was a Japanese media proprietor and politician. He was the owner of the ''
Yomiuri Shimbun
The is a Japanese newspaper published in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, Fukuoka, Fukuoka, and other major Japanese cities. It is one of the five major newspapers in Japan; the other four are ''The Asahi Shimbun'', the ''Chunichi Shimbun'', the ''Ma ...
'', founder of the
Yomiuri Giants
The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They h ...
and the
Nippon Television Network Corporation.
After a career as a police officer, Shoriki acquired the bankrupt ''Yomiuri Shimbun'' in 1924. Under his management it would become one of the major newspapers in Japan. Shoriki also popularised professional baseball in Japan during this time and founded the Yomiuri Giants. After the war Shoriki was arrested as a war criminal, but the charges were dropped in 1947. He founded Japan's first commercial television station,
Nippon Television Network Corporation in 1952.
Shoriki also became a prominent supporter of
nuclear power in Japan
Nuclear power generated 5.55% of Japan's electricity in 2023.
The country's nuclear power industry was heavily influenced by the Fukushima accident, caused by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. Before 2011, Japan was generating up to 30% of ...
. In 1955 he was elected to the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
. Shoriki became the first chairman of the
Atomic Energy Commission under Prime Minister
Ichiro Hatoyama and
Chairman of the National Public Safety Commission under Prime Minister
Nobusuke Kishi
was a Japanese bureaucrat and politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan, prime minister of Japan from 1957 to 1960. He is remembered for his exploitative economic management of the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo in China in the 1930s, ...
.
For his varied activities he received several appellations, such as the "father of Japanese professional baseball," the "father of Japanese private broadcasting" and the “father of Japanese nuclear power”.
Early life and career
Shōriki was born in
Daimon
The daimon (), also spelled daemon (meaning "god", "godlike", "power", "fate"), denotes an "unknown superfactor", which can be either good or hostile.
In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology a daimon was imagined to be a lesser ...
,
Toyama. He graduated from
Tokyo Imperial University Law School, where he also was a competitive
judoka
is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...
in the
Nanatei league. He was one of the most successful
judo
is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...
masters, receiving the extremely rare rank of
10th Dan after his death.
After graduating, Shoriki joined the
Home Ministry
An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a Ministry (government department), government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law e ...
in 1913 and worked at the
Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department
The , known locally as simply the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), is the prefectural police of Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. Founded in 1874, the TMPD is the largest police force in Japan by number of officers, with a staff of more than 4 ...
, rising high in the ranks. As chief secretary of the Metropolitan Police Department, he was involved in the large-scale crackdown on the Japanese Communist Party in June 1923.
["Matsutaro Shoriki: Japan’s Citizen Kane,"]
''The Economist'' (Dec 22, 2012).
After the
Toranomon Incident, an assassination attempt on the
Prince Regent
A prince regent or princess regent is a prince or princess who, due to their position in the line of succession, rules a monarchy as regent in the stead of a monarch, e.g., as a result of the sovereign's incapacity (minority or illness) or ab ...
Hirohito
, Posthumous name, posthumously honored as , was the 124th emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, from 25 December 1926 until Death and state funeral of Hirohito, his death in 1989. He remains Japan's longest-reigni ...
on 27 December 1923, Shoriki resigned assuming responsibility together with Superintendent General of
Tokyo Metropolitan Police Kurahei Yuasa. Although an amnesty cleared him of his disciplinary action, he did not return to public service.
President of the ''Yomiuri Shimbun''
In 1924, with Home Minister
Viscount
A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. The status and any domain held by a viscount is a viscounty.
In the case of French viscounts, the title is ...
Shinpei Goto providing funds, Shoriki bought the bankrupt newspaper ''
Yomiuri Shimbun
The is a Japanese newspaper published in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, Fukuoka, Fukuoka, and other major Japanese cities. It is one of the five major newspapers in Japan; the other four are ''The Asahi Shimbun'', the ''Chunichi Shimbun'', the ''Ma ...
'' and became its president. Shōriki's innovations included improved news coverage and a full-page radio program guide. The emphasis of the paper shifted to broad news coverage aimed at readers in the Tokyo area. By 1941 it had the largest circulation of any daily newspaper in the Tokyo area.
Baseball
Shōriki is known as the father of
Japanese professional baseball. He organized a Japanese baseball
All-Star team in that matched up against an American All-Star team. While prior Japanese all-star contingents had disbanded, Shōriki went pro with this group, which eventually became known as the
Yomiuri Giants
The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They h ...
.
Shōriki survived an assassination attempt by a right-wing nationalist for allowing Americans to play baseball in
Jingu Stadium.
He received a 16-inch-long scar from a broadsword during the assassination attempt.
Shōriki became
Nippon Professional Baseball
is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball".
The roots of the league ...
