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128-617: Born in Yamaguchi Prefecture , Kishi graduated from Tokyo Imperial University in 1920. He rose through the ranks at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry , and during the 1930s led the industrial development of the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo, where he exploited Chinese slave labor. Kishi served in the wartime cabinet of Hideki Tōjō as commerce and industry minister from 1941 to 1943 and deputy munitions minister from 1943 to 1944. After

256-577: A Japanese military officer serving in the Manchukuo Army and had fought with the Kwantung Army against guerrillas in Manchuria. During his visit to Japan, Park met with Kishi, and speaking in his fluent, albeit heavily Korean-accented Japanese, praised Japan for the "efficiency of the Japanese spirit", and said that he wanted to learn "good plans" from Japan for South Korea. Besides fond reminiscences about

384-544: A black list of writers whose articles they were advised not to print anymore. Also in 1940, with the formation of the Taisei Yokusankai political party, the Home Ministry strengthened its efforts to monitor and control political dissent, also through enforcement of the tonarigumi system, which was also used to coordinate civil defense activities through World War II . In 1942, the Ministry of Colonial Affairs

512-624: A communist, and Kishi was fired from his post in December 1940. However, Kishi entered the cabinet as Minister of Commerce under new prime minister Hideki Tōjō less than one year later, in October 1941. Kishi and General Tōjō had worked closely together in Manchuria, and Tōjō regarded Kishi as his protégé. On 1 December 1941, Kishi voted in the Cabinet for war with the United States and Britain, and co-signed

640-491: A decree calling for the use of slave labor to be conscripted both in Manchukuo and in northern China, stating that in these "times of emergency" (i.e. war with China), industry needed to grow at all costs while guaranteeing healthy profits for state and private investors. From 1938 to 1944, an average of 1.5 million Chinese were taken every year to work as slaves in Manchukuo. The harsh conditions of Manchukuo were well illustrated by

768-526: A fierce battle with police in which a female Tokyo University student named Michiko Kanba was killed. Kanba's death led to the largest demonstrations ever in Japanese history, against both police brutality and the treaty. By this point, Kishi had become so unpopular that all the LDP factions united to demand that he resign. In April 1960, across the Korea straits, South Korean president Syngman Rhee had been overthrown in

896-531: A functional satellite of the Kanmon Straits metropolitan area. Per Japanese census data, Yamaguchi prefecture has had negative population growth from 1955 to 1973 and 1985–onwards, today at edge of having less than 1940 population leaving elderly behind. The most popular place for tourism is Shimonoseki , which has the Karato Fish Market and a large fireworks festival in summer. Another attraction

1024-552: A great leader of the free world, but also a loyal and great friend of the people of the United States." In November 1957, Kishi laid down his proposals for a revamped extension of the US–Japan Mutual Security Treaty , and the Eisenhower administration finally agreed to negotiations on a revised version. The American ambassador Douglas MacArthur II (the nephew of the famous general ) reported to Washington that Kishi

1152-703: A great power; in the interim, he was prepared to work within the American-created system both domestically and internationally to safeguard what he regarded as Japan's interests. In June 1957, Kishi visited the United States, where he was received with honor, being allowed to address a joint session of Congress, throwing the opening pitch for the New York Yankees in a baseball game in New York and being allowed to play golf at an otherwise all-white golf club in Virginia, which

1280-600: A key role in the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate and the establishment of the new imperial government. Four years after the Edo Shogunate was overthrown and the Meiji government formed in 1868, the present Yamaguchi Prefecture was established. The Meiji government brought in many new systems and modern policies, and promoted the introduction of modern industry, though the prefecture was still centered on agriculture during this period. In

1408-535: A large Japanese population. In the late 1920s and 1930s, the Tokkō launched a sustained campaign to destroy the Japanese Communist Party with several waves of mass arrests of known members, sympathizers and suspected sympathizers ( March 15 incident ). In 1936, an Information and Propaganda Committee was created within the Home Ministry, which issued all official press statements , and which worked together with

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1536-589: A major role, many politicians from Yamaguchi have held important positions in national politics. In the post-war era, the most prominent political family from Yamaguchi is the Kishi - Abe / Satō prime ministerial dynasty, and Yamaguchi is leaning solidly towards the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Since the electoral reform of the 1990s, Yamaguchi elects four members directly to the House of Representatives . Three of

1664-624: A market for Japanese goods and source of raw materials. Moreover, the Americans wanted more aid to Asia to spur economic growth that would stem the appeal of Communism, but were disinclined to spend the money themselves. The prospect of Japan spending some $ 500 million US in low interest loans and aid projects in Southeast Asia had the benefit from Kishi's viewpoint of improving his standing in Washington, and giving him more leverage in his talks to revise

1792-492: A mass party uniting the more moderate socialists and conservatives into a "popular movement of national salvation", a populist party that would use statist methods to encourage economic growth and would mobilize all Japanese citizens to rally in support of its nationalist policies. When the prohibition on former government members was fully rescinded in 1952 with the end of the Allied occupation of Japan , Kishi returned to politics and

1920-530: A new commercial treaty with Australia , and signed peace treaties with Czechoslovakia and Poland . In 1957, Kishi presented a plan for a Japanese-dominated Asian Development Fund (ADF), which was to operate under the slogan "Economic Development for Asia by Asia", calling for Japan to invest millions of yen in Southeast Asia. With access to markets in China and North Korea cut off due to Cold War polarization, Japanese and American leaders alike looked to Southeast Asia as

2048-569: A speech where he called for Japanese rearmament as "a means of eradicating completely the consequences of Japan's defeat and the American occupation. It is necessary to enable Japan finally to move out of the post-war era and for the Japanese people to regain their self-confidence and pride as Japanese." In his final years, Kishi grew increasingly bitter that constitutional revision had not yet come to pass. In his memoirs, he somewhat angrily recalled, "the idea of constitutional revision had always remained at

2176-524: A strong influence behind the scenes in LDP politics. After several months of illness, Kishi died on August 7, 1987, at the age of 90. Yamaguchi Prefecture Yamaguchi Prefecture ( 山口県 , Yamaguchi-ken ) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu . Yamaguchi Prefecture has a population of 1,377,631 (1 February 2018) and has a geographic area of 6,112 km (2,359 sq mi ). Yamaguchi Prefecture borders Shimane Prefecture to

