was a Japanese diplomat and politician. He was born in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

, graduated from the Tokyo Higher Commercial School (東京高等商業学校, ''Tōkyō Kōtō Shōgyō Gakkō'', now

Hitotsubashi University is a national university located in Tokyo, Japan. It has campuses in Kunitachi, Kodaira, and Chiyoda. One of the top 9 Designated National University in Japan, Hitotsubashi is a relatively small institution specialized solely in social sciences ...

) in 1904, attended the consul course of the same institute, and finished studying there in 1905.

Biography

He was born on October 30, 1882, in Osaka. He was an active politician and diplomat. In 1905, he passed the Foreign Service exam and started to work at the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

. After serving as Mukden Consul General and executive secretary of the

London Naval Treaty The London Naval Treaty, officially the Treaty for the Limitation and Reduction of Naval Armament, was an agreement between the United Kingdom, Japan, France, Italy, and the United States that was signed on 22 April 1930. Seeking to address is ...

, he served as Imperial Japan's Ambassador to

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

in 1930 and to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in 1933. He became

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

(

Senjūrō Hayashi was a Japanese politician and general. He served as Imperial Japanese Army Commander of the Japanese Korean Army during the Mukden Incident and the invasion of Manchuria. He briefly served as Prime Minister of Japan in 1937. Early life Hayas ...

Cabinet) in March 1937, and resigned in June 1937, then was assigned as Diplomatic Adviser,

, under 1st

Fumimaro Konoye Duke, Prince was a Japanese politician and Prime Minister of Japan, prime minister. During his tenure, he presided over the Second Sino-Japanese War, Japanese invasion of China in 1937 and the breakdown in relations with the United States, w ...

Cabinet and

Hideki Tojo Hideki Tojo (, ', December 30, 1884 – December 23, 1948) was a Japanese politician, general of the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA), and convicted war criminal who served as prime minister of Japan and president of the Imperial Rule Assistan ...

Cabinet. He served from 1942 as the last Imperial Japanese Ambassador to the

U.S.S.R. The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

before the

Soviet invasion of Manchuria The Soviet invasion of Manchuria, formally known as the Manchurian strategic offensive operation (russian: Манчжурская стратегическая наступательная операция, Manchzhurskaya Strategicheskaya Nastu ...

, upon the request of the Minister of Foreign Affairs,

Shigenori Tōgō (10 December 1882 – 23 July 1950), was Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Empire of Japan at both the start and the end of the Axis–Allied conflict during World War II. He also served as Minister of Colonial Affairs in 1941, and assume ...

. As Minister, he worked hard to avert war at the Imperial Diet. one of his missions as Japan's Ambassador to the U.S.S.R. was to seek peace with the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

through the assistance of the U.S.S.R. due to

Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact The , also known as the , was a non-aggression pact between the Soviet Union and the Empire of Japan signed on April 13, 1941, two years after the conclusion of the Soviet-Japanese Border War. The agreement meant that for most of World War II, ...

. However, Satō judged and reported to Tokyo that it was unlikely that the U.S.S.R. would assist Imperial Japan, because it was highly likely that Japan would lose the war, and urged an end the war as early as possible. On August 8, 1945, he was invited to the

Kremlin The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty, Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of th ...

by the U.S.S.R. Foreign Minister,

Vyacheslav Molotov Vyacheslav Mikhaylovich Molotov. ; (;. 9 March Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O._S._25_February.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style dates">O. S. 25 February">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dat ...

, and received the Soviet

declaration of war A declaration of war is a formal act by which one state (polity), state announces existing or impending war activity against another. The declaration is a performative speech act (or the signing of a document) by an authorized party of a nationa ...

against Imperial Japan. After the war, he was elected to the

House of Councillors The is the upper house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Representatives is the lower house. The House of Councillors is the successor to the pre-war House of Peers. If the two houses disagree on matters of the budget, treaties, ...

of the National Diet of Japan in 1947, and served as a

President of the House of Councillors The is the presiding officer of the House of Councillors of Japan, and together with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President is also the head of the legislative branch of Japan. The President is elected by members of the Ho ...

from 1949 to 1953.List of President on the Web site of House of Councillors in Japanese
/ref> He died on December 18, 1971, in Tokyo.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sato, Naotake 1882 births 1971 deaths Politicians from Osaka Prefecture Members of the House of Councillors (Japan) Foreign ministers of Japan Ambassadors of Japan to the Soviet Union Hitotsubashi University alumni Recipients of the Order of the Sacred Treasure, 1st class Grand Cordons of the Order of the Rising Sun Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun with Paulownia Flowers Ambassadors of Japan to Belgium Ambassadors of Japan to France Presidents of the House of Councillors (Japan)