's (NPB) unofficial first commissioner in . In , Shōriki oversaw the realignment of the
Japanese Baseball League
The was a professional baseball league in Japan which operated from 1936 to 1949, before reorganizing in 1950 as Nippon Professional Baseball.
The league's dominant team was Tokyo Kyojin (renamed the Yomiuri Giants in 1947), which won nine le ...
into its present two-league structure and the establishment of the
Japan Series
The Japan Series ( , officially the Japan Championship Series, ), also the Nippon Series, is the annual championship series in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top baseball league in Japan. It is a best-of-seven series between the winning cl ...
. One goal Shōriki did not accomplish was a true world series.
Post-war career
After the
surrender of Japan
The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was Hirohito surrender broadcast, announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally Japanese Instrument of Surrender, signed on 2 September 1945, End of World War II in Asia, ending ...
, Shōriki was arrested by the
Supreme Commander for 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) ...
as a "Class A" war criminal due to his proximity to the wartime regime, spending 21 months in the
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 23 special wards, ward of Tokyo, Japan.
History
Sugamo Prison was orig ...
. On August 22, 1947, a recommendation was made to release Shoriki. He was released after the Americans determined that the accusations against him were mostly of an “ideological and political nature."
Nippon Television Network
In Japan, private television broadcasting began in the early 1950s thanks largely to the policies of the U.S. occupation authorities. In July 1952, just three months after the US occupation bureaucracy had formally ended, Shōriki was granted a broadcasting license for the new
Nippon Television Network (NTV) by Japanese media regulators. This was the first commercial television broadcaster in Japan.
Nuclear power
In January 1956, Shōriki became chairman of the newly created
Japanese Atomic Energy Commission, and in May of that year was appointed head of the brand-new Science and Technology Agency, both under the cabinet of
Ichirō Hatoyama
was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan, prime minister of Japan from 1954 to 1956. During his tenure he oversaw the formation of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and restored official ...
with strong support behind the scenes from the U.S.
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
. He also used his position as owner of the Yomiuri Shimbun to promote nuclear power in the popular media. In 1957, he joined the
first Kishi cabinet as chairman of the
National Public Safety Commission, and around the same time, the Japanese government entered into a contract to purchase 20 nuclear reactors from the
United States of America
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...
. Shōriki is thus also now known as "the father of nuclear power."
In 2006,
Tetsuo Arima, a professor specialising in media studies at
Waseda University
Waseda University (Japanese: ), abbreviated as or , is a private university, private research university in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as the Tōkyō Professional School by Ōkuma Shigenobu, the fifth Prime Minister of Japan, prime ministe ...
in Tokyo, published an article that proved Shōriki acted as an agent under the codenames of "podam" and "pojackpot-1" for the
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
to establish a pro-US nationwide commercial
television
Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
network (
NTV) and to introduce
nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced by ...
plants using U.S. technologies across Japan. Arima's accusations were based on the findings of de-classified documents stored in the
NARA
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an independent agency of the United States government within the executive branch, charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It is also task ...
in
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
Death
Shōriki died on October 9, 1969, in
Atami, Shizuoka.
Tributes
In , Shōriki was the first inductee into the
Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame
The , commonly known outside of Japan as the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame, is a hall of fame and museum in Tokyo dedicated to professional baseball, with a prominent focus on professional baseball in Japan. The Hall is intended to honor and co ...
. The
Matsutaro Shoriki Award
Matsutaro Shoriki Award is named in honor of Matsutarō Shōriki, the owner of the Yomiuri Shimbun, whose achievements earned him the label of the real parent of present day Japanese professional baseball. The prize was founded in 1977.
It is pr ...
is given annually to the person who contributes the most to Japanese baseball.
The position of Chair of the Department of Asia, Oceania, and Africa at the
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The Museum of Fine Arts (often abbreviated as MFA Boston or MFA) is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the list of largest art museums, 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 painting ...
is also named after Shōriki.
["Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Announces New Chair of Art of Asia, Oceania, and Africa.]
artdaily.org
20 September 2008. Accessed 14 May 2009.
Further reading
*
* Uhlan, Edward and Dana L. Thomas. ''Shoriki: Miracle Man of Japan. A Biography.'' New York: Exposition Press, 1957.
E-bookat the
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...
.
References
, -
, -
, -
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shoriki, Matsutaro
1885 births
1969 deaths
Baseball executives
Government ministers of Japan
Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame inductees
Japanese male judoka
Japanese mass media owners
Japanese police officers
Japanese sports executives and administrators
Kodokan 10th dans
Members of the House of Peers (Japan)
Members of the House of Representatives (Japan)
Newspaper executives
Nippon Television
People from Toyama Prefecture
Japanese television executives
Television company founders
University of Tokyo alumni
Yomiuri Giants