2304-584: A substantial bail during the intervening two years. Aramaki never clearly stated the motivations for his attack. Despite the violent nature of the attack, Aramaki denied that he had intended to kill Kishi, later telling a reporter in an interview, "Yeah, I stabbed him six times, but if I wanted him dead, I would have just killed him." Aramaki told the same reporter that he had visited with the family of Michiko Kanba prior to his attack, perhaps suggesting that he sympathized with Kanba and blamed Kishi for her death. According to court records, Aramaki told police that he

2432-619: A successful bid for the Diet. As a result, candidates to the Diet needed a steady infusion of money from the party-secretariat to run a winning campaign, which made Kishi a powerful force within the Democratic Party as he determined which candidates received money from the party-secretariat and how much. As a result, Democratic candidates for the Diet either seeking election for the first time or reelection were constantly seeing Kishi to seek his favor. Reflecting Kishi's power as party secretary, Hatoyama

2560-568: Is a popular dish in Yamaguchi. It was developed during the Seinan Rebellion when soldiers cooked wild grass and meat on hot tiles. Today people in Yamaguchi create this dish by frying green tea noodles on a hot tile, and arranging a thin fried egg, stewed beef, green onions, and grilled liver on top. Akiyoshidai Quasi-National Park , which includes Japan's longest cave, the Akiyoshido ( 秋芳洞 ) ,

2688-456: Is alone in renouncing war ... she will not be able to prevent others from invading her land. If, on the other hand, Japan could defend herself, there would be no further need of keeping United States garrison forces in Japan ... Japan should be strong enough to defend herself." Kishi's Japan Reconstruction Federation fared disastrously in the 1952 elections, and Kishi failed in his bid to be elected to

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2816-654: Is another popular destination. Two ferry services provide regular sea transport from the Shimonoseki Port International Terminal: Kanpu Ferry provides round-trip service to Busan , South Korea; the Orient Ferry provides round-trip service to Qingdao and Shanghai , respectively. Yamaguchi Prefecture has alliances with the following five districts. Since the Meiji Restoration in which lower-rank nobility from Chōshū played

2944-479: Is currently vacant. For the proportional representation segment of the House of Representatives, Yamaguchi forms part of the Chūgoku block . In the House of Councillors , Yamaguchi is represented by two members, making it one of the currently 31 winner-take-all single-member districts. As of 2013, the two members are Yoshimasa Hayashi (LDP, 4th term, up in 2019), agriculture minister in the 2nd Abe Cabinet, and following

3072-459: Is red, but in Hagi they are painted green or brown. The Hagi Museum is modeled after a traditional samurai residence. The exhibits are detailed and realistic, and are changed every year. The permanent collection is data about Hagi's history and collections about Takasugi Shinsaku . Hagi also contains a reverberatory furnace which has been designated a World Heritage Site. Kawara soba (hot tile noodles)

3200-546: Is the Kintai Bridge in the town of Iwakuni . This five-arched wooden structure is considered a symbol of Western Honshū. The area on the banks of the Nishiki river close to the bridge is considered among the best places in Japan for Hanami , when groups of family and friends gather in early April to view cherry blossoms. Hagi City is in the north of Yamaguchi. It is a very traditional city. The usual color of Japanese post boxes

3328-573: The 2015 election , the LDP won a majority. Liberal Democrats form several parliamentary groups together with independents. As of June 8, 2015, the assembly is composed as follows: LDP 24 members, LDP Shinseikai 5, Kōmeitō 5, DPJ/Rengō no Kai 4, LDP Kensei Club 2, JCP 2, SDP /Citizens League 2, and the independent "groups" shinsei club , mushozoku no kai and kusa no ne have one member each. 34°4′N 131°30′E  /  34.067°N 131.500°E  / 34.067; 131.500 Home Ministry The Home Ministry ( 内務省 , Naimu-shō )

3456-534: The April Revolution , led by protesting university students, and at the time, there were serious fears in Japan that protests led by university students against the Kishi government might likewise lead to a revolution, making it imperative to ditch the very unpopular Kishi. Desperate to stay in office long enough to host Eisenhower's visit, Kishi hoped to secure the streets in time for Eisenhower's arrival by calling out

3584-562: The Democratic Party and Liberal Party merged to elect Ichirō Hatoyama as the head of the new Liberal Democratic Party . Within the new party, Kishi once again became the party secretary with control of the party finances. Kishi had reassured the American ambassador John Allison that "for the next twenty five years it would be in Japan's best interests to cooperate closely with the United States." The Americans wanted Kishi to become prime minister and were disappointed when Tanzan Ishibashi ,

3712-632: The Information and Propaganda Department ( 情報部 , Jōhōbu ) was elevated to the Information Bureau ( 情報局 , Jōhōkyoku ) , which consolidated the previously separate information departments from the Imperial Japanese Army , Imperial Japanese Navy and Foreign Ministry under the aegis of the Home Ministry. The new Jōhōkyoku had complete control over all news, advertising and public events. In February 1941 it distributed among editors

3840-508: The Japan Self Defense Forces and tens of thousands of right-wing thugs that would be provided by his friend, the yakuza-affiliated right-wing "fixer" Yoshio Kodama . However, he was talked out of these extreme measures by his cabinet, and thereafter had no choice but to cancel Eisenhower's visit and take responsibility for the chaos by announcing on June 16 that he would resign within one month's time. Despite Kishi's announcement,

3968-505: The Peace Preservation Law#Public Security Preservation Law of 1925 , the Home Ministry was able to use its security apparatus to suppress political dissent and the curtail the activities of the socialists , communists and the labor movement . The power of the Tokkō was expanded tremendously, and it expanded to include branches in every Japanese prefecture, major city, and overseas locations with

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4096-752: The Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers restoration, then its administrative affairs were proceeded to the National Police Agency , the Ministry of Construction , the Ministry of Home Affairs and so on. In 2001, the MOHA was integrated with the Management and Coordination Agency and the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, then the Ministry of Public Management, Home affairs, Posts and Telecommunications

