Viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicia ...

was a Japanese naval officer and politician. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)
"Saitō Makoto"
in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 809. Upon distinguishing himself during his command of two cruisers in the

First Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 1894 – 17 April 1895) was a conflict between China and Japan primarily over influence in Korea. After more than six months of unbroken successes by Japanese land and naval forces and the loss of the ...

, Saitō rose rapidly to the rank of rear admiral by 1900. He was promoted to vice admiral during the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

in 1904. After serving as Minister of the Navy from 1906 to 1914, Saitō held the position of

Governor-General of Korea Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

from 1919 to 1927 and again from 1929 to 1931. When Inukai Tsuyoshi was assassinated in May 1932, he took his place as

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

and served one term in office. Saitō returned to public service as Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal in February 1935 but was assassinated only a year later during the February 26 Incident. Saitō was the last former prime minister to be assassinated until 2022, with the assassination of

Shinzo Abe Shinzo Abe ( ; ja, 安倍晋三, Hepburn: , ; 21 September 1954 – 8 July 2022) was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 20 ...

Early life

Korekiyo Takahashi and Makoto Saito last pic together

Saitō was born in Mizusawa Domain, Mutsu Province (part of present-day Ōshū City Iwate Prefecture), as the son of a ''

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

'' of the Mizusawa Clan. In 1879, he graduated from the 6th class

Imperial Japanese Naval Academy The was a school established to train line officers for the Imperial Japanese Navy. It was originally located in Nagasaki, moved to Yokohama in 1866, and was relocated to Tsukiji, Tokyo in 1869. It moved to Etajima, Hiroshima in 1888. Students st ...

, ranking third out of a class of 17 cadets. He was commissioned an

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

on September 8, 1882, and promoted to sub-lieutenant on February 25, 1884.

Military career

In 1884, Saitō went to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

for four years to study as a military attaché. Promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

on July 14, 1886; in 1888, after returning to Japan, he served as a member of the

Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff The was the highest organ within the Imperial Japanese Navy. In charge of planning and operations, it was headed by an Admiral headquartered in Tokyo. History Created in 1893, the Navy General Staff took over operational (as opposed to adminis ...

. After his promotion to

lieutenant commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding ran ...

on December 20, 1893, he served as executive officer on the cruiser and battleship . During the

, Saitō served as captain of the cruisers and . He received rapid promotions to commander on December 1, 1897 and to captain on December 27. On November 10, 1898, he became Vice Minister of the Navy, and was promoted to rear admiral on May 20, 1900

Political career

Saitō was again Vice Navy Minister at the start of the

. He was promoted to vice admiral on June 6, 1904. He was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun (1st class) in 1906. After the end of the war, he served as Navy Minister for 8 years, from 1906 to 1914, during which time he continually strove for expansion of the navy. On September 21, 1907, Saitō was ennobled with the title of ''danshaku'' ( baron) under the ''

kazoku The was the hereditary peerage of the Empire of Japan, which existed between 1869 and 1947. They succeeded the feudal lords () and court nobles (), but were abolished with the 1947 constitution. Kazoku ( 華族) should not be confused with ...

'' peerage system. On October 16, 1912, he was promoted to full admiral. However, on April 16, 1914, Saitō was forced to resign from his post as Navy Minister due implications of his involvement in the Siemens scandal, and officially entered the reserves. In September 1919, Saitō was appointed as the third Japanese Governor-General of Korea. Rising to the post right after the culmination of the

Korean independence movement The Korean independence movement was a military and diplomatic campaign to achieve the independence of Korea from Empire of Japan, Japan. After the Japanese Japan–Korea Treaty of 1910, annexation of Korea in 1910, Korea's domestic resistance pe ...

, he was subject to an immediate assassination attempt by Kang Woo-kyu, a radical Korean nationalist. He served as governor-general of Korea twice—in 1919–1927, and again in 1929–1931, implementing a series of measures to moderate Japan's policies on Koreans. He was awarded the

Order of the Paulownia Flowers The is an order presented by the Japanese government. Established in 1888 during the Meiji Restoration as the highest award in the Order of the Rising Sun; however, since 2003 it has been an Order in its own right. The only grade of the order i ...

in 1924. On April 29, 1925, his title was elevated to that of ''shishaku'' (

viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicia ...

). In 1927, Saitō was a member of the Japanese delegation at the

Geneva Naval Conference The Geneva Naval Conference was a conference held to discuss naval arms limitation, held in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1927. The aim of the conference was to extend the existing limits on naval construction which had been agreed in the Washington N ...

on Disarmament, and he later became a privy councillor.

