Iwao Yamazaki
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was a lawyer, politician and cabinet minister in the 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 ...
of
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 ...
. His brother, Tatsunosuke Yamazaki was also a politician and cabinet minister, and his nephew Heihachiro Yamazaki was later a prominent member of the post-war Liberal-Democratic Party.


Biography

Yamazaki was born in
Ōkawa, Fukuoka is a city located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city was founded on April 1, 1954. The name means 'big river'. As of January 31, 2012, the city has an estimated population of 37,579, with 13,102 households and a population density of 1,117. ...
. After his graduation in 1918 from the law school 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 ...
, 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 subsequently transferred to the Ministry of Health, rising to the post of Director of Social Services. In 1938, he was appointed governor of
Shizuoka Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Shizuoka Prefecture has a population of 3,637,998 and has a geographic area of . Shizuoka Prefecture borders Kanagawa Prefecture to the east, Yamanashi Prefecture to the northea ...
. He subsequently returned to the Home Ministry, and was Director of Public Works, followed by Director of Public Safety. In 1940, succeeded
Genki Abe was a lawyer, police bureaucrat and cabinet minister in early Shōwa period Japan. Biography Abe was born in Kumage District, Yamaguchi, in what is now part of the town of Hirao, as the eldest son of an ex-samurai. After his graduation in 1920 ...
as Superintendent-General of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police, the highest-ranking office in the police administration. From 1942-1943, he served as Deputy Home Minister under the Tōjō administration, and also from 1944-1945 under the Suzuki Kantarō administration. In mid-1944, he was assigned as civilian administrator of Japanese-occupied
Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...
, where he encouraged a policy of Japanization of the local inhabitants through education to bolster support for Imperial Japan’s war efforts. Following 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 ...
, Yamazaki was appointed Home Minister under the Higashikuni administration. During his tenure, he attempted to ban publication of a photograph Emperor
Hirohito Emperor , commonly known in English-speaking countries by his personal name , was the 124th emperor of Japan, ruling from 25 December 1926 until his death in 1989. Hirohito and his wife, Empress Kōjun, had two sons and five daughters; he was ...
taken together with General
Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was C ...
, on the grounds that this was demeaning to the imperial dignity. This action drew the wrath of the occupation authorities, who were attempting to portray Hirohito in more “human” terms. He also strongly opposed the decision by the occupation authorities to release
political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although n ...
s held under the Peace Preservation Laws, stating in an interview with the ''
Japan Times ''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc.. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo. History ''The Japan Times'' was launched by ...
'' newspaper on 4 October 1945 that anyone advocating any changes in the present political structure, of the status of the Emperor was a
communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
who should be arrested. He resigned together with the rest of the cabinet in protest of the repeal of the Peace Preservation Laws on 9 October 1945 and was immediately placed on the purged list of those banned from holding government office. Following the end of the occupation, Yamazaki was elected to a seat
lower house A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...
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 ...
in the 1952 General Election 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 ...
. During the debate over the adoption of the post-war
Constitution of Japan The Constitution of Japan (Shinjitai: , Kyūjitai: , Hepburn: ) is the constitution of Japan and the supreme law in the state. Written primarily by American civilian officials working under the Allied occupation of Japan, the constitution r ...
, he publicly speculated that it might be better for Japan to become a
protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a State (polity), state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over m ...
of the United States.Dore, ''Japan, Internationalism, and the UN'', page 57 Yamazaki was associated with the politically conservative wing of the party after it became the Liberal Democratic Party and was a leading member of the faction led by Mitsujiro Ishii. He served as chairman of the budgetary committee in 1957. In 1960, he was appointed to the cabinet of Prime Minister
Hayato Ikeda was a Japanese bureaucrat and later politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1960 to 1964. He is best known for his Income Doubling Plan, which promised to double Japan's GDP in ten years. Ikeda is also known for repairing U.S.-J ...
as
Minister of Home Affairs An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...
. Yamazaki also served as
Chairman of the National Public Safety Commission The is a member of the Cabinet of Japan and is the presiding officer of the National Public Safety Commission, which is the parent agency of the National Police Agency. The chairperson holds the rank of minister of state, and is a statutory memb ...
. He was forced to resign in the aftermath of the assassination of Inejiro Asanuma, president of the
Japan Socialist Party The was a socialist and progressive political party in Japan that existed from 1945 to 1996. The party was founded as the Social Democratic Party of Japan by members of several proletarian parties that existed before World War II, including ...
during a televised speech. Yamazaki retired thereafter from public life, and died in 1968 at the age of 73.


References

*Dore, R.P. '' Japan, Internationalism and the UN''. Routledge. *Hunter, Janet. '' A Concise Dictionary of Modern Japanese History ''. University of California Press (1994). *Large, Stephen. ''Emperor Hirohito and Showa Japan: A Political Biography''. Routledge (1992). *Nishi, Toshio. ''Unconditional Democracy: Education and Politics in Occupied Japan, 1945-1952''. Hoover Press (2004). *


External links

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Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yamazaki, Iwao 1894 births 1963 deaths Politicians from Fukuoka Prefecture University of Tokyo alumni Government ministers of Japan Ministers of Home Affairs of Japan Liberal Party (Japan, 1945) politicians Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) politicians Governors of Shizuoka Prefecture