4224-517: The Taishō period , from 1912 to 1926, shipbuilding, chemical, machinery, and metal working plants were built in Yamaguchi's harbors in the Seto Inland Sea area. During the post-World War II Shōwa Period , Yamaguchi developed into one of the most industrialized prefectures in the country due to the establishment of petrochemical complexes. As of April 1, 2012, 7% of the total land area of the prefecture

4352-538: The U.S.-Japan Security Treaty . In pursuit of the ADF, Kishi visited India, Pakistan, Burma , Thailand , Ceylon, and Taiwan in May 1957, asking the leaders of those states to join the ADF, but with the exception of Taiwan, which agreed to join, the other nations gave equivocal answers. In November, Kishi once again toured Southeast Asia to promote the idea of an ADF, this time visiting South Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Indonesia,

4480-583: The University of Tokyo ), where he graduated from the Faculty of Law in 1920 at the top of his class and with the highest grades in the university's history. While at the university, Kishi became a protégé of the right-wing ultranationalist legal scholar Shinkichi Uesugi . Because he studied German law under Uesugi, Kishi's views tended toward German-style statism, compared to the more progressive approaches favored by some of his classmates who studied English law. Uesugi

4608-592: The declaration of war issued on 7 December 1941. Kishi was also elected to the Lower House of the Diet of Japan in April 1942 as a member of the Imperial Rule Assistance Association . Kishi's many connections with the business world and his organizational skills proved an asset to keeping Japan's war effort going despite growing obstacles. In 1943, the Ministry of Commerce was abolished and replaced with

4736-412: The "Friendly, Savvy Salesman from Japan" who had created the "economic powerhouse of Asia". However, even though the revised treaty addressed almost all of Japan's complaints with the original treaty, and put the U.S.-Japan alliance on a much more equal footing, the notion of having any sort of security treaty at all with the United States was unpopular with broad sections of the Japanese public, who saw

4864-441: The American government to release him as they considered Kishi to be the best man to lead a post-war Japan in a pro-American direction. The American Council on Japan included former ambassador to Japan Joseph C. Grew , retired diplomat Eugene Dooman , Newsweek journalists Harry Kern and Compton Packenham , and corporate lawyer James L. Kauffman. Unlike Hideki Tōjō (and several other Cabinet members) who were put on trial, Kishi

4992-476: The American historian Michael Schaller called "remarkable" honors for a man who as a Cabinet minister had signed the declaration of war against the United States in 1941 and who had presided over the conscription of thousands of Koreans and Chinese as slave labor during World War II. Vice President of the United States Richard Nixon introduced Kishi to Congress as an "honored guest" who was "not only

5120-843: The April 2013 by-election to replace Nobuo Kishi, Kiyoshi Ejima (LDP, 1st term, up in 2016), former mayor of Shimonoseki city. The current governor of Yamaguchi is former MIC bureaucrat Tsugumasa Muraoka . He won the gubernatorial election in February 2014 with more than 60% of the vote against other two candidates, and succeeded Shigetarō Yamamoto who had been hospitalized since October 2013 and resigned in January 2014. Elected governors of Yamaguchi have been: The Yamaguchi Prefectural Assembly  [ ja ] has 47 members, elected in unified local elections in 15 electoral districts: 5 single-member districts, four two-member districts and six districts that elect each between four and nine members. In

5248-564: The Army's idea of a "national defense state". In 1935, Kishi was appointed Manchukuo's Deputy Minister of Industrial Development. Kishi was given complete control of Manchukuo's economy by the military, with the authority to do whatever he liked just as long as industrial growth was increased. In 1936, Kishi was one of the drafters of Manchukuo's first Five-Year Plan. Clearly modeled on the Soviet Union's First Five-Year Plan , Manchukuo's Five-Year Plan

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5376-504: The Chinese were more akin to dogs than human beings and would only understand brute force. According to Driscoll, Kishi always used the term "Manshū" to refer to Manchukuo, instead of "Manshūkoku", which reflected his viewpoint that Manchukuo was not actually a state, but rather just a region rich in resources to be used for Japan's benefit. As a self-described "playboy of the Eastern world", Kishi

5504-681: The Cold War, and given that Japan was allied to the United States, joining the ADF would be in effect aligning India with the Americans. During his visit to Karachi, the Pakistani Prime Minister Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy told Kishi that he thought of himself as a "human being rather than an Asian first", and preferred bilateral over multilateral aid because a multilateral aid framework would put participating countries into competition with each other over aid distribution. In sum, bad memories of Japan's wartime depredations in

5632-578: The Diet. After that defeat, Kishi disbanded his party, and tried to join the Socialists; after being rebuffed, he reluctantly joined the Liberal Party instead. After being elected to the Diet as a Liberal in 1953, Kishi's main activities revolved around undermining the leader of the Liberal Party, Shigeru Yoshida , so he could become the Liberal leader in his place. Kishi's main avenues of attack were that Yoshida

5760-645: The Fushun coal mine, which at any given moment had about 40,000 men working as miners, of whom about 25,000 had to be replaced every year as their predecessors had died due to poor working conditions and low living standards. Kishi showed little interest in upholding the rule of law in Manchukuo. Kishi expressed views typical of his fellow colonial bureaucrats when he disparagingly referred the Chinese people as "lawless bandits" who were "incapable of governing themselves". According to Kishi's subordinates, he saw little point in following legal or juridical procedures because he felt

5888-466: The Japanese conservative camp against perceived threats from the Japan Socialist Party during the 1950s, and he was instrumental in the formation of the powerful Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) through a merger of smaller conservative parties in 1955. Kishi is thus is credited as a key figure in the establishment of the " 1955 System ", the extended period during which the LDP has continued to be

6016-477: The Japanese officers in Manchukuo who taught him about how to give a "good thrashing" to one's opponents, Park was very interested in Kishi's economic policies in Manchuria as a model for South Korea. Kishi told the Japanese press after his meeting with Park that he was a "little embarrassed" by Park's rhetoric, which was virtually unchanged from the sort of talk used by Japanese officers in World War II, with none of

6144-758: The Japanese population for a final, decisive confrontation with the Allies. Kishi's plans coincided with the dissolution of the Imperial Rule Assistance Political Association (IRAPA) in March 1945. Out of the IRAPA's disbandment emerged two political associations: the mainstream Greater Japan Political Association ( Dai Nippon Seijikai ), led by General Jirō Minami , and Kishi's anti-mainstream National Defense Brotherhood ( Gokoku Dōshikai ). Some 32 Diet members jumped ship to join Kishi's new association by

