors, from the Department of Political Science, and obtained a post at the

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a part of the government in most countries that is responsible for matters related to the finance. Lists of current ministries of finance Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Finance (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Finance and Eco ...

. However, the following year, he was recruited by

Kyoto Imperial University , mottoeng = Freedom of academic culture , established = , type = Public (National) , endowment = ¥ 316 billion (2.4 billion USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to disting ...

, which had just established a Department of Economics, and was sent to Europe for six years to study

public finance Public finance is the study of the role of the government in the economy. It is the branch of economics that assesses the government revenue and government expenditure of the public authorities and the adjustment of one or the other to achie ...

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

House of Representatives of Japan The is the lower house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Councillors (Japan), House of Councillors is the upper house. The composition of the House is established by and of the Constitution of Japan. The House of Representatives ha ...

in the 1917 general election, and was subsequently re-elected to the same seat in the Okayama constituency a total of eight times. Initially with the '' Shinseikai,'' he later assisted in the formation of the ''

Seiyu Hontō Voice acting in Japan is an industry where actors provide voice-overs as characters or narrators in media including anime, video games, audio dramas, commercials, and dubbing for non-Japanese films and television programs. In Japan, and a ...

'' political party, subsequently serving as president of its policy research committee, and joined the ''

Rikken Minseitō was one of the main political parties in pre-war Empire of Japan. It was commonly known as the ''Minseitō''. History The ''Minseitō'' was founded on 1 June 1927, by a merger of the ''Kenseikai'' and the ''Seiyu Hontō'' political parties. I ...

'' when the ''Seiyu Hontō'' merged with the ''

Kenseikai The was a short-lived political party in the pre-war Empire of Japan. History The ''Kenseikai'' was founded on 10 October 1916, as a merger of the '' Rikken Dōshikai'' (led by Katō Takaaki), '' Chūseikai'' (led by Ozaki Yukio) and the '' ...

''. Ogawa left Kyoto Imperial University in 1924 to accept the post of dean of

Takushoku University Takushoku University (拓殖大学; ''Takushoku Daigaku'', abbreviated as 拓大 ''Takudai'') is a private university in Tokyo, Japan. It was founded in 1900 by Duke Taro Katsura (1848–1913).

. In 1929, he served as parliamentary under-secretary for Finance under the Hamaguchi administration. In 1936,

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Kōki Hirota was a Japanese diplomat and politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1936 to 1937. Originally his name was . He was executed for war crimes committed during the Second Sino-Japanese War at the Tokyo Trials. Early life Hirota was ...

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 was a Japanese bureaucrat and politician who was Prime Minister of Japan from 1957 to 1960. Known for his exploitative rule of the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo in Northeast China in the 1930s, Kishi was nicknamed the "Monster of the Shō ...

, to resign.Iguchi, ''Unfinished Business''. Page 28-30 In 1940 he served in the second Konoe administration as

Railway Minister A Ministry of Railways is a Cabinet department that exists or has existed in many Commonwealth states as well as others. It generally occurs in countries where railroad transportation is a particularly important part of the national infrastructure. ...

. After the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, in 1943, he took charge of the committee of internal affairs of the ''

Taisei Yokusankai The , or Imperial Aid Association, was the Empire of Japan's ruling organization during much of World War II. It was created by Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe on 12 October 1940, to promote the goals of his ("New Order") movement. It evolved i ...

.'' However, later in 1943, he was invited to the nominally independent

State of Burma The State of Burma (; ja, ビルマ国, ''Biruma-koku'') was a List of World War II puppet states#Japan, Japanese puppet state created by Japan in 1943 during the Japanese occupation of Burma in World War II. Background During the early stage ...

by President

Ba Maw Ba Maw ( my, ဘမော်, ; 8 February 1893 – 29 May 1977) was a Burmese lawyer and political leader, active during the interwar and World War II periods. Dr. Ba Maw is a descendant of the Mon Dynasty. He was the first Burma Premier ...

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 in the

East China Sea The East China Sea is an arm of the Western Pacific Ocean, located directly offshore from East China. It covers an area of roughly . The sea’s northern extension between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula is the Yellow Sea, separated b ...

despite its status as a

hospital ship A hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a floating medical treatment facility or hospital. Most are operated by the military forces (mostly navies) of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or near war zones. ...

under Red Cross protection. In 1968, he was posthumously awarded with the

Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge features rays of sunlight ...

, 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.
OCLC 37315278
*Iguchi, Haruo. ''Unfinished Business: Ayukawa Yoshisuke and U.S.-Japan Relations, 1937-1953''. Harvard University Asia Center (2003)

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ogawa, Gotaro 1876 births 1945 deaths Politicians from Okayama Prefecture Government ministers of Japan Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) University of Tokyo alumni Kyoto University alumni Academic staff of Kyoto University Japanese civilians killed in World War II Deaths due to shipwreck at sea Imperial Rule Assistance Association politicians Rikken Minseitō politicians 20th-century Japanese politicians