Suzuki Kantaro

Suzuki Kantaro

Suzuki Kantarō ( Japanese 鈴木 貫 太郎 ; born January 18, 1868 in Sakai , Osaka Prefecture , † April 17, 1948 in Noda , Chiba Prefecture ) was a Japanese admiral and 1945 Prime Minister.

Live and act

Suzuki Kantarō graduated from the Naval Academy, made a career and was promoted to admiral in 1923. He became commander of the fleet in 1924 and chief of the general staff in 1925, a position he held until 1929.

After retiring, he was a member of the Secret Council of State from 1929 to 1940 and at the same time a Grand Chamberlain. He gave up the latter position after his serious injuries sustained in the attempted coup on February 26, 1936 .

During the Pacific War he was Vice-President of the Secret Council from 1940 to 1944 , then its President from August 7, 1944 to June 7, 1945. He replaced Koiso Kuniaki as Prime Minister and headed the government from April 7, 1945 to August 17, 1945 as the 42nd Prime Minister of Japan (29th incumbent). The situation in Japan was already catastrophic and the cabinet was split between a desire for peace and a final struggle in the Japanese homeland. The cabinet even tried unsuccessfully to win Russia as a peace broker.

After the atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the cabinet accepted the Potsdam Declaration and the unconditional surrender.

After the war, Suzuki was again chairman of the Secret Council from December 15, 1945 to June 13, 1946.

literature

• S. Noma (Ed.): Suzuki Kantarō . In: Japan. An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Kodansha, 1993. ISBN 4-06-205938-X , p. 1488.
• Hunter, Janet: Suzuki Kantarō 1868-1948 . In: Concise Dictionary of Modern Japanese History. Kodansha International, 1984. ISBN 4-7700-1193-8 . P. 216.

Web links

Commons : Kantarō Suzuki  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

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