Gotō ryūnosuke

Gotō Ryūnosuke ( Japanese 後 藤 隆 之 助 ; born December 20, 1888 in Ibaraki Prefecture ; died August 21, 1984 ) was a Japanese political activist.

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Gotō Ryūnosuke graduated from Kyōto University . In 1919 he became politically active as a member of the national youth organization "Seinendan" (青年 団). He then worked with the establishment of an organization for young adults "Shōnendan" (少年 団) to have a broad base for a new political party. In June 1932 Goto visited Europe, heard Hitler's speeches in Berlin and was able to take a few steps closer to Stalin while visiting the Lenin Mausoleum in Moscow . He then traveled on to the USA and was impressed by President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal policies .

After his return in 1933 Gotō founded a study group for a policy that a future cabinet under Konoe Fumimaro could carry out. This group developed into the " Shōwa study group " (昭和 研究 会, Shōwa kenkyūkai). By 1940 Gotō's influence was evident during the "Movement for a New Order" (新 体制 運動, Shin taisei undō), which aimed to replace the established political parties with a new "national organization". Gotō received in the autumn of 1940 a high position in the resulting "support organization for the state order" (大 政 翼 賛 会, Taisei yokusankai). However, he soon had to resign because he was suspected of being a communist.

After the end of the Pacific War in 1945 Gotō was active in the "Shōwa group of like-minded people" (昭和 同人 会, Shōwa dōjin-kai), which dealt with social and political issues. He also took part in the search for the Tokugawa treasure , which they are said to have buried when they were ousted in 1867, called "Tokugawa Maisokin" (徳 川 埋 蔵 蔵).

literature

• S. Noma (Ed.): Gotō Ryūnosuke . In: Japan. An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Kodansha, 1993, ISBN 4-06-205938-X , p. 470.

Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . Thus Gotō is the family name, Ryūnosuke the first name.