was a Japanese politician, who served in the Ikeda,

Satō is the most common Japanese surname, representing about 1.5% of Japan's population in March 2023. It is often romanized as Sato, Satou or Satoh. A 2024 study by Hiroshi Yoshida at Tohoku University estimated that if a law requiring spouses to ...

Tanaka is the fourth most common Japanese surname. It is typically written with the kanji for . Less common variants include , , , , and . People with the surname *, Japanese musician formerly known as Boku no Lyric no Bōyomi *, Japanese voice actres ...

and

Fukuda Fukuda (written: ) is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: *, Japanese long jumper *, Japanese historian of political thought *, Japanese singer *, Japanese politician *, Japanese feminist activist *Fukuda Gyōkai (福田行 ...

cabinets, and was the first to be appointed to the post of Director of the

National Land Agency National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

. Within the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), he held influence in

Eisaku Satō was a Japanese politician who served as prime minister of Japan from 1964 to 1972. He is the third longest-serving Japanese prime minister, and is ranked second by longest uninterrupted service. Satō is best remembered for securing the return ...

and

Kakuei Tanaka was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan, prime minister of Japan from 1972 to 1974. Known for his background in construction and earthy and tenacious political style, Tanaka is the only modern Japanese prime minister who ...

factions, becoming known as the "king's counselor", or the one able to speak his mind with ease.

Early life

Nishimura was born on 28 August 1897, in

Higashikunisaki District, Ōita is a district located in Ōita Prefecture, Japan. As of April 2006, the district has an estimated population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident p ...

. He graduated from

Tohoku Imperial University is a public research university in Sendai, Miyagi, Japan. It is colloquially referred to as or . Established in 1907 as the third of the Imperial Universities, after the University of Tokyo and Kyoto University, it initially focused on scien ...

in 1924.

Career

Nishimura's first venture into public office was via the

Ministry of Railways A Ministry of Railways is a Cabinet department that exists or has existed in many Commonwealth states as well as others. It generally occurs in countries where railroad transportation is a particularly important part of the national infrastructure ...

, and in the immediate postwar period he was director of the Electric Bureau of the Railway Department of the

Ministry of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...

. In 1949, Nishimura won election to the

House of Representatives of Japan The is the lower house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Councillors is the upper house. The composition of the House is established by and of the Constitution of Japan. The House of Representatives has 465 members, elected for a fo ...

. In 1962, Nishimura landed his first cabinet position in the cabinet of

Hayato Ikeda was a Japanese politician who served as prime minister of Japan from 1960 to 1964. He is best known for his Income Doubling Plan, which promised to double the size of Japan's economy in 10 years, and for presiding over the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. ...

, serving as

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare spending and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental heal ...

. He then went on to serve under

, as Construction Minister, on two separate occasions. In the 1970s, while Nishimura continued to serve in various cabinet posts, including as the first Director of the National Land Agency under

, he also began to solidify his rise in the LDP, firstly as leader of the Tanaka faction within the party and then becoming vice president of the party as a whole by the end of the decade. Nishimura retired from politics in 1983. He died on 15 September 1987.

Honours

*Grand Cordon of the

Order of the Sacred Treasure The is a Japanese Order (distinction), order, established on 4 January 1888 by Emperor Meiji as the Order of Meiji. Originally awarded in eight classes (from 8th to 1st, in ascending order of importance), since 2003 it has been awarded in six c ...

(1968) *Grand Cordon of the

Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese honors system, Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge feat ...

(1973)

References

External links

Historic Japanese cabinets (in Japanese)
kantei.go.jp; accessed 31 January 2018.

geocities.co.jp/WallStreet-Stock/7643/; accessed 31 January 2018 , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Nishimura, Eiichi 20th-century Japanese politicians Members of the House of Representatives (Japan) Ministers of health and welfare of Japan Construction ministers of Japan Ministers of former Japanese ministries Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) politicians Tohoku University alumni Kagoshima University alumni Politicians from Ōita Prefecture 1897 births 1987 deaths