was a Japanese

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

who served as

Prime Minister of Japan The prime minister of Japan ( Japanese: 内閣総理大臣, Hepburn: ''Naikaku Sōri-Daijin'') is the head of government of Japan. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Japan and has the ability to select and dismiss its Ministers of Stat ...

in 1948. He was a prominent figure in the immediate postwar political landscape, but was forced to resign his leadership responsibilities after a corruption scandal (Shōwa Denkō Jiken) targeting two of his cabinet ministers.

Early life

Ashida was born in

Fukuchiyama, Kyoto 250px, Fukuchiyama Castle 250px, Fukuchiyama city center is a city in northern Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 76,037 in 36412 households and a population density of 140 persons per km². The total area of ...

, the second son of politician and banker Shikanosuke Ashida. His father had been in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ca ...

and served as director of Nōkō Bank. His grandfather was landed magnate and village headman (''

nanushi ''Nanushi'' ( Japanese: 名主) was a village official in the Edo period. They were village headmen, administering a village (''mura'') under a district magistrate (''gun-dai''), the ''daikan'' of a district governor (''gunji''). Their duties incl ...

'') Jizaemon Ashida. He studied French civil law at

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 b ...

. After graduation, he worked in the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

for twenty years.

Early career

In 1932, Ashida ran his first successful campaign for a seat in the

as a member of the Seiyūkai Party. He sided with

Ichirō Hatoyama was a Japanese politician who was Prime Minister of Japan from 1954 to 1956. A conservative, Hatoyama helped oversee the 1955 merger of the Liberal Party and the Democratic Party to create the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), of which Hatoyam ...

's "orthodox" wing following the Seiyukai's split in 1939. After the war, Ashida won a seat in the new Diet as a member of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

, from which he split to merge with

Kijūrō Shidehara Baron was a pre–World War II Japanese diplomat and politician. He was Prime Minister of Japan from 1945 to 1946 and a leading proponent of pacifism in Japan before and after World War II. He was the last Japanese Prime Minister who was a mem ...

's Progressive Party to form the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa * Botswana Democratic Party * Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *De ...

. Ashida was elected president of the new party, and became minister of foreign affairs in 1947 under Socialist prime minister

Tetsu Katayama was a Japanese politician who was Prime Minister of Japan from 1947 to 1948. He bears the distinction of having been the first socialist to serve as Prime Minister of Japan. Early life He was born in Tanabe, Wakayama Prefecture on 28 July ...

. He also chaired the Committee on the Bill for Revision of the Imperial Constitution, and served as the chairman of the

Kenpō Fukyū Kai The was a Japanese group founded in 1946 to promote the reformed Constitution of Japan. After World War II, the Allied occupation required that the existing Meiji Constitution of Japan be amended to replace the absolute rule of the Emperor with ...

, a society created to promote the revised Constitution of Japan, from 1946–1948. During his term, he made a key amendment to Article Nine of the planned Japanese Constitution, which enabled the creation of the

Japanese Self-Defense Force The Japan Self-Defense Forces ( ja, 自衛隊, Jieitai; abbreviated JSDF), also informally known as the Japanese Armed Forces, are the unified ''de facto''Since Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution outlaws the formation of armed forces, the ...

Prime minister and later life

Hitoshi Ashida - Golda Meir - Kuniyoshi Negishi 1958

Ashida became prime minister in 1948, leading a

coalition government A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...

of Democratic and Socialist members. His tenure ended just seven months after it began. Two of his cabinet ministers were accused of corruption in the Showa Electric scandal, which forced the cabinet to resign. One of them was

Takeo Kurusu Takeo may refer to: * Takéo Province, a province of Cambodia ** Doun Kaev (town), formerly known as Takéo, the capital of Takéo province * Ta Keo, an Angkorian temple in Cambodia * Takeo, Saga, a city in Saga Prefecture, Japan * Takeo (given nam ...

, a state minister without a portfolio. After his tenure as prime minister, Ashida focused on Japan's position in Asia and re-armament. He became outspoken in support of creating a national defense force after the outbreak of the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{{ ...

, fearing that a similar conflict may occur in Japan. Ashida also promoted the idea of forming a Japanese group of volunteers to fight alongside

United Nations Command United Nations Command (UNC or UN Command) is the multinational military force established to support the Republic of Korea (South Korea) during and after the Korean War. It was the first international unified command in history, and the first a ...

in support of the

Republic of Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its ea ...

. In 1951, he gave speaking tours across Japan advocating for his interpretation of Article 9, stating that it does not impose restrictions on Japan preparing a force for defensive purposes. In 1958, Ashida was cleared of all charges in relation to corruption allegations. He died a year later at the age of seventy-one.

References

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ashida, Hitoshi 1887 births 1959 deaths 20th-century prime ministers of Japan Deputy Prime Ministers of Japan Foreign ministers of Japan Liberal Party (Japan, 1945) politicians Democratic Party (Japan, 1947) politicians National Democratic Party (Japan) politicians Kaishintō politicians Democratic Party (Japan, 1954) politicians Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) politicians People acquitted of corruption Politicians from Kyoto Prefecture Prime Ministers of Japan Rikken Seiyūkai politicians 20th-century Japanese politicians