was the Mayor of

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

, Japan, between 1923 and 1935.

Early life

Seki was born on the

Izu Peninsula The is a mountainous peninsula with a deeply indented coastline to the west of Tokyo on the Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast of the island of Honshu, Japan, the largest of the four main islands of Japan. Formerly known as Izu Province, Izu peninsu ...

in Shizuoka on September 26, 1873. He graduated from the Koto Shogyo Gakko, now

Hitotsubashi University , formerly known as , is a national university, national research university in Tokyo, Japan. Often regarded as Japan’s foremost institution for the study of the social sciences, particularly commerce, economics, law, political science, sociolog ...

, in 1893, and worked in the

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...

until he became a professor at his ''alma mater'' in 1897. The following year, he left for Europe, where he spent three years studying in Belgium. In 1910, he obtained the title of Doctor of Juridical Science.

Mayor of Osaka

He became the

Deputy Mayor The deputy mayor (also known as vice mayor and assistant mayor) is an elective or appointive office of the second-ranking official that is present in many local governments. Duties and functions Many elected deputy mayors are members of the loca ...

of Osaka in 1914 before serving as Mayor from 1923 to 1935. He was instrumental in both the development of social capital, including the construction of ports and railways, and the implementation of urban social policy, including the establishment of public markets, the construction of city-provided housing and the establishment of the

Osaka University of Commerce , abbreviated to , is a private university located in Higashiosaka City, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. History The origin was founded in 1928 as Osaka Joto School of Commerce (大阪城東商業学校) by Noboru Tanioka (谷岡登, 1894–197 ...

. He is most famous for overseeing the widening of the Midosuji, the avenue that stretches through the heart of Osaka. and the construction of the Osaka Subway Midosuji Line, which runs under the avenue. Hajime Seki died of

typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposu ...

on January 26, 1935, one year after he had been appointed to the House of Peers. He was 61.

References

External links

* http://www.ndl.go.jp/portrait/e/datas/520.html?cat=94 * http://repository.brynmawr.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1015&context=cities_pubs {{Authority control 1873 births 1935 deaths 20th-century mayors of places in Japan Mayors of Osaka Hitotsubashi University alumni Politicians from Shizuoka Prefecture