was a Japanese politician who served as Governor of
Tokyo
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 ...
from 1967 to 1979. He is one of the best known
socialist
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
figures in modern Japanese history.
Early life
Minobe was born in Tokyo. His father,
Tatsukichi Minobe
was a Japanese statesman and scholar of constitutional law. His interpretation of the role of the monarchy in the pre-war Empire of Japan was a source of considerable controversy in the increasingly radicalized political environment of Japan i ...
, was a noted constitutional scholar, while his mother Tamiko was the eldest daughter of mathematician, educator, and politician
Dairoku Kikuchi
Baron was a Japanese mathematician, educator, and education administrator during the Meiji era.
Biography
Early life and family
Kikuchi was born in Edo (present-day Tokyo), as the second son of Mitsukuri Shūhei, a professor at Bansho Shi ...
.
He graduated from the law faculty of
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 ...
in 1927 and lectured in the agriculture faculty from 1929 to 1932. In 1935, he took a faculty position at
Hosei University
is a private university based in Tokyo, Japan.
The university originated in a school of law, Tōkyō Hōgakusha (, i.e. Tokyo association of law), established in 1880, and the following year renamed Tōkyō Hōgakkō (, i.e. Tokyo school of law ...
.
In 1945, Minobe became an editorial writer for the newspaper ''
Mainichi Shimbun
The is one of the major newspapers in Japan, published by
In addition to the ''Mainichi Shimbun'', which is printed twice a day in several local editions, Mainichi also operates an English language news website called ''The Mainichi'' (previ ...
''. He was chosen to head the Cabinet Statistics Office in 1946.
Governor of Tokyo
In 1967, Minobe ran as the Communist and Socialist candidate for Governor of Tokyo. He defeated his two rivals,
Rikkyo University
, also known as Saint Paul's University, is a private university, in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, Japan.
Rikkyo is known as one of the six leading universities in the field of sports in Tokyo (東京六大学 "Big Six" — Rikkyo University, University of ...
president
Masatoshi Matsushita
Masatoshi (written: , , , , , , , , , , , , or ) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include:
*, Japanese politician
*, Japanese film director
*, Japanese politician
*, Japanese comedian
*, Japanese samurai
*, Japanes ...
DSP
DSP may refer to:
Computing
* Digital signal processing, the mathematical manipulation of an information signal
* Digital signal processor, a microprocessor designed for digital signal processing
* Yamaha DSP-1, a proprietary digital signal ...
) and Shibusawa Shipping head Ken'ichi Abe (nominee of
Komeito
, formerly New Komeito and abbreviated NKP, is a conservative political party in Japan founded by lay members of the Buddhist Japanese new religious movement Soka Gakkai in 1964. Since 2012, it has served in government as the junior coalitio ...
).
Among his many policy achievements, he is best known for:
*providing free health care for the elderly
*enactment of pollution controls
*converting streets in heavily trafficked areas to
pedestrian-only use
Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town reserved for pedestrian-only use and in whi ...
*allowing the construction of the Korean School in Tokyo and exempting its owner,
Chongryon
The General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, " ''
, from local taxation
*ending government sponsorship to
Korakuen Hall
is a famous sports arena in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan, which has hosted many notable boxing, professional wrestling, kickboxing, mixed martial arts and Lethwei matches.
History
On April 16, 1962, the Korakuen Hall was officially opened with ...
race track
A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also u ...
s
In 1971, Minobe won re-election, defeating LDP candidate
Akira Hatano
is a male Japanese politician.
He served as a Minister of Justice and occupied a seat in the House of Councillors.
Akira's personal intimacy with Kakuei Tanaka is well known.
Hatano ran for Governor of Tokyo in 1971, but he was defeated by i ...
. He was re-elected for a third term in 1975, with the backing of the Socialists, Communists, and Komeito. (His defeated rival, LDP candidate
Shintarō Ishihara
was a Japanese politician and writer who was Governor of Tokyo from 1999 to 2012. Being the former leader of the radical right Japan Restoration Party, he was one of the most prominent ultranationalists in modern Japanese politics. An ultranat ...
, later served as a cabinet minister and eventually won the Tokyo governorship in the 1999 election.)
Many of Minobe's policies toward
Chongryon
The General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, " ''
, the
Zainichi Korean
comprise ethnic Koreans who have permanent residency status in Japan or who have become Japanese citizens, and whose immigration to Japan originated before 1945, or who are descendants of those immigrants. They are a group distinct from South ...
group affiliated with
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...
were later undone by Ishihara in the aftermath of the revelation of
North Korean abductions of Japanese
Abductions of Japanese citizens from Japan by agents of the North Korean government took place during a period of six years from 1977 to 1983. Although only 17 Japanese (eight men and nine women) are officially recognized by the Japanese governm ...
.
Later life
Minobe refused to run for a fourth term in 1979. He ran for the House of Councillors in 1980 and won a seat. He remained a member of the Diet until his death in 1984.