was a Japanese sportsman, diplomat and

political figure 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 ...

. He served as the Japanese foreign minister in the 1950s. He was also the final – and only Japanese – chairman of the

Shanghai Municipal Council The Shanghai International Settlement () originated from the merger in the year 1863 of the British Concession (Shanghai), British and American Concession (Shanghai), American list of former foreign enclaves in China, enclaves in Shanghai, i ...

Early life

Okazaki was born on 10 July 1897 in

Kanagawa is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...

, Japan. He was the 10th son of Yasunosuke Okazaki. He studied law at the

University of Tokyo , 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 ...

and then joined the

Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs The is an executive department of the Government of Japan, and is responsible for the country's foreign policy and international relations. The ministry was established by the second term of the third article of the National Government Organi ...

.Obituary, New York Times, Oct 12, 1965, p47

Sporting prowess

Okazaki participated in the 1924 Paris Olympic Summer Games, qualifying for the 5,000 m final with a time of 15.22.2e. In the final, he fainted in the heatwave and was carried away by medics. He had much success at the

Far Eastern Championship Games The Far Eastern Championship Games (also known as the Far Eastern Championships, Far Eastern Games or Far East Games) was an Asian multi-sport event considered to be a precursor to the Asian Games. History In 1913, Elwood Brown, president of ...

, winning the

mile run The mile run (1,760 yards or exactly 1,609.344 metres) is a middle-distance foot race. The history of the mile run event began in England, where it was used as a distance for gambling races. It survived track and field's switch to ...

at the 1921 Games then doing a middle-distance double in the mile and 880 yards at the 1923 event in Osaka.Far Eastern Championships
GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2014-12-18.

Consular positions

Okasaki served as second secretary to the Japanese Embassy in Washington, D.C. in the early 1930s. He also served in numerous positions in China during the 1930s, including serving as Japanese Consul-General in

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

after the Fall of Nanking to the

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...

and during the

Nanking Massacre The Nanjing Massacre (, ja, 南京大虐殺, Nankin Daigyakusatsu) or the Rape of Nanjing (formerly romanized as ''Nanking'') was the mass murder of Chinese civilians in Nanjing, the capital of the Republic of China, immediately after the Ba ...

. In 1938, he was serving as Japanese Consul General in Canton. In October 1939 was appointed Japanese Consul at Hong Kong, a position he held until January 1941.

Shanghai Municipal Council

In early January 1942 Okazaki was appointed as Chairman of the

after the British and American members resigned following the commencement of the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...

and the occupation of the

Shanghai International Settlement The Shanghai International Settlement () originated from the merger in the year 1863 of the British and American enclaves in Shanghai, in which British subjects and American citizens would enjoy extraterritoriality and consular jurisdiction ...

by Japanese troops. After the resignation of the Commissioner General,

G. Godfrey Phillips George Godfrey Phillips CBE (7 June 1900 – 24 October 1965), was a British barrister and, later, solicitor, who served as the Commissioner General of the Shanghai Municipal Council from 1939 to 1942. He was also co-author with E. C. S. Wade ...

which took effect from 1 March 1942, Okasaki also took over the role of Commissioner General in an honorary capacity. He served until 1943 when the Council was disbanded.

Surrender of Japan

Okazaki took part in the surrender negotiations between the Japanese emissaries and American military officials on

Iejima , previously romanized in English as Ie Shima, is an island in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is ...

in 1945. He was present as a representative of Japan at the formal surrender on 2 September 1945 aboard the

USS Missouri Four ships of the United States Navy have been named USS ''Missouri'' in honor of the state of Missouri: *, a sidewheel frigate launched in 1841 and destroyed by fire in August 1843 *, a ''Maine''-class battleship in service from 1900 to 1922. *, a ...

Post-war political and diplomatic career

Okazaki was elected to the

Japanese House of Representatives The is the lower house of the National Diet of Japan. The 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 has 465 members, elected for ...

in 1949. In 1951, he was appointed by Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida as Chief Cabinet Secretary and state minister without portfolio. In 1952, he was appointed Foreign Minister and served in that position until 1954. In 1954, building on work by Ikeda, Okazaki signed a Mutual Security Assistance (MSA) Agreement with U.S. Ambassador John Allison. In 1961 he was called out of retirement to serve in the United Nations in what was described at the time as a move to strengthen the Japanese delegation. He served as Japan's delegate to the United Nations from April 1961 to July 1963.''Washington Post'', October 12, 1965, pC4

Death

Okazaki died on 10 October 1965 in Tokyo of a stomach ulcer at the age of 68.

Family members

Okazaki was married to Shimako with whom he had a son, Taro, and a daughter, Yoshiko. He is the grandfather of the

Japanese-American are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 census, they have declined in number to constitute the sixth largest Asia ...

figure skater

Kyoko Ina is a Japanese-American figure skater. With partner John Zimmerman, she is the 2002 World bronze medalist and a three-time (2000–2002) U.S. national champion. The pair also competed at the 2002 Winter Olympics. With previous partner Jason Dun ...

, Yoshiko's daughter.Sports Reference for Kyoko In

/ref>

References

, - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Okazaki, Katsuo 1897 births 1965 deaths Sportspeople from Yokohama Politicians from Yokohama Japanese sportsperson-politicians Japanese male middle-distance runners Japanese male long-distance runners Olympic male long-distance runners Olympic athletes of Japan Athletes (track and field) at the 1924 Summer Olympics Japan Championships in Athletics winners Government ministers of Japan Foreign ministers of Japan Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) Permanent Representatives of Japan to the United Nations Chairmen of the Shanghai Municipal Council University of Tokyo alumni Consuls General of Japan in Hong Kong