6272-564: The LDP to revise Article 9 of the Constitution for the foreseeable future, which from Kishi's perspective, meant that all of his efforts had been for naught. On July 14, 1960, Kishi was attacked by a knife-wielding assailant as he was leaving the prime minister's residence to host a garden party celebrating Hayato Ikeda's impending ascension to the premiership. The assailant was Taisuke Aramaki, an unemployed 65-year-old man affiliated with various right wing groups. Aramaki stabbed Kishi six times in

6400-509: The MIDC was his distant relative and old First High School classmate, Nissan Group founder Ayukawa Yoshisuke . As part of the deal, the Nissan Group's entire operations were supposed to be transferred over to Manchuria to form the basis of the new MIDC. The system that Kishi pioneered in Manchuria of a state-guided economy where corporations made their investments on government orders later served as

6528-589: The Philippines, Australia, and New Zealand. These countries, all of which Japan had attacked and/or occupied during World War II, also expressed ambivalence or disdain toward joining the proposed framework, with the sole exception of Laos, which was in desperate need of foreign aid at that time. Even in countries that were not occupied by Japan like India, Ceylon, and Pakistan, Kishi encountered obstacles. Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru told Kishi during his visit to New Delhi that he wanted his nation to be neutral in

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6656-494: The President. In the so-called " Hagerty Incident ", the protesters surrounded the car, rocking it back and forth for more than an hour while standing on its roof, chanting anti-American slogans, and singing protest songs. Ultimately, MacArthur and Hagerty had to be rescued by a US Marines military helicopter. On 15 June 1960, the radical student activists from Zengakuren attempted to storm the Diet compound once again, precipitating

6784-658: The Publications Monitoring Department on censorship issues. In 1937, jointly with the Ministry of Education, the Home Ministry administered the National Spiritual Mobilization Movement , and the Home Ministry assisted in implementation of the National Mobilization Law in 1938 to place Japan on a total war footing. The public health functions of the Ministry were separated into the Ministry of Health in 1938. In 1940,

6912-441: The United States was lukewarm about Kishi's project, so it was shelved for the time being, although it was later partially revived in the form of the Asian Development Bank . Kishi's next foreign policy initiative was potentially even more difficult: reworking Japan's security relationship with the United States. Kishi always saw the system created by the Americans as temporary and intended that one day Japan would resume its role as

7040-436: The anti-Treaty protests grew larger than ever, with the largest protest of the entire movement taking place on June 18. However, on June 19, the revised Security Treaty automatically took effect in accordance with Japanese law, 30 days after having passed the lower house of the Diet. On July 15, 1960, Kishi officially resigned and Hayato Ikeda became prime minister. Ikeda soon made clear that there would be no further attempts by

7168-403: The basis of corruption scandals only when they have not been sufficiently 'filtered.'" In 1939, Kishi became Vice Minister of Commerce in the government of Prince Fumimaro Konoe . Kishi intended to create within Japan the same sort of totalitarian "national defense state" that he had pioneered in Manchuria, but these plans ran into vigorous opposition from the zaibatsu , who accused him of being

7296-400: The chairman of the foreign affairs committee, Nobuo Kishi (2nd district, 2nd term, former two-term member of the House of Councillors), and the chairman of the House of Representatives rules committee (as of 190th Diet, January 2016), Yoshimasa Hayashi (3rd district, 1st term). The seat for the 4th district was held by former prime minister Shinzo Abe until his assassination in 2022, and

7424-424: The city planning of Kyoto . They gained great wealth through cultural imports from the continent and trade with Korea and Ming Dynasty China. As a result, Yamaguchi came to be known as the "Kyoto of the West," and Ouchi culture flourished. Sue Harutaka defeated the 31st ruler of the Ouchi clan. The Sue clan was then defeated by Mōri Motonari , and the Mōri family gained control of the Chūgoku region . Yamaguchi

7552-480: The concessions to the world of 1961 that Kishi himself employed. During his time as president of South Korea, Park launched the Five-Year Plans for the economic development of South Korea featuring statist economic policies that very closely resembled Five-Year Plan Kishi had administered in Manchukuo. For the rest of his life, Kishi remained devoted to the cause of revising the Japanese Constitution to get rid of Article 9 and remilitarizing Japan. In 1965, Kishi gave

7680-429: The direct jurisdiction of the Home Ministry, and all prefectural governors (who were appointed by the central government) came under the jurisdiction of the Home Ministry. In 1890, the Railroad Ministry and in 1892, the Communications Ministry were created, removing the postal administration functions from the Home Ministry. On the other hand, with the establishment of State Shinto , a Department of Religious Affairs

7808-412: The employees of the Home Ministry were purged from office. The American authorities felt that the concentration of power into a single ministry was both a cause and a symptom of Japan's pre-war totalitarian mentality, and also felt that the centralization of police authority into a massive centrally controlled ministry was dangerous for the democratic development of post-war Japan. The Home Ministry

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7936-441: The end of March. Under Kishi's guidance, the Dōshikai advocated the mass evacuation and dispersion of the urban population and industrial base to the countryside to avoid the increasingly devastating effects of US aerial bombardment, the further rationalization of the economy in line with Kishi's technocratic worldview, and systematic preparation for a "decisive battle" ( kessen ) with the Americans on Japanese soil that would reverse

8064-437: The establishment of the cabinet system , the Home Ministry was reorganized by Yamagata Aritomo , who became the first Home Minister. Bureaus were created with responsibilities for general administration, local administration, police, public works, public health , postal administration, topographic surveys, religious institutions and the national census . The administration of Hokkaidō and Karafuto Prefectures also fell under

8192-631: The fall of 1958 with the aim of killing the bill. These protests succeeded in arousing public anger at the bill and Kishi was forced to withdraw it. In late 1959, it became clear that Kishi intended to break with longstanding precedent that prime ministers serve no more than two consecutive terms. Kishi hoped that by successfully revising the Security Treaty, he would have attained the political capital necessary to pull off this feat. In response to Kishi's break with tradition, Kishi's opponents within his own Liberal Democratic Party, who felt they had waited long enough for their chance at power, vowed to do whatever

