was a Japanese

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 ...

who served as

Prime Minister of Japan The is the head of government of Japan. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Japan and has the ability to select and dismiss its ministers of state. The prime minister also serves as the commander-in-chief of the Japan Self-Defense Force ...

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 and education

Ashida was born in

Fukuchiyama, Kyoto file:Fukuchiyama City Hall.jpg, Fukuchiyama City Hall file:福知山駅プラットフォームより View toward northeast from platform of Fukuchiyama station 2011.1.10 - panoramio.jpg, Fukuchiyama city center is a Cities of Japan, city in north ...

, the second son of politician and banker Shikanosuke Ashida. His father had been in 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 ...

and served as director of Nōkō Bank. His grandfather was landed magnate and village headman (''

nanushi ''Nanushi'' (Japanese: 名主) were officials in Japan who administered villages (''mura'') under a district magistrate (''gun-dai'') in the Edo period. The most powerful ''nanushi'', the ''ōjōya'' (大庄屋), administered up to several dozen v ...

'') Jizaemon Ashida. He studied French civil law at

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 ...

. After graduation, he worked in the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

for twenty years.

Political career

In 1932, Ashida ran his first successful campaign for a seat in the

as a member of the Seiyūkai Party. He sided with

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 ...

'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 The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

, from which he split to merge with

Kijūrō Shidehara Baron was a Japanese diplomat and politician who served as prime minister of Japan from 1945 to 1946. He was a leading proponent of pacifism in Japan before and after World War II. Born to a wealthy Osaka family, Shidehara studied law at Tok ...

'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 was a Japanese politician who served as prime minister of Japan from 1947 to 1948. He was the first socialist to serve as Japanese prime minister, and the last non-member of the Liberal Democratic Party or its forerunners to serve until 1993. ...

. He also chaired the Committee on the Bill for Revision of the Imperial Constitution, and served as the chairman of the

Kenpō Fukyū Kai The was a Japanese group founded in 1946 to promote the reformed Constitution of Japan. After World War II, the Allied occupation required that the existing Meiji Constitution of Japan be amended to replace the absolute rule of the Emperor with ...

, a society created to promote the revised

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 ...

, from 1946 to 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 The are the military forces of Japan. Established in 1954, the JSDF comprises the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force. They are controlled by the Ministry of Defense wi ...

Premiership (1948)

Hitoshi Ashida - Golda Meir - Kuniyoshi Negishi 1958

Ashida became prime minister in 1948, leading a

coalition government A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an ...

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 Takeo Kurusu (栗栖赳夫; 1895–1966) was a politician in Japan's Democratic Party. He served in various political and government offices, including the minister of finance in the cabinet led by Prime Minister Tetsu Katayama. Political caree ...

, a state minister without a portfolio. Ashida's government was hampered by taking over at the end of the fiscal year. The country operated on a temporary budget until a budget was passed in July.

Later life

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 The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

, 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 United Nations Command (UNC or UN Command) is the multinational military force established to support the South Korea, Republic of Korea (South Korea) during and after the Korean War. It was the first attempt at collective security by the U ...

in support of the

Republic of Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. 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.

References

Works cited

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ashida, Hitoshi 1887 births 1959 deaths 20th-century prime ministers of Japan Deputy prime ministers of Japan Ministers for foreign affairs 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 from Fukuchiyama, Kyoto Politicians from Kyoto Prefecture Rikken Seiyūkai politicians