Prime Minister

Following the assassination of

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

Inukai Tsuyoshi Inukai Tsuyoshi ( ja, 犬養毅, 4 June 1855 – 15 May 1932) was a Japanese politician, cabinet minister, and Prime Minister of Japan from 1931 to his assassination in 1932. Inukai was Japan's second oldest prime minister while serving, as he ...

on May 15, 1932 by fanatical navy officers who thought Inukai far too conciliatory (the May 15 Incident), Prince

Saionji Kinmochi Prince was a Japanese politician and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1906 to 1908 and from 1911 to 1912. He was elevated from marquis to prince in 1920. As the last surviving member of Japan's ''genrō,'' he was the most i ...

, one of the Emperor's closest and strongest advisors, attempted to stop the slide towards a military take-over of the government. In a compromise move, Saitō was chosen to be Inukai's successor.

Sadao Araki Baron was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army before and during World War II. As one of the principal nationalist right-wing political theorists in the Empire of Japan, he was regarded as the leader of the radical faction within the polit ...

remained as

War Minister A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in so ...

and immediately began making demands on the new government. During Saitō's tenure, Japan recognized the independence of Manchukuo, and withdrew from the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...

. Saitō's administration was one of the longer-serving ones of the inter-war period, and it continued until July 8, 1934, when the cabinet resigned en masse because of the Teijin Incident bribery scandal.

Keisuke Okada was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy, politician and Prime Minister of Japan from 1934 to 1936. Biography Early life Okada was born on 20 January 1868, in Fukui Prefecture, the son of a samurai of the Fukui Domain. He attended the 15th ...

succeeded as prime minister. Saitō continued to be an important figure in politics as Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal from December 26, 1935, but was assassinated during the February 26 Incident of 1936 at his home in

Yotsuya is a neighborhood in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. It is a former ward (四谷区 ''Yotsuya-ku'') in the now-defunct Tokyo City. In 1947, when the 35 wards of Tokyo were reorganized into 23, it was merged with Ushigome ward of Tokyo City and Yodo ...

, Tokyo. Takahashi, his predecessor, was shot dead the same day, along with several other top-rank politicians targeted by the rebels. Saitō was posthumously awarded the Supreme

Order of the Chrysanthemum is Japan's highest order. The Grand Cordon of the Order was established in 1876 by Emperor Meiji of Japan; the Collar of the Order was added on 4 January 1888. Unlike its European counterparts, the order may be conferred posthumously. Apart fr ...

Honours

''From the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia''

Peerages

* Baron (21 September 1907) * Viscount (9 April 1925)

Decorations

* Order of the Sacred Treasure, Fourth Class (20 June 1899; Fifth Class: 25 November 1896; Sixth Class: 26 May 1893) * Order of the Golden Kite, Second Class (1 April 1906; Fourth Class: 23 May 1896) * Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun (1 April 1906; Second Class: 27 December 1901; Sixth Class: 23 May 1896) * Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun with Paulownia Flowers (11 February 1924) * Grand Cordon of the Order of the Chrysanthemum (26 February 1936; posthumous)

Foreign decorations

* : Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB) (15 May 1906) * :

Order of the Red Eagle The Order of the Red Eagle (german: Roter Adlerorden) was an order of chivalry of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was awarded to both military personnel and civilians, to recognize valor in combat, excellence in military leadership, long and faithful se ...

, Knight 1st Class (26 February 1907) * : Knight Grand Class of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus (1 July 1907) * : Grand Officer of the

Legion d'Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...

(17 December 1907; Commander: 4 April 1901) * : Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau ( nl, Orde van Oranje-Nassau, links=no) is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has ...

(31 May 1911) *

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

: ** Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Sylvester (17 January 1922) ** Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of Pius IX The Order of Pope Pius IX ( it, Ordine di Pio IX), also referred as the Pian Order ( it, Ordine Piano), is a papal order of knighthood originally founded by Pope Pius IV in 1560. Currently, it is the highest honor conferred by the Holy See (bein ...

(23 January 1932)Acta Apostolicae Sedis: Commentarium Officiale, Annus XXIV - Vol. XXIV, 1932, p. 104.
/ref>

Notes

References

* * * /; /
OCLC 49704795
* /
OCLC 44090600
* /; /
OCLC 45172740

External links

*

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saito, Makoto 1858 births 1936 deaths 20th-century prime ministers of Japan Prime Ministers of Japan Government ministers of Japan Ministers of the Imperial Japanese Navy Governors-General of Korea Imperial Japanese Navy admirals Military personnel from Iwate Prefecture Kazoku Japanese military personnel of the First Sino-Japanese War Japanese military personnel of the Russo-Japanese War Assassinated Japanese politicians Assassinated military personnel Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Recipients of the Order of the Paulownia Flowers Recipients of the Order of the Golden Kite, 2nd class Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Pope Pius IX Knights of the Order of St. Sylvester Assassinated nobility Deaths by firearm in Japan People murdered in Tokyo Foreign ministers of Japan Politicians from Iwate Prefecture Japanese naval attachés Imperial Japanese Naval Academy alumni