8320-420: The forefront of [my] mind... The two main culprits in destroying the momentum toward constitutional revision were Hayato Ikeda and my brother, Eisaku Satō , who, while they held power, made sure the constitution would remain unchanged. That is why the call for constitutional revision died with my administration." Kishi remained in the Diet until retiring from politics in 1979. Even after he retired, he remained

8448-446: The late Heian period was revived in a modified form with an express focus on the separation of legislative, administrative, and judicial functions within a new Daijō-kan system. Having just returned from the Iwakura Mission in 1873, Ōkubo Toshimichi pushed forward a plan for the creation of an " Interior ministry " within the Daijō-kan modeled after similar ministries in European nations, headed by himself. The Home Ministry

8576-446: The ministers in the Manchukuo government were Chinese or Manchus, but all of the deputy ministers were Japanese, and these were the men who really ruled Manchukuo. From the start, the Japanese Army sought to turn Manchukuo into an industrial powerhouse in support of the Japanese Empire and carried out a policy of forced industrialization. Reflecting the military's ideas about the "national defense state", Manchukuo's industrial development

8704-492: The model for Japan's post-1945 development, and subsequently, that of South Korea and China as well. In order to make it profitable for the zaibatsu to invest in Manchukuo, Kishi had a policy of lowering the wages of the workers to the lowest possible point, even below the "line of necessary social reproduction". The purpose of Manchukuo was to provide the industrial basis for the "national defense state", with American historian Mark Driscoll noting that, "Kishi's planned economy

8832-401: The most anti-American of the LDP politicians, won the party's leadership, leading an American diplomat to write the U.S. had bet its "money on Kishi, but the wrong horse won". Just 65 days later, however, in February 1957, Ishibashi was forced to resign due to illness and Kishi was elected to lead his party and the nation as prime minister. In February 1957, Kishi became prime minister following

8960-477: The nation, with even conservative newspapers calling for Kishi's resignation. Thereafter, the anti-Treaty protest movement dramatically increased in size, with the Sōhyō labor federation carrying out a series of nationwide strikes and large crowds gathering around the National Diet on nearly a daily basis. On June 10, White House Press Secretary James Hagerty arrived at Tokyo's Haneda Airport to make advance preparations for Eisenhower's impending arrival. Hagerty

9088-410: The new Democratic Party along with Ichirō Hatoyama . Hatoyama was the party leader, but Kishi was the party secretary, and crucially, controlled the party's finances, which thus made him the dominant force within the Democrats. Elections in Japan were very expensive, so few candidates to the Diet could afford the costs of an election campaign out of their own pockets or could fund-raise enough money for

9216-607: The new public-private corporations founded to assist in carrying out the Five-Year Plan was the Manchuria Industrial Development Company (MIDC), established in 1937, which attracted a staggering 5.2 billion yen in private investment, making it by far the largest capital project in the Japanese empire; by comparison, the total annual budget of Japan's national government was 2.5 billion yen in 1937 and 3.2 billion yen in 1938. The man handpicked by Kishi to lead

9344-461: The new single-member districts have been held exclusively by Liberal Democrats as of 2013, the easternmost district bordering Hiroshima was initially won by Shinji Satō (Eisaku Satō's son) in 1996, but went to Democrat Hideo Hiraoka in several later elections. Currently, following the 2021 general election, Yamaguchi's directly elected delegation to the lower house consists of former LDP vice president Masahiko Kōmura ( 1st district , 12th term),

9472-399: The new treaty was better than the old one, Kishi expected it to be ratified in relatively short order. Accordingly, he invited Eisenhower to visit Japan beginning on June 19, 1960, in part to celebrate the newly ratified treaty. If Eisenhower's visit had proceeded as planned, he would have become the first sitting US president to visit Japan. However, when debate on the treaty began in the Diet,

9600-450: The newly created Ministry of Munitions . Kishi was forced to accept a demotion, becoming Vice Minister of Munitions as Tōjō concentrated power in his own hands by simultaneously serving as prime minister, Minister of War, and Minister of Munitions, although Kishi retained his status as a member of the cabinet. This demotion was the beginning of a rift in the relationship between the two men. Meanwhile, Kishi increasingly became convinced that

9728-470: The north and Hiroshima Prefecture to the northeast. Yamaguchi is the capital and Shimonoseki is the largest city of Yamaguchi Prefecture, with other major cities including Ube , Shūnan , and Iwakuni . Yamaguchi Prefecture is located at the western tip of Honshu with coastlines on the Sea of Japan and Seto Inland Sea , and separated from the island of Kyushu by the Kanmon Straits . Yamaguchi Prefecture

9856-449: The opium trade. Before returning to Japan in October 1939, Kishi is reported to have advised his colleagues in the Manchukuo government about corruption: "Political funds should be accepted only after they have passed through a 'filter' and been 'cleansed' . If a problem arises, the 'filter' itself will then become the center of the affair, while the politician, who has consumed the 'clean water', will not be implicated. Political funds become

9984-413: The opposition Japan Socialist Party , abetted by Kishi's rivals in his own party, employed a variety of parliamentary tactics to drag out debate as long as possible, in hopes of preventing ratification before Eisenhower's planned arrival on June 19, and giving the extra-parliamentary protests more time to grow. As the date of Eisenhower's planned visit drew near, Kishi grew increasingly desperate to ratify

10112-424: The overwhelmingly dominant political party in Japan. After serving in several important posts in the new party, Kishi succeeded the ailing Tanzan Ishibashi as prime minister in 1957. During his tenure, Kishi had the strong backing of business and worked to promote domestic industry and Japanese interests in Southeast Asia. In 1958, he attempted to introduce a bill which would grant police vastly expanded powers, but

10240-460: The post office was added to its responsibilities. In 1877, overview of religious institutes was added. The head of the Home Ministry was referred to as the "Home Lord" and effectively functioned as the Head of Government . The Home Ministry also initially had the responsibility for promoting local industry, but this duty was taken over by the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce in 1881. In 1885, with

10368-411: The prewar period, Aramaki had been secretary general of the right-wing ultranationalist Taikakai ("Great Reform Society"), and in the post-war period, he became a member of LDP factional leader Banboku Ōno 's private extraparliamentary pressure group ( ingaidan ). Many LDP politicians felt that the stabbing had been carried out at Ōno's behest, as Ōno had openly hoped to succeed Kishi as prime minister and

