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Tetsu Katayama

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Tetsu Katayama
Phiến sơn triết
Official portrait, 1947
Prime Minister of Japan
In office
24 May 1947 – 10 March 1948
MonarchHirohito
GovernorDouglas MacArthur
DeputyHitoshi Ashida
Preceded byShigeru Yoshida
Succeeded byHitoshi Ashida
Member of theHouse of Representatives
for Kanagawa 3rd District
Kanagawa At-large District (1946–1947)
In office
21 February 1930 – 21 January 1932
In office
21 February 1936 – 30 April 1942
In office
11 April 1946 – 31 March 1947
In office
25 April 1947 – 23 December 1948
In office
2 October 1952 – 23 October 1963
Personal details
Born(1887-07-28)28 July 1887
Tanabe,Wakayama,Empire of Japan
Died30 May 1978(1978-05-30)(aged 90)
Fujisawa,Kanagawa,Japan
Political partyDemocratic Socialist(1960–1978)
Other political
affiliations		Right Socialist Party of Japan
Japan Socialist Party(before 1960)
Alma materTokyo Imperial University
Signature

Tetsu Katayama(Phiến sơn triết,Katayama Tetsu,28 July 1887 – 30 May 1978)was aJapanesepolitician who wasPrime Minister of Japanfrom 1947 to 1948. AChristian pacifist,he bears the distinction of having been the firstsocialistto serve as Prime Minister of Japan.[1]He was aChristian socialist.[2][3][4]

Early life[edit]

He was born inTanabe,Wakayama Prefectureon 28 July 1887.[5]He attendedTokyo Imperial Universityand received a bachelor's degree in law.[5]Raised in the Christian faith, he was strongly influenced by theChristian socialismofAbe Isoo.After graduating, he opened a law office in a rentedYMCAdormitory, and worked as an attorney.[5]

Early political career[edit]

Katayama became secretary-general of theSocial Democratic Partywhen it was established in 1926.[5]He was elected to Japan'sHouse of Representatives,representingKanagawa Prefecture,in 1930.[5]Later in 1932, he joined the executive committee of theSocialist Masses Party.He was removed from the party since he did not participate in the session of the House on whichTakao Saitowas expelled from the House for his antimilitary speech.[5]AfterWorld War II,Katayama began to serve as secretary-general of theJapan Socialist Partywhen it was established in November 1945.[5]Next in September 1946, he became the chairman of the party's executive committee.[5]

Prime Minister and later life[edit]

Katayama's cabinet

Following the 1947 elections, in which the Socialist Party came in first, Katayama formed a coalition government with theDemocratic Partyand theNational Cooperative Party.Although in reality, Emperor Hirohito was displeased by the fact that Katayama became the prime minister, wherein he was not included in the votation process.[6]Despite leading a short-lived administration, Katayama, during his time in office, saw the enactment of a wide range of progressive social reforms such as the establishment of Japan's first Labour Ministry;[7]an Unemployment Compensation Act; an Unemployment Insurance Act; and the overhaul revision of the Civil Code, whose section on the family institution was completely rewritten to provide, for instance, the eldest son with a greater inheritance share.[8][9]

The Labour Standards Act of September 1947 introduced maternity leave for a five weekly mandatory post-natal period and prohibited dismissal of women during maternity leave and for thirty days after the end of the leave although not all workers were covered.[10]In addition, the law provided for equal pay for equal work.[11]The Employment Security Law of November 1947 contained authority for the government to operate a system of free public employment exchanges on a broader and more democratic basis than under the former Employment Exchange Law. It also provided for public services to the handicapped in securing employment, and outlawed labor Boss es and other undemocratic forms of labor recruitment.[12]The Child Welfare Law of December 1947 extended special protection to abused, abandoned, and neglected children, guaranteed the privacy rights of children born out of wedlock, established health-care programmes for mothers and children, provided for prenatal care, outlawed the employment of minors in dangerous occupations, and abolished the practice of indentured labour. The legislation also laid the institutional foundation for a nationwide system of childcare centres, created standards for foster parentage, and made the state responsible for setting up and supervising orphanages and other juvenile institutions.[9]

The Law for the Elimination of Excessive Economic Concentration (passed in December 1947) provided for the dissolution of any company considered to be monopolistic,[13]while the "law on the expulsion ofZaibatsu-affiliated controls "of January 1948 enforced the resignation of Zaibatsu board members who were related closely to Zaibatsu families, while a measure was taken to ban on holding the concurrent board posts of their affiliated companies. In addition, a government employees law was enacted, the first group of Japanese Supreme Court justices was appointed, local government and the police were reorganised, the Ministries of Home Affairs, Navy, and War were abolished,[14]extensive revisions were made to criminal law, and progress was made on land reform.[15]

