was a Japanese lawyer, politician and cabinet minister noted for his prosecution of high-profile cases of political crimes and

thought crime Thoughtcrime is a word coined by George Orwell in his 1949 dystopian novel ''Nineteen Eighty-Four''. It describes a person's politically unorthodox thoughts, such as beliefs and doubts that contradict the tenets of Ingsoc (English Socialism) ...

s under the

Peace Preservation Law The was a Japanese law enacted on April 22, 1925, with the aim of allowing the Special Higher Police to more effectively suppress socialists and communists. In addition to criminalizing forming an association with the aim of altering the ''kokuta ...

s of the 1930s

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 ...

Biography

Shiono was a native of

Kanda Kanda may refer to: People * Kanda (surname) *Kanda Bongo Man (born 1955), Congolese soukous musician Places * Kanda, Tokyo, an area in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan **Kanda Station (Tokyo), a railway station in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo * Kanda River, a ri ...

in Tokyo (now part of

Chiyoda, Tokyo is a special ward located in central Tokyo, Japan. It is known as Chiyoda City in English.Profile< ...

) and was born as Shunpei Yamadera, the third son of an ex-samurai of

Matsushiro Domain 300px, Matsushiro Castle Part of the Matsushiro domain's Edo estate, relocated to Kamakura and used as a hall at Ryuko-ji Temple was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan. It is located in Shinano Province, Hon ...

who had become a bureaucrat in the

Meiji government The was the government that was formed by politicians of the Satsuma Domain and Chōshū Domain in the 1860s. The Meiji government was the early government of the Empire of Japan. Politicians of the Meiji government were known as the Meiji o ...

’s

Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...

. As his father died when he was still a child, he was adopted by his uncle, Shiono Giken, who was chief prosecutor of the

Tokyo District Court is a district court located at 1-1-4 Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan.Supreme Court of Japan websit東京地方裁判所の紹介Retrieved on August 7, 2011 See also *Judicial system of Japan The judiciary (also known as the judicial sys ...

. He graduated in July 1906 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 ...

was a law degree, and had specialized in the study of German laws. The same year, he entered the Ministry of Justice. He subsequently served as substitute prosecutor at the Shizuoka District Court, deputy prosecutor at the Osaka District Court, and prosecutor at the Tokyo District Court in October 1927. Shiono conducted a thorough reform of the court, firing fifteen prosecutors he felt to be incompetent, and zealously pursuing a number of sensational political bribery cases involving high-ranking government officials, regardless of the political party affiliation of the suspects. page 49–50 He also presided of the massive arrests of communists and suspected communist sympathizers in the late 1920s. page 115 Shiono was subsequently promoted to become head of the Prison Bureau in 1930, during his time he implemented prison reforms, such as the abolition of prison labor in mines and supporting efforts to “reform” people charged with thought crimes under the anti-Communist

s. page 90, 115 Shiono subsequently became prosecutor of the Court of Appeals, followed by chief prosecutor of the Tokyo District Court. Under his tenure, the prosecuted the Teijin Scandal, which brought down the government of Prime Minister Saito Makoto. page 253 In December 1936, Shiono was appointed Vice-chief Prosecutor of the

Supreme Court of Judicature of Japan The was the highest judicial body in the Empire of Japan. It existed from 1875 to 1947. Organized by the Ministry of Justice in 1875, the Japanese Supreme Court of Judicature was modeled after Court of Cassation in France. The court was composed ...

. Shiono served as

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...

under the

Hayashi Hayashi (wikt:林, 林, literally "forest, woods"), is the 19th most common Japanese surname. It shares the same character as the Chinese surname Lin (surname), Lin. Notable people with the surname include: *, Japanese synchronized swimmer *, Ja ...

, 1st

Konoe Konoe (written: 近衛 or 近衞) is a Japanese surname. It is sometimes spelled "Konoye" based on historical kana usage. Notable people with the surname include: *, the 76th emperor of Japan *, Japanese politician and journalist *, Japanese politi ...

and Hiranuma administrations from February 1937 to August 1939. He was concurrently Minister of Communications in the Hiranuma administration from January to April 1939. As Justice Minister, Shiono was noted for taking concrete action to increase police training in investigative methods, and to curb cases of police brutality and torture In 1946, along with all members of the wartime Japanese government, Shiono was purged from public office and was taken into custody by the American occupation authorities and held at

Sugamo Prison Sugamo Prison (''Sugamo Kōchi-sho'', Kyūjitai: , Shinjitai: ) was a prison in Tokyo, Japan. It was located in the district of Ikebukuro, which is now part of the Toshima ward of Tokyo, Japan. History Sugamo Prison was originally built in 1 ...

. However, he was released without ever being formally charged.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shiono, Suehiko 1880 births 1949 deaths Japanese prosecutors People from Chiyoda, Tokyo Politicians from Tokyo University of Tokyo alumni Government ministers of Japan