10496-444: The region, a suspicion of Japanese motives, an unwillingness to enter into neo-colonial relationship with Japan as suppliers of raw materials, Cold War neutralism, and a fear that America was secretly pulling the strings all contributed to the failure of Kishi's ambitious plans to create an Asian economic block reminiscent of " Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere " that Japan had claimed to be pursuing in World War II. Ultimately, even

10624-455: The resignation of the ailing Tanzan Ishibashi . His main concerns were with foreign policy, especially with revising the 1952 U.S-Japan Security Treaty , which he felt had turned Japan into a virtual American protectorate. Revising the security treaty was understood to be the first step towards his ultimate goal of abolishing Article 9. Besides his desire for a more independent foreign policy, Kishi wanted to establish close economic relations with

10752-706: The revised Security Treaty. In a sign of things to come, radical student activists from the Zengakuren student federation and leftist labor unionists invaded the compound of the National Diet in November 1959 to express their anger at the Treaty, and in January, Zengakuren activists organized a sit-in in Tokyo's Haneda Airport to attempt to prevent Kishi from flying to Washington to sign the treaty, but were cleared away by police. Because

10880-455: The security treaty, Kishi brought before the Diet a harsh "Police Duties Bill", which would give the police vastly expanded powers to crush demonstrations and to conduct searches of homes without warrants. In response to the police bill, a nationwide coalition of left-leaning civic organizations led by the Japan Socialist Party and the Sōhyō labor federation launched a variety of protest activities in

11008-599: The son of a sake brewer from a once illustrious samurai family that had recently fallen on hard times. His older brother, Ichirō Satō , would go on to become a Vice Admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy , and his younger brother, Eisaku Satō , would also go on to become a prime minister. Nobusuke attended an elementary school and middle school in Okayama , and then transferred to another middle school in Yamaguchi . When he

11136-535: The state guiding and directing the economy. In the " Manchurian Incident " of September 1931, the Japanese Kwantung Army seized the Chinese region of Manchuria ruled by the warlord Zhang Xueliang (the "Young Marshal") and turned it into a puppet state called " Manchukuo ". Although nominally ruled by Puyi , who had been the last emperor of the Qing dynasty , Manchukuo was de facto a Japanese colony. All of

11264-518: The thigh, causing Kishi to bleed profusely, although Kishi survived because the blade had missed major arteries. Kishi was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he received a total of 30 stitches to close his wounds. Reporters raced after him and climbed on stepladders to peer into his hospital room, with nurses angrily closing the curtains on them. Aramaki was arrested at the scene, tried, found guilty, and sentenced to three years in prison in May 1962. Despite being unemployed, he had somehow been able to post

11392-597: The tide of the war and reignite popular support for his Total War ideology. The Dōshikai soon came into conflict with the new government of Prime Minister Kantarō Suzuki , who had grave doubts about how much longer the war could be sustained without bringing about a revolution, and sought to suppress Kishi's nascent political movement. Excluded from the cabinet, members of the Dōshikai were limited to occasionally haranguing against Suzuki's policies during Diet debates. In any case, events rapidly overtook Kishi's new movement, and

11520-510: The treaty as allowing for Japan to once again become involved in a war. In 1959, the nationwide coalition that had successfully defeated Kishi's Police Duties Bill in 1958 had rebranded itself as the "People's Council for Preventing Revision of the Security Treaty" ( Anpo Jōyaku Kaitei Soshi Kokumin Kaigi ) and began recruiting additional member organizations and organizing protest activities against

11648-448: The treaty in time for his arrival. On May 19, 1960, Kishi suddenly called for a snap vote on the Treaty. When Socialist Diet members attempted a sit-in to block the vote, Kishi introduced 500 policemen into the Diet and had his political opponents physically dragged out by the police. Kishi then passed the revised Treaty with only members of his own party present. Kishi's anti-democratic actions during this " May 19 Incident " outraged much of

11776-576: The various states of South-East Asia . Finally, Kishi wanted the Allies to commute the remaining sentences of the Class B and Class C war criminals still in serving their prison sentences, arguing that for Japan to play its role in the Cold War as a Western ally required forgetting about Japan's war crimes in the past. In the first year of Kishi's term, Japan joined the United Nations Security Council , paid war reparations to Indonesia , signed

11904-476: The war came to an end just a few months after the Dōshikai's formation. With Emperor Hirohito's announcement of Japan's surrender on 15 August, the "continue the war" movement came to an end. That same day, Kishi and his followers met in an undisclosed office and agreed to formally disband the Dōshikai. After the Japanese surrender to the Allies in August 1945, Kishi, with other members of the former Japanese government,

12032-536: The war was unwinnable under Tōjō. In July 1944, during the political crisis caused by the Japanese defeat at the Battle of Saipan , Tōjō attempted to save his government from collapse by reorganizing his cabinet. However, Kishi refused a request to resign, telling Tōjō he would only resign if the prime minister also resigned along with the entire cabinet, saying a partial reorganization was unacceptable. Despite Tōjō's tears as he begged Kishi to help him save his government, Kishi

12160-531: The war, Kishi was imprisoned for three years as a suspected Class A war criminal . However, the U.S. occupation authorities did not charge, try, or convict him, and eventually released him in 1948 as they considered him the best man to lead post-war Japan in a pro-American direction. Upon the end of the occupation in 1952, Kishi was de-purged , enabling his election to the National Diet in 1953. With both overt and covert U.S. support, he went on to consolidate

12288-466: The war. Between January and March 1945 Kishi held meetings with several close associates such as Ryōichi Sasakawa , a preeminent fascist political fixer; Yoshio Kodama , a prominent rightist deeply involved in Japan's criminal underworld; Mamoru Shigemitsu , the then-Foreign Minister; and party politician and future prime minister Ichirō Hatoyama . Out of these meetings came a plan to form a new renovationist political movement aimed at further mobilizing

12416-521: Was a Cabinet -level ministry established under the Meiji Constitution that managed the internal affairs of Empire of Japan from 1873 to 1947. Its duties included local administration, elections, police , monitoring people, social policy and public works . In 1938, the HM's social policy was detached from itself, then the Ministry of Health and Welfare was established. In 1947, the HM was abolished under

