was a bureaucrat and cabinet minister in early

Shōwa period Shōwa may refer to: * Hirohito (1901–1989), the 124th Emperor of Japan, known posthumously as Emperor Shōwa * Showa Corporation, a Japanese suspension and shock manufacturer, affiliated with the Honda keiretsu Japanese eras * Jōwa (Heian ...

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 bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Biography

Yuzawa was born in

Kamitsuga District, Tochigi was a district located in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. As of 2003, the district had an estimated population of 20,718 and a population density of 52.44 persons per km2. The total area was 395.11 km2. Towns and villages * Ashio * Awano * Nis ...

in what is now part of the city of Kanuma as the son of a ''

kannushi A , also called , is a person responsible for the maintenance of a as well as for leading worship of a given .* ''Kannushi'' (in Japanese), Iwanami Japanese dictionary, 6th Edition (2008), DVD version The characters for are sometimes also re ...

'' (

Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...

priest)]. After his graduation in 1912 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 ...

he entered the

Home Ministry An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministr ...

. He served within the ministry within the field of public health, and oversaw the establishment of the

Meiji Shrine Games The were a national sporting event held in 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 bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan ...

, which were held annually from 1924 to 1943. In 1929, he was appointed Governor of

Miyagi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Miyagi Prefecture has a population of 2,305,596 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Miyagi Prefecture borders Iwate Prefecture to the north, Akita Prefecture to the nort ...

. In 1931 he became Director of the Public Works Bureau, and Governor of

Hiroshima Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Hiroshima Prefecture has a population of 2,811,410 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 8,479 km² (3,274 sq mi). Hiroshima Prefecture borders Okayama ...

. In 1935, he was appointed Governor of

Hyōgo Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Hyōgo Prefecture has a population of 5,469,762 () and has a geographic area of . Hyōgo Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the east, Osaka Prefecture to the southeast, an ...

. In 1936, Yuzawa was appointed Vice Minister of the Home Ministry. In 1938, under the

Hirota Kōki Hirota may refer to: *Hirota (surname) *Hirota, Ehime, a former village located in Iyo District, Ehime, Japan *Hirota Station, a train station in Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan *Hirota Shrine {{Disambiguation ...

administration, Yuzawa was dispatched to China, to assist in the establishment of the Provisional Government of the Republic of China. While working closely with the

Japanese Northern China Area Army The was an area army of the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War. History The Japanese North China Area Army was formed on August 21, 1937 under the control of the Imperial General Headquarters. It was transferred to th ...

, he established close connections with its chief-of-staff, General Akira Mutō. In 1940, he was appointed chairman of the ''Dai-Nippon Sangyō Jōhōkokukai'', a war-time umbrella organization encompassing all of the former labor unions, which were now under government control. On February 7, 1942, Yuzawa was appointed Home Minister in the Tōjō administration. Tōjō had originally insisted on holding the post concurrently with that of Prime Minister during the first months 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 ...

, fearing that the powerful security apparatus controlled by the Home Ministry could pose a threat to his administration should the war situation deteriorate. As Home Minister, Yuzawa organized government support for 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 ...

,'' which won a landslide victory in the 1942 General Election, but had to contend with the increasing radicalization of the paramilitary youth wing of the party, the ''

Yokusan Sonendan The was an elite paramilitary youth branch of the ''Imperial Rule Assistance Association'' political party of wartime Empire of Japan established in January 1942, and based on the model of the German Sturmabteilung (stormtroopers). Members receiv ...

.'' Shillony. Page 32–33 He also oversaw the creation of

Tokyo Metropolis Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

by the merger of

Tokyo City was a Cities of Japan, municipality in Japan and part of Tokyo Prefecture (1868–1943), Tokyo-fu which existed from 1 May 1889 until its merger with its prefecture on 1 July 1943. The historical boundaries of Tokyo City are now occupied by ...

with

Tokyo-fu Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

in 1942. From April 1943 until the end of World War II, Yuzawa was appointed to a seat in the House of Peers. After the

surrender of Japan The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, bringing the war's hostilities to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy ...

, Yuzawa was (along with all other members of the wartime government),

purged In history, religion and political science, a purge is a position removal or execution of people who are considered undesirable by those in power from a government, another organization, their team leaders, or society as a whole. A group undertak ...

by orders of the American occupation authorities. He subsequently served as honorary chairman of the Central Social Insurance Medical Council. In 1959, he ran for a seat in the post-war

upper house An upper house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smalle ...

of the

Diet of Japan The is the national legislature of Japan. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives (, ''Shūgiin''), and an upper house, the House of Councillors (, '' Sangiin''). Both houses are directly elected under a paralle ...

under 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 ...

ticket and served for a single term. He died in 1963.

References

* * Hunter, Janet. '' A Concise Dictionary of Modern Japanese History ''. University of California Press (1994).

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yuzawa, Michio 1888 births 1963 deaths Politicians from Tochigi Prefecture University of Tokyo alumni Government ministers of Japan Ministers of Home Affairs of Japan Members of the House of Peers (Japan) Liberal Party (Japan, 1945) politicians Members of the House of Councillors (Japan) Governors of Miyagi Prefecture Governors of Hiroshima Governors of Hyōgo Prefecture Japanese fascists