At the end of the 1950s, Katayama was also the president of the Japan's Temperance Union.[16]The influence of left-wing socialists, such asSuzuki Mosaburō,forced Katayama to resign early in his term.[17]After his resignation, Katayama became a member of theDemocratic Socialist Partyand advocated the maintenance of the pacifist constitution, election reform, and formation of a global commonwealth. In 1963, Katayama left politics after he lost his seat in the general elections.[5]

Global policy[edit]

He was one of the signatories of the agreement to convene a convention for drafting aworld constitution.[18][19]As a result, for the first time in human history, aWorld Constituent Assemblyconvened to draft and adopt aConstitution for the Federation of Earth.[20]

Honors[edit]

  • Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun (1964)
  • Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun with Paulownia Flowers (1978; posthumous)

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^Akimoto, Daisuke (7 February 2022). "Tetsu Kattayama: The Christian Pacifist and First Socialist Premier".Japanese Prime Ministers and Their Peace Philosophy: 1945 to the Present.Springer Nature. p.52.ISBN978-981-16-8379-4.
  2. ^Moore, Ray A.; Robinson, Donald L. (2004).Partners for Democracy: Crafting the New Japanese State Under MacArthur.Oxford University Press. p.45.ISBN978-0-19-517176-1.
  3. ^Phillips, James M. (17 June 2011).From the Rising of the Sun: Christians and Society in Contemporary Japan.Wipf and Stock Publishers. p.21.ISBN978-1-61097-557-5.
  4. ^Johnson, Elliott; Walker, David; Gray, Daniel (9 September 2014).Historical Dictionary of Marxism.Rowman & Littlefield. p.216.ISBN978-1-4422-3798-8.
  5. ^abcdefghi"Historical Figures".National Diet Library.Retrieved13 January2013.
  6. ^Bix 2016, p. 626
  7. ^Totten, George Oakley (1966).Studies on Japan's Social Democratic Parties: Socialist parties in postwar Japan.Yale University Press.
  8. ^Odaka, Konosuke (2002)."The Evolution of Social Policy in Japan"(PDF).World Bank.Retrieved13 January2013.
  9. ^abMackie, Vera (26 February 2003).Feminism in Modern Japan: Citizenship, Embodiment and Sexuality.Cambridge University Press. p.[1].ISBN9780521527194.
  10. ^"Trends in leave entitlements around childbirth since 1970"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 21 July 2014.Retrieved21 November2014.
  11. ^Beauchamp, Edward R. (1 January 1998).Women and Women's Issues in Post World War II Japan.Taylor & Francis.ISBN9780815327318.
  12. ^Yamamura, Kōzō; Yamamura, K̄oz̄o (1967)."Economic Policy in Postwar Japan: Growth Versus Economic Democracy".
  13. ^Yamamura, Kozo (13 June 1997).The Economic Emergence of Modern Japan.Cambridge University Press.ISBN978-0-521-58946-8.
  14. ^Cole, Allan Burnett; Totten, George Oakley; Uyehara, Cecil H. (1966).Socialist Parties in Postwar Japan.Yale University Press.ISBN978-0-608-30698-8.
  15. ^Stockwin, J. A. A. (16 December 2003).Dictionary of the Modern Politics of Japan.Taylor & Francis.ISBN9780203402177.
  16. ^"Soviet leader may give up vodka toping".St. Petersburg Times.26 October 1957. p.4.
  17. ^Duus, Peter (1998).Modern Japan.Houghton Mifflin. p.269.ISBN978-0-395-74604-2.
  18. ^"Letters from Thane Read asking Helen Keller to sign the World Constitution for world peace. 1961".Helen Keller Archive.American Foundation for the Blind.Retrieved1 July2023.
  19. ^"Letter from World Constitution Coordinating Committee to Helen, enclosing current materials".Helen Keller Archive.American Foundation for the Blind.Retrieved3 July2023.
  20. ^"Preparing earth constitution | Global Strategies & Solutions | The Encyclopedia of World Problems".The Encyclopedia of World Problems | Union of International Associations (UIA).Retrieved15 July2023.

External links[edit]

Political offices
Preceded by Prime Minister of Japan
1947–1948 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister of Justice
Interim
1947 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister of Commerce and Industry
1947 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister of Communications
1947 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister of Finance
Interim
1947 		Succeeded by
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