12544-549: Was able to take advantage of a growing anti-US military base movement in Japan, as exemplified by the ongoing Sunagawa Struggle over proposed expansion of the US air base at Tachikawa and the explosion of anger in Japan over the Girard Incident , to insinuate to U.S. leaders that if the treaty were not revised the continued existence of U.S. bases in Japan might become untenable. Anticipating public opposition to his plans for revising

12672-438: Was abolished, and the Home Ministry extended its influence to Japanese external territories. After the surrender of Japan , the Home Ministry coordinated closely with the Allied occupation forces to maintain public order in occupied Japan . One of the first actions of the post-war Home Ministry was the creation of an officially sanctioned brothel system under the aegis of the " Recreation and Amusement Association ", which

12800-434: Was about to graduate from middle school, Nobusuke was adopted by his father's older brother, Nobumasa Kishi, adopting their family name. The Kishi family lacked a male heir, so they adopted Nobusuke in order to continue the family line. Kishi passed the extremely difficult entrance examination to enter First High School in Tokyo, the most prestigious high school in the country, and then attended Tokyo Imperial University (now

12928-561: Was added to the Home Ministry in 1900. Following the High Treason Incident , the Tokko special police force was also created in 1911. The Department of Religious Affairs was transferred to the Ministry of Education in 1913. From the 1920s period, faced with the growing issues of agrarian unrest and Bolshevik-inspired labor unrest , the attention of the Home Ministry was increasingly focused on internal security issues. Through passage of

13056-474: Was also greatly impressed with the labor management theories of Frederick Winslow Taylor in the United States, the German policy of industrial cartels , and the high status of German technological engineers within the German business world. Kishi became known as one of the more prominent members of a group of " reform bureaucrats " within the Japanese government who favored a statist model of economic development with

13184-532: Was angry at Kishi's mishandling of the Security Treaty crisis and wanted to "encourage Kishi to feel remorse". However, some figures close to Kishi considered Aramaki's supposed anger in relation to the Anpo protests to be a cover story. In her 1992 memoir, Kishi's daughter Yōko wrote that Aramaki was "a paid assassin, who knew how to use a knife, who was hired by someone who hated my father and wanted to hurt him". In

13312-604: Was central in creating the "Japan Reconstruction Federation" ( Nippon Saiken Renmei ), drawing upon his earlier efforts with the National Defense Brotherhood . Besides becoming prime minister, Kishi's main aim in politics was to revise the American-imposed constitution, especially Article 9 . Kishi wrote that in order for Japan to regain its status as a "respectable member (of) the community of nations it would first have to revise its constitution and rearm: If Japan

13440-628: Was created by the merger of the provinces of Suō and Nagato . During the rise of the samurai class during the Heian and Kamakura Periods (794–1333), the Ouchi family of Suō Province and the Koto family of Nagato Province gained influence as powerful warrior clans. In the Muromachi period (1336—1573), Ouchi Hiroyo , the 24th ruler of the Ouchi family conquered both areas of Yamaguchi Prefecture. The Ouchi clan imitated

13568-501: Was created on August 28, 1945. The intention was officially to contain the sexual urges of the occupation forces, protect the main Japanese populace from rape and preserve the "purity" of the " Japanese race ". However, by October 1945, the scope of activities of the Home Ministry was increasingly limited, with the disestablishment of State Shinto and the abolishment of the Tokkō , and with censorship and monitoring of labor union activities taken under direct American supervision. Many of

13696-592: Was described as an omikoshi , a type of portable Shinto shrine carried around to be worshipped. Everyone bows downs and worships an omikoshi , but to move an omikoshi , it must be picked up and carried by somebody. In February 1955, the Democrats won the general elections. On the day after Hatoyama was sworn in as prime minister, Kishi began talks with the Liberals about merging the two parties now that his arch-enemy Yoshida had stepped down as Liberal leader. In November 1955,

13824-480: Was designated as Natural Parks , namely the Setonaikai National Park ; Akiyoshidai , Kita-Nagato Kaigan , and Nishi-Chūgoku Sanchi Quasi-National Parks; and Chōmonkyō , Iwakiyama , Rakanzan , and Toyota Prefectural Natural Parks. For the purposes of development analysis, Yamaguchi is construed to be part of Northern Kyushu . Although Yamaguchi is not part of the island of Kyushu , it has become

13952-589: Was established as government department in November 1873, initially as an internal security agency to deal with possible threats to the government from increasingly disgruntled ex - samurai , and political unrest spawned by the Seikanron debate. In addition to controlling the police administration, the new department was also responsible for the Family register , civil engineering , topographic surveys , censorship , and promotion of agriculture . In 1874, administration of

14080-514: Was established. In 2004, the MPHPT changed its English name into the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications . In other words, the MIC is the direct descendant of the HM. After the Meiji Restoration , the leaders of the new Meiji government envisioned a highly centralized state to replace the old feudal order. Within months after Emperor Meiji 's Charter Oath , the ancient ritsuryō structure from

14208-561: Was far too deferential to the Americans and the need to do away with Article 9. In April 1954 Yoshida expelled Kishi from the party in retaliation for his attempts to depose him as Liberal leader. Kishi had foreseen this eventuality, and by this time, had already identified over 200 members of the Diet who would be willing to join him in forming a new political party to challenge Yoshida. Kishi wooed these politicians by flashing "show money" ( misegane ) that he had been supplied by his powerful big business backers. In November 1954, Kishi co-founded

14336-601: Was focused completely upon heavy industry such as steel production for the purposes of arms manufacture. Kishi has been described as the "mastermind" behind the industrial development of Japan's puppet state in Manchuria. Kishi had first come to the attention of the Kwantung Army officers as a rising star in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry who openly touted the policies of Nazi Germany and called for policies of "industrial rationalization" to eliminate capitalist competition in support of state goals—ideas that accorded with

14464-490: Was forced to withdraw it under heavy opposition. Kishi's mishandling of the 1960 revision of the U.S.–Japan Security Treaty led to the Anpo protests , the largest protests in Japan's modern history, and he resigned in disgrace. He remained as a member of the House of Representatives until 1979 as a staunch anti-communist and conservative linked to right-wing groups. Kishi was born Nobusuke Satō in Tabuse , Yamaguchi Prefecture ,

