, was an industrialist and politician in the

Empire of Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...

, serving as a member of the

Upper House An upper house is one of two Legislative chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house. The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restricted p ...

of the

Diet of Japan , transcription_name = ''Kokkai'' , legislature = 215th Session of the National Diet , coa_pic = Flag of Japan.svg , house_type = Bicameral , houses = , foundation=29 November 1890(), leader1_type ...

, advisor to

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Hideki Tojo was a Japanese general and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1941 to 1944 during the Second World War. His leadership was marked by widespread state violence and mass killings perpetrated in the name of Japanese nationalis ...

, and twice as a cabinet minister. Prior to his political career, he was a central figure in the pre-war

Mitsui is a Japanese corporate group and '' keiretsu'' that traces its roots to the ''zaibatsu'' groups that were dissolved after World War II. Unlike the ''zaibatsu'' of the pre-war period, there is no controlling company with regulatory power. Ins ...

zaibatsu is a Japanese language, Japanese term referring to industrial and financial vertical integration, vertically integrated business conglomerate (company), conglomerates in the Empire of Japan, whose influence and size allowed control over signifi ...

and president of

Oji Paper Company is a Japanese manufacturer of paper products. In 2012 the company was the third largest company in the global forest, paper and packaging industry. The company's stock is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and the stock is constituent of the ...

Biography

Fujiwara was born in

Kamiminochi District, Nagano is a Districts of Japan, district located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. As of 2011, the district has an estimated population of 23,774 with a population density, density of 84.11 persons per km2. The total area is 282.65 km2. Municipalities ...

, currently part of

Nagano city is the capital and largest city of Nagano Prefecture, located in the Nagano Basin (Zenkoji Daira) in the central Chūbu region of Japan. Nagano is categorized as a core city of Japan. Nagano City is the highest prefectural capital in Japan, wit ...

, where his father, a farmer, was also a trader in

indigo InterGlobe Aviation Limited (d/b/a IndiGo), is an India, Indian airline headquartered in Gurgaon, Haryana, India. It is the largest List of airlines of India, airline in India by passengers carried and fleet size, with a 64.1% domestic market ...

and thus the wealthiest man in the village. Fujiwara originally intended to become a medical doctor, and travelled to

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

at the age of 16. However, on graduation from a school affiliated with

Keio University , abbreviated as or , is a private university, private research university located in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It was originally established as a school for Rangaku, Western studies in 1858 in Edo. It was granted university status in 1920, becomi ...

, he found employment at the Matsui Shimpo newspaper instead, rising to the position of editor-in-chief. When the newspaper was in severe financial difficulties, he also assumed the post of president, but was unable to prevent it from falling into bankruptcy. In 1895, through the introduction of one of his former classmates, Fujiwara was hired by the

Mitsui Bank was a major Japanese bank from 1876 to 1990. The home bank of the Mitsui conglomerate, it was one of the largest Japanese banks for much of the 20th century, together with Dai-Ichi Bank, Mitsubishi Bank, Sumitomo Bank, and Yasuda / Fuji Bank. I ...

. One of his close colleagues was Shigeaki Ikeda. He rose rapidly through the ranks, working at the branch office at Otsu, Shiga, and was assistant manager of a branch in Fukagawa, Tokyo. He was then appointed manager of the

Tomioka silk mill is Japan's oldest modern model silk reeling factory, established in 1872 by the government to introduce modern machine silk reeling from France and spread its technology in Japan. The factory is designated by the government as a National Histo ...

, which was under Mitsui ownership. Under his management, he resolved labor dispute issues by a combination of wage increases and improved working conditions through negotiations. Due to his success at the Tomioka Silk Mill, he was called in to assume management of Oji Paper, when its workers went on strike in 1898; however, this time he was not as successful and had to call in workers from Fuji Paper (also owned by Mitsui) to break the strike. In 1899, he was transferred to Mitsui & Co., where he was made vice-manager of the company branch in

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

. He remained in Shanghai over ten years, becoming branch manager, and also director of procurement for wood. He returned to Oji Paper as vice-president in 1911, at a time when Oji Paper was in severe financial difficulties. Fujiwara turned the company around by replacing managers suspected of embezzlement, purchasing the latest production equipment from Europe, and suing major debtors who were delinquent on payments. In 1929, Fujiwara was appointed to a seat in the

of the

. In 1933, he merged Oji Paper with Fuji Paper and Karafuto Industries, a paper company based in

Karafuto , was established by the Empire of Japan in 1907 to govern the southern part of Sakhalin. This territory became part of the Empire of Japan in 1905 after the Russo-Japanese War, when the portion of Sakhalin south of 50°N was ceded by the R ...

to form New Oji Paper, with a market share of over 80%. He resigned his position as president of the new company in 1938 to become chairman of the board. The same year, he established a private university in

Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...

, of the Fujiwara Institute of Technology, to train engineers and managerial talent. The university is now the Faculty of Engineering of Keio University. In 1940, he was asked to join the cabinet of

Mitsumasa Yonai was a Japanese navy officer and politician. He served as admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy, Ministry of the Navy (Japan), Minister of the Navy, and Prime Minister of Japan in 1940. Early life and career Yonai was born on 2 March 1880, in M ...

as Minister of Commerce and Industry. In 1942, he was nominated a special advisor to the cabinet of Prime Minister Tōjō, with oversight over naval procurement, and in 1943 joined the Tōjō cabinet as a

minister without portfolio A minister without portfolio is a government minister without specific responsibility as head of a government department. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet with decision-making authorit ...

. In 1944, under Tōjō’s successor, Kuniaki Koiso, he became

Minister of Munitions The Minister of Munitions was a British government position created during the First World War to oversee and co-ordinate the production and distribution of munitions for the war effort. The position was created in response to the Shell Crisis o ...

. With the war situation quickly becoming critical, Fujiwara devoted his efforts to increasing the production of aircraft to defend Japan against the increasing Allied bombing attacks. He was astonished to find that aircraft built at Mitsubishi’s Nagoya works were being transported to the nearest airfields by ox cart. Following the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Fujiwara, along with all other members of the former Japanese government were arrested by the

Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers The Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (), or SCAP, was the title held by General Douglas MacArthur during the United States-led Allied occupation of Japan following World War II. It issued SCAP Directives (alias SCAPIN, SCAP Index Number) ...

and was held in

Sugamo Prison Sugamo Prison (''Sugamo Kōchi-sho'', Kyūjitai: , Shinjitai: ) was a prison in Tokyo, Japan. It was located in the district of Ikebukuro, which is now part of the Toshima 23 special wards, ward of Tokyo, Japan. History Sugamo Prison was orig ...

war crime A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostage ...

charges, but his case was dropped soon after. In 1959, he turned over much of his private fortune to a charitable foundation, the Fujiwara Foundation of Science. The Foundation awards the Fujiwara Prize to scientists who have made important contributions to the advancement of science and technology. Fujiwara died of a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

in 1960. He was posthumously awarded 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 ...

, 1st class. His grave is at the

Tsukiji Hongan-ji , officially romanized ''Hongwan-ji'', is a Jodo Shinshu Buddhism, Buddhist temple located in the Tsukiji district of Tokyo, Japan. The temple is adjacent to Tsukiji Station on the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line. History Tsukiji Hongan-ji's prede ...

in Tokyo.Ginjiro "The Paper Manufacturing King of Japan" Fujiwara
Find-a-grave.

Trivia

*Fujiwara lived in Shirokane-dai Minato ward,

. *In

Yagami Campus there is his statue.

Biography

Trivia

References

Further reading