Seiichirō Yasui was a Japanese politician and bureaucrat who held a variety of positions in Japanese government. He served as appointed Governor of Niigata Prefecture from 1940 to 1941, then as appointed

Governor of Tokyo The is the head of government of Tokyo. In 1943, upon the unification of Tokyo City and Tokyo Prefecture (1868–1943), Tokyo Prefecture into Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the position of Governor was created. Previously, the prefecture had a ...

from 1946 to 1947, then as elected Governor of Tokyo from 1947 to 1959. He also served as one of the members of 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 ...

from 1960 to his death in 1962.

Early life and career

Yasui was born in , Mitsu District,

Okayama Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Okayama Prefecture has a population of 1,826,059 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 7,114 Square kilometre, km2 (2,746 sq mi). Okayama Prefecture ...

. After graduating from the Faculty of Law in

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 ...

, Yasui 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 ...

, where he served as superintendent for Ibaraki and

Kanagawa is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...

police. He later was promoted to the police chief of Toyama and Hyogo Prefectures. In 1931, Yasui became a secretary to the

Governor-General of Korea Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

, Kazushige Ugaki, and served in colonial management, including the head of the Monopoly Bureau (). In addition, in 1936, he was the Governor of Keiki Province. Yasui returned to Japan and was appointed Governor of

Niigata Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture in the Chūbu region of Honshu of Japan. Niigata Prefecture has a population of 2,131,009 (1 July 2023) and is the List of Japanese prefectures by area, fifth-largest prefecture of Japan by geographic area ...

from 1940 to 1941.

Governor of Tokyo

Yasui was first appointed as the Governor of Tokyo, serving the position from 1946 to 1947. In 1947, he was elected Governor of Tokyo in the first direct elections. During his 12-year tenure as governor, Yasui helped push for laws for beginning post-World War II reconstruction of Tokyo and turning Tokyo into a modernized metropolis. One was the (), a law enacted in 1956 to plan for the development of the Tokyo metropolitan area. Yasui also decreased food shortages in the capital. In 1954, Yasui supported a bid for Tokyo to host the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad () and commonly known as Rome 1960 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 25 August to 11 September 1960 in Rome, Italy. Rome had previously been awar ...

. Tokyo lost the bid to Rome, but it would later host the

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subseq ...

. Yasui was re-elected in 1951 and 1955.

Later life and death

In 1960, after retiring from his post as Governor, Yasui ran for election in the House of Representatives for Tokyo 1st District as a member of the Liberal Democratic Party in the 1960 Japanese general election, and was elected with 27.4% of the vote. He served alongside Keiko Asanuma, Eiichi Tanaka, and Hyō Hara. On 9 January 1962, he was made an honorary citizen of Tokyo due to his contributions to the city. Yasui died 10 days later, on 19 January. He is buried at

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. ...

Personal life

Yasui's older brother, () was also an accomplished politician, being the former

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the

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

(1977–1980) and

Minister of Home Affairs An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

(1960–1962).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yasui, Seiichiro 1891 births 1962 deaths Governors of Tokyo University of Tokyo alumni Japanese government officials Japanese colonial governors and administrators Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) People from Okayama Prefecture Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun Japanese police officers Governors of Niigata Prefecture Burials at Tama Cemetery