14592-532: Was formally abolished on 31 December 1947 under the Removal of Restrictions on Political, Civil, and Religious Liberties . Its functions were dispersed to the Ministry of Home Affairs (自治省 Jiji-shō ), now the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications , Ministry of Health and Welfare (厚生省 Kōsei-shō ), now the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare , National Public Safety Commission (国家公安委員会 Kokka-kōan-iinkai ), Ministry of Construction (建設省 Kensetsu-shō ), now

14720-451: Was geared towards production goals and profit taking, not competition with other Japanese firms; profit would come primarily from rationalizing labor costs as much as possible. The ne plus ultra of wage rationalization would be withholding pay altogether—that is, unremunerated forced labor." Accordingly, the Japanese conscripted hundreds of thousands of Chinese as slave labor to work in Manchukuo's heavy industrial plants. In 1937, Kishi signed

14848-567: Was held at Sugamo Prison as a suspected "Class A" war criminal by the order of the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers . Kishi, Kodama, Sasakawa, and Matsutarō Shōriki , the former president of the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper, lived in the same prison cell and were never judged. Their fraternity formed in prison continued for the rest of their lives. During this time, a group of influential Americans who had formed themselves into an "American Council on Japan" came to Kishi's aid, and lobbied

14976-434: Was intended to dramatically boost heavy industry in order to vastly increase production of coal, steel, electricity, and weapons for military purposes. In order to enact the new plan, Kishi persuaded the military to allow private capital into Manchukuo, successfully arguing that the military's policy of having state-owned corporations leading Manchukuo's industrial development was costing the Japanese state too much money. One of

15104-399: Was known during his four years in Manchukuo for his lavish spending amid much drinking, gambling, and womanizing. Kishi spent almost all of his time in Manchukuo's capital, Xinjing (modern Changchun , China ) with the exception of monthly trips on the world famous Asia Express railroad line to Dalian , where he indulged in his passion for women in alcohol- and sex-drenched weekends. When he

15232-632: Was known to be angry that Kishi had thrown his support behind Ikeda. Curiously, Kishi was largely silent on the attack in his memoirs, devoting only two lines to it and saying only that he did not know the reason, and Kishi's brother Eisaku Satō did not even mention the attack in his diary entry for that day. After taking power in a coup d'état in May 1961 , the South Korean dictator General Park Chung Hee visited Japan in November 1961 to discuss establishing diplomatic relations between Japan and South Korea, which were finally achieved in 1965. Park had been

15360-628: Was locked up in Sugamo prison in 1946 awaiting trial, he reminisced about his Manchukuo years: "I came so much, it was hard to clean it all up”. According to Driscoll, "photographs and written descriptions of Kishi during this period never fail to depict a giddy exuberance: laughing and joking while doling out money during the day and looking forward to drinking and fornicating at night." Kishi was able to afford his hedonistic, free-spending lifestyle as he had control over millions of yen with virtually no oversight, thanks to being deeply involved in and profiting from

15488-589: Was necessary to bring about the end of his premiership. Meanwhile, final negotiations on the new treaty wrapped up in 1959, and in January 1960, Kishi traveled to Washington, D.C., where he signed the new treaty with President Eisenhower on January 19. During his visit to the United States, Kishi appeared on the January 25, 1960 cover of Time magazine, which declared that the Prime Minister's "134 pound body packed pride, power and passion—a perfect embodiment of his country's amazing resurgence" while Newsweek called him

15616-401: Was picked up in a black car by US Ambassador to Japan Douglas MacArthur II , who deliberately provoked an international incident by ordering that the car be driven into a large crowd of protesters. MacArthur felt that if the demonstrators were going to resort to violence it would be better for both the US and Japanese governments to know rather than waiting to test their resolve at the arrival of

15744-612: Was released in 1948 and was never indicted or tried by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East . However, he remained legally prohibited from entering public affairs because of the Allied occupation's purge of members of the old regime. During his time as a prisoner, Kishi had already begun plotting his political comeback. He conceived of the idea of building on his earlier National Defense Brotherhood to establish

15872-747: Was ruled as part of the Mōri clan domain during the Sengoku period . Mōri Terumoto was then defeated by Tokugawa Ieyasu in the battle of Sekigahara in 1600. He was forced to give up all his land except for the Suō and Nagato areas (current-day Yamaguchi Prefecture), where he built his castle in Hagi . Mōri sought to strengthen the economic base of the region and increase local production with his Three Whites campaign (salt, rice, and paper). After Commodore Matthew Perry 's opening of Japan , clans from Nagato (also called Chōshū ) played

16000-599: Was so impressed by Kishi that he sought to make Kishi his successor as a professor in the University of Tokyo Faculty of Law, but Kishi declined. Instead, upon graduation, Kishi entered the Ministry of Commerce and Industry . This was an unusual choice, because at the time, the most brilliant aspiring bureaucrats typically sought to enter the Home Ministry and eventually gain appointment as a prefectural governor. Several of Kishi's mentors even criticized his choice. However, Kishi

16128-435: Was the most pro-American of the Japanese politicians, and if the U.S. refused to revise the security treaty in Japan's favor, he would be replaced as prime minister by a more anti-American figure. The U.S. Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles , wrote in a memo to President Eisenhower that the United States was "at the point of having to make a Big Bet" in Japan and Kishi was the "only bet we had left in Japan". Meanwhile, Kishi

16256-581: Was uninterested in administrative work, and aimed to be directly involved in Japan's economic development. In 1926–27, Kishi traveled around the world to study industry and industrial policy in various industrialised states around the world, such as the United States , Germany , and the Soviet Union . Besides the Soviet Five-Year Plan, which left Kishi with an obsession with economic planning, Kishi

16384-477: Was unmoved. Kishi's actions succeeded in bringing down the Tōjō cabinet and led directly to Tōjō's replacement as prime minister with General Kuniaki Koiso . After the fall of the Tōjō cabinet, Kishi temporarily withdrew from frontline politics, reinventing himself as a key figure in the civilian "continue the war" ( kōsenha ) faction while working in the background to foment a new political movement dedicated to prolonging

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