was a

legal scholar Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the a ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and

cabinet minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ' prime minister', ' p ...

in the pre-war

Empire of Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...

. He is also the author of the “Matsumoto Draft”, a proposal for revision of the

Constitution of the Empire of Japan The Constitution of the Empire of Japan (Kyūjitai: ; Shinjitai: , ), known informally as the Meiji Constitution (, ''Meiji Kenpō''), was the constitution of the Empire of Japan which was proclaimed on February 11, 1889, and remained in fo ...

in the immediate post-war period.

Early life and education

Matsumoto was born in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

to an ex-

samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

family. He graduated from

Tokyo Imperial University The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public university, public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several Edo peri ...

and was accepted into the

Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce The was a cabinet-level ministry in the government of the Empire of Japan from 1881 to 1925. It was briefly recreated as the during World War II. History The original Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce was created on April 7, 1881, initially ...

as a bureaucrat, before returning to Tokyo Imperial University as an assistant professor in 1903. He travelled to Europe from 1906 to 1909 for further studies and returned to Tokyo Imperial University in 1910 to join as a full professor.

Career

In 1919, Matsumoto accepted a post on the board of directors of the

South Manchurian Railway Company The South Manchuria Railway (; ), officially , Mantetsu () or Mantie () for short, was a large of the Empire of Japan whose primary function was the operation of railways on the Dalian– Fengtian (Mukden)–Changchun (called Xinjing from ...

and eventually rose to the position of vice-president. From 1923, under the second Yamamoto and the Kiyoura administrations, he served as Assistant Director-General of the Cabinet Legislation Bureau. Matsumoto was elected to the Imperial Academy in 1924 and also became the President of

Kansai University , abbreviated as or , is a Private school, private non-sectarian and coeducational university with its main campus in Suita, Osaka, Suita, Osaka Prefecture, Osaka, Japan and two sub-campuses in Sakai, Osaka, Sakai and Takatsuki, Osaka. Founded as ...

the same year. In 1934,

Prime Minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Saito Makoto asked that Matsumoto replace Kumakichi Nakajima as Minister of Commerce and Industry. In 1938, he supervised the implementation of a new

commercial law Commercial law (or business law), which is also known by other names such as mercantile law or trade law depending on jurisdiction; is the body of law that applies to the rights, relations, and conduct of Legal person, persons and organizations ...

. Matsumoto returned to the government after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

under the Shidehara administration as a

Minister of State Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...

, in charge of the “Committee to Study Constitutional Problems” established by order of General

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War, achieving the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. He served with dis ...

to study constitutional amendment, informally known as the “Matsumoto Committee”. However, the Committee soon decided that only minor changes were needed. Their proposals (i.e. the “Matsumoto Proposal”) were immediately rejected as being too conservative, and a draft of what later became the post-war

Constitution of Japan The Constitution of Japan is the supreme law of Japan. Written primarily by American civilian officials during the occupation of Japan after World War II, it was adopted on 3 November 1946 and came into effect on 3 May 1947, succeeding the Meij ...

prepared by the

Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers The Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (), or SCAP, was the title held by General Douglas MacArthur during the United States-led Allied occupation of Japan following World War II. It issued SCAP Directives (alias SCAPIN, SCAP Index Number) ...

was issued instead.Haley. ''The Spirit of Japanese Law''. page 108

Later life and death

Matsumoto then went into the private sector, opening a legal office, providing legal advice on commercial issues, and acting as a

statutory auditor Statutory auditor is a title used in various countries to refer to a person or entity with an auditing role, whose appointment is mandated by the terms of a statute. World usage A "statutory audit" is a legally required review of the accuracy ...

. He also served as a member of the organizing committee for the

Tokyo Symphony Orchestra The (TSO) is a Japanese orchestra, administratively based in Kawasaki. The orchestra offers subscription concert series at its home, the Muza Kawasaki Symphony Hall and at Suntory Hall, the Concert Hall of the Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, ...

. Matsumoto died in 1954 and was posthumously awarded the

Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese honors system, Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge feat ...

, 1st class. His grave is at the

Tama Cemetery in Tokyo is the largest municipal cemetery in Japan. It is split between the cities of Fuchū, Tokyo, Fuchu and Koganei, Tokyo, Koganei within the Tokyo Metropolis. First established in April 1923 as , it was redesignated Tama Cemetery in 1935. ...

in Tokyo.

References

*Johnson, Chalmers. ''Miti and the Japanese Miracle: The Growth of Industrial Policy : 1925-1975''. Stanford University Press (1982) *Thiel, Markus. ''The 'militant Democracy' Principle in Modern Democracies''. Ashgate Publishing (2009) *Haley, John Owen. ''The Spirit of Japanese Law ''. University of Georgia Press (2006) *Ito, Takeo. ''Life Along the South Manchurian Railway: The Memoirs of Itō Takeo''. M.E. Sharp (1988)

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matsumoto, Joji 1877 births 1954 deaths Politicians from Tokyo Government ministers of Japan Members of the House of Peers (Japan) University of Tokyo alumni Academic staff of the University of Tokyo Academic staff of Kansai University