Saitō Makoto

Saitō Makoto 斎藤 実
Prime Minister of Japan
In office May 26, 1932 – July 8, 1934
Monarch	Shōwa
Preceded by	Korekiyo Takahashi (Acting)
Succeeded by	Keisuke Okada
Governor-General of Korea
In office August 17, 1929 – June 17, 1931
Monarch	Shōwa
Preceded by	Hanzō Yamanashi
Succeeded by	Kazushige Ugaki
In office December 1, 1927 – December 10, 1927
Monarch	Shōwa
Preceded by	Kazushige Ugaki (Acting)
Succeeded by	Hanzō Yamanashi
In office August 12, 1919 – April 14, 1927
Monarchs	Taishō Shōwa
Preceded by	Yoshimichi Hasegawa
Succeeded by	Kazushige Ugaki (Acting)
Personal details
Born	(1858-10-27)October 27, 1858 Mizusawa Domain, Mutsu Province, Japan
Died	February 26, 1936(1936-02-26) (aged 77) Tokyo, Japan
Political party	Independent
Alma mater	Imperial Japanese Naval Academy
Awards	Order of the Chrysanthemum Order of the Bath (Honorary Knight Grand Cross)
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	Empire of Japan
Branch/service	Imperial Japanese Navy
Years of service	1879–1928
Rank	Admiral
Commands	Akitsushima Itsukushima
Battles/wars	First Sino-Japanese War Russo-Japanese War World War I

Viscount Saitō Makoto, GCB (斎藤 実, October 27, 1858 – February 26, 1936) was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy, two-time Governor-General of Korea from 1919 to 1927 and from 1929 to 1931, and the 30th Prime Minister of Japan from May 26, 1932 to July 8, 1934.

Biography

Early life

Saitō was born in Mizusawa Domain, Mutsu Province (part of present day Ōshū City Iwate Prefecture), as the son of a samurai of the Mizusawa Clan. In 1879, he graduated from the 6th class Imperial Japanese Naval Academy, ranking third out of a class of 17 cadets.

Military career

In 1884, Saitō went to the United States for four years to study as a military attaché. In 1888, after returning to Japan, he served as a member of the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff.

After his promotion to lieutenant commander on December 20, 1893, he served as executive officer on the cruiser Izumi and battleship Fuji.

During the First Sino-Japanese War, Saitō served as captain of the cruisers Akitsushima and Itsukushima. On November 10, 1898, he became Vice Minister of the Navy, and was promoted to rear admiral on May 20, 1900

Political career

Saitō was again Vice Navy Minister at the start of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. He was promoted to Vice Admiral on June 6, 1904. He was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun (1st class) in 1906. After the end of the war, he served as Navy Minister for 6 years, from 1906–1914, during which time he continually strove for expansion of the navy.

On September 21, 1907, Saitō was ennobled with the title of danshaku (baron) under the kazoku peerage system. On October 16, 1912, he was promoted to full admiral. However, on April 16, 1914, Saitō was forced to resign from his post as Navy Minister due implications of his involvement in the Siemens scandal, and officially entered the reserves.

In 1919, Saitō was appointed as the third Japanese Governor-General of Korea, a post which he held for many years. He was appointed just after the Samil Independence Movement, and implemented a series of measures to moderate the policies of Japanese rule. He served as governor-general of Korea twice (from 1919–27, and again from 1929–31). He was awarded the Order of the Paulownia Flowers in 1924. On April 29, 1925, his title was elevated to that of shishaku (viscount).

In 1927, Saitō was a member of the Japanese delegation at the Geneva Naval Conference on Disarmament, and he later became a privy councillor.

Prime Minister

Following the assassination of Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi on May 15, 1932 by fanatical navy officers who thought Inukai far too conciliatory (the May 15 Incident), Prince Saionji Kinmochi, one of the Emperor's closest and strongest advisors, attempted to stop the slide towards a military take-over of the government. In a compromise move, Saitō was chosen to be Inukai's successor. Sadao Araki remained as War Minister and immediately began making demands on the new government. During Saitō tenure, Japan recognized the independence of Manchukuo, and withdrew from the League of Nations.

Saitō's administration was one of the longer-serving ones of the inter-war period, and it continued until July 8, 1934; when the cabinet resigned en masse because of the Teijin Incident bribery scandal. Keisuke Okada succeeded as prime minister.

Saitō continued to be an important figure in politics as Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal from December 26, 1935 but was assassinated during the February 26 Incident of 1936 at his home in Yotsuya, Tokyo. Takahashi, his predecessor was shot dead the same day, along with several other top-rank politicians targeted by the rebels.

Saitō was posthumously awarded Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum.

References

• Bix, Herbert B. (2001). Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan. Harper Perennial. ISBN 0-06-093130-2.
• Brendon, Piers (2002). The Dark Valley: A Panorama of the 1930s. Vintage; Reprint edition. ISBN 0-375-70808-1.
• Gordon, Andrew (2003). A Modern History of Japan: From Tokugawa Times to the Present. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195110609/ISBN 9780195110609; ISBN 0195110617/ISBN 9780195110616; OCLC 49704795
• Jansen, Marius B. (2002). The Making of Modern Japan. Harvard University Press. ISBN 0674003349/ISBN 9780674003347; OCLC 44090600
• Sims, Richard (2001). Japanese Political History Since the Meiji Renovation 1868-2000. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 0312239149/ISBN 9780312239145; ISBN 0312239157/ISBN 9780312239152; OCLC 45172740

External links

• Nishida, Hiroshi. "Materials of IJN: Saito Makoto". Imperial Japanese Navy. Retrieved 2007-08-03.
• Republic of Korea