was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan in 1948. He was a prominent figure in the immediate postwar political landscape, but was forced to resign his leadership responsibilities after a corruption scandal (Shōwa Denkō Jiken) targeting two of his cabinet ministers.

Early life

Ashida was born in

Fukuchiyama, Kyoto 250px, Fukuchiyama Castle 250px, Fukuchiyama city center is a city in northern Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 76,037 in 36412 households and a population density of 140 persons per km². The total area of t ...

, the second son of politician and banker Shikanosuke Ashida. His father had been in the House of Representatives and served as director of Nōkō Bank. His grandfather was landed magnate and village headman ('' nanushi'') Jizaemon Ashida. He studied French civil law at Tokyo Imperial University. After graduation, he worked in the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

for twenty years.

Early career

In 1932, Ashida ran his first successful campaign for a seat in the House of Representatives as a member of the Seiyūkai Party. He sided with Ichirō Hatoyama's "orthodox" wing following the Seiyukai's split in 1939. After the war, Ashida won a seat in the new Diet as a member of the Liberal Party, from which he split to merge with Kijūrō Shidehara's Progressive Party to form the Democratic Party. Ashida was elected president of the new party, and became minister of foreign affairs in 1947 under Socialist prime minister Tetsu Katayama. He also chaired the Committee on the Bill for Revision of the Imperial Constitution, and served as the chairman of the Kenpō Fukyū Kai, a society created to promote the revised Constitution of Japan, from 1946–1948. During his term, he made a key amendment to Article Nine of the planned Japanese Constitution, which enabled the creation of the Japanese Self-Defense Force.

Prime minister and later life

Hitoshi Ashida - Golda Meir - Kuniyoshi Negishi 1958

Ashida became prime minister in 1948, leading a

coalition government A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...

of Democratic and Socialist members. His tenure ended just seven months after it began. Two of his cabinet ministers were accused of corruption in the Showa Electric scandal, which forced the cabinet to resign. One of them was Takeo Kurusu, a state minister without a portfolio. After his tenure as prime minister, Ashida focused on Japan's position in Asia and re-armament. He became outspoken in support of creating a national defense force after the outbreak of the Korean War, fearing that a similar conflict may occur in Japan. Ashida also promoted the idea of forming a Japanese group of volunteers to fight alongside United Nations Command in support of the Republic of Korea. In 1951, he gave speaking tours across Japan advocating for his interpretation of Article 9, stating that it does not impose restrictions on Japan preparing a force for defensive purposes. In 1958, Ashida was cleared of all charges in relation to corruption allegations. He died a year later at the age of seventy-one.

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* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ashida, Hitoshi 1887 births 1959 deaths 20th-century prime ministers of Japan Deputy Prime Ministers of Japan Foreign ministers of Japan Liberal Party (Japan, 1945) politicians Democratic Party (Japan, 1947) politicians National Democratic Party (Japan) politicians Kaishintō politicians Democratic Party (Japan, 1954) politicians Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) politicians People acquitted of corruption Politicians from Kyoto Prefecture Prime Ministers of Japan Rikken Seiyūkai politicians 20th-century Japanese politicians