Yoshida Shigeru

Yoshida Shigeru

Yoshida Shigeru's grave in Tokyo at Aoyama Cemetery

Yoshida Shigeru ( Japanese 吉田 茂 ; born September 22, 1878 (Meiji 11) in Kanda , Tōkyō (today Chiyoda ); † October 20, 1967 (Shōwa 42)) was Japanese Prime Minister from 1946 to 1947 and again from 1948 to 1954.

Life

Born in Tokyo, he studied at the Imperial University of Tokyo , then became a civil servant in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in the 1930s Japan's ambassador to Italy and Great Britain . After several months in prison in 1945, he became one of the most important post-war Japanese politicians. In 1945 he was appointed foreign minister in the Higashikuni and Shidehara cabinets and later also a member of the manor house . When Hatoyama Ichirō , chairman of the Liberal Party , was disqualified by the Allied occupation authorities after the general election in 1946 , Yoshida took over the party chairmanship and became the 45th Prime Minister on May 22, 1946. His pro-American and pro-British ideals and his knowledge of Western societies, which he had acquired through his education and political work, made him the perfect candidate in the eyes of the Allied occupying powers. After the general election in 1947 , from which the Socialist Party of Japan emerged slightly stronger than the Liberal Party, but in which Yoshida himself won a seat for the first time in the Kōchi prefecture , he did not run for the first prime ministerial election and was replaced by Katayama Tetsu on May 24th Released in 1947. On October 15, 1948, however, he returned as the 48th Prime Minister after the ruling coalition of socialists and democrats had quickly worn out over internal conflicts and finally the Shōwa-Denkō corruption scandal. He asserted himself in the following three elections ( appointment dates as Prime Minister 49: February 16, 1949; 50: October 30, 1952; 51: May 21, 1953). On December 10, 1954, he finally lost his post to Hatoyama Ichirō, who had since returned to politics and forced Yoshida with his Democratic Party of Japan to resign by threatening a vote of no confidence.

Foreign policy

Yoshida's foreign policy culminated in the " Yoshida Doctrine " which emphasized the economic reconstruction of Japan at the expense of independence in foreign policy. Under Yoshida's administration, Japan began renewing its lost industrial infrastructure and relied largely on the United States for defense issues . Many of his ideas still determine the politics and economy of Japan today.

Political relations with China

After World War II , the question was raised around the world whether the newly established People's Republic of China or the Republic of China (Taiwan) should be recognized as the legitimate Chinese government. Japan faced a difficult decision: the Yoshida cabinet was relatively sympathetic to the People's Republic of China, despite its communist state system, and wanted to maintain friendly relations with the neighboring country. Japan's political stance, however, was not accepted by the American side, which represented the anti-communist position. Bowing to strong pressure from the United States, Japan had to change its position in order to achieve Japanese sovereignty through the conclusion of the San Francisco Peace Treaty . Prime Minister Yoshida informed US Secretary of State John Foster Dulles in a letter of his intention to recognize Taiwan as the "only Chinese government". The so-called Yoshida Doctrine ultimately determined the fate of Sino-Japanese relations for the next twenty years.

family

Yoshida's biological father was the MP Takeuchi Tsuna , his adoptive father the entrepreneur Yoshida Kenzō . Yoshida's father-in-law was Vice-Count Makino Nobuaki for Foreign Affairs . Yoshida's biological brother was the Rikken-Seiyūkai MP Takeuchi Meitarō .

Yoshida's eldest son, Ken'ichi, was an English scholar and literary critic. Yoshida's grandson Asō Tarō was Foreign Minister in the 3rd Koizumi Cabinet , Prime Minister of Japan from September 2008 to September 2009 and since December 26, 2012 Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister in the 2nd Cabinet Shinzō Abe .

Web links

Commons : Yoshida Shigeru  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Literature by and about Yoshida Shigeru in the catalog of the German National Library
• Newspaper article about Yoshida Shigeru in the press kit of the 20th century of the ZBW - Leibniz Information Center for Economics .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ http://kingendaikeizu.net/tosasukumo.htm

Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . So Yoshida is the family name, Shigeru the first name.