Saitō Makoto

Saitō Makoto
斎藤 実
10th Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal
In office
February 26, 1935 – February 26, 1936
Monarch Shōwa
Preceded by Makino Nobuaki
Succeeded by Ichiki Kitokurō
19th 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
Monarch 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
Service/branch 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 a Japanese naval officer and politician.[1]

Saitō was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy.[2] He was 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.[3] He was commissioned an ensign on September 8, 1882, and promoted to sub-lieutenant on February 25, 1884.

Military career

In 1884, Saitō went to the United States for four years to study as a military attaché. Promoted to lieutenant on July 14, 1886; 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. He received rapid promotions to commander on December 1, 1897 and to captain on December 27. On November 10, 1898, he became Vice Minister of the Navy, and was promoted to rear admiral on May 20, 1900[4]

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 to 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 September 1919, Saitō was appointed as the third Japanese Governor-General of Korea. Rising to the post right after the culmination of the Korean independence movement, he was subject to an immediate assassination attempt by radical Korean nationalists.[5][6] He served as governor-general of Korea twice—in 1919–1927,[1] and again in 1929–1931,[7] implementing a series of measures to moderate Japan's policies on Koreans. 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's 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 the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum.

Honours

From the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia

Notes

  1. 1 2 Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Saitō Makoto" in Japan Encyclopedia, p. 809.
  2. ↑ Nishida, Imperial Japanese Navy
  3. ↑ Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN), "Graduates of Naval Academy class 6th," Saito Makoto; retrieved 2012-10-18.
  4. ↑ Nishida, Imperial Japanese Navy.
  5. ↑ Pratt, Keith (2007). Everlasting Flower: A History of Korea. Reaktion Books. p. 218.
  6. ↑ Ion, A. Hamish (1993). The Cross and the Rising Sun: The British Protestant Missionary Movement in Japan, Korea and Taiwan, 1865-1945. 2. Wilfrid Laurier University Press. p. 206.
  7. ↑ WorldStatesmen.org, Republic of Korea, Governors-General; ewreiwcws 2012-10-18.
  8. ↑ London Gazette, 15 May 1906

References

Political offices
Preceded by
Yamamoto Gonnohyōe		 Minister of the Navy
7 January 1906 – 16 April 1914 		Succeeded by
Yashiro Rokurō
Preceded by
Hasegawa Yoshimichi		 Japanese Governor-General of Korea
August 1919 – December 1927 		Succeeded by
Kazushige Ugaki
Acting
Preceded by
Yamanashi Hanzō		 Japanese Governor-General of Korea
August 1929 – June 1931 		Succeeded by
Kazushige Ugaki
Preceded by
Takahashi Korekiyo
Acting		 Prime Minister of Japan
May 1932 – July 1934 		Succeeded by
Okada Keisuke
Preceded by
Kenkichi Yoshizawa		 Minister of Foreign Affairs
May 1932 – July 1932 		Succeeded by
Uchida Kosai
Preceded by
Ichirō Hatoyama		 Minister of Education
May 1934 – July 1934 		Succeeded by
Genji Matsuda
Preceded by
Makino Nobuaki		 Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal
December 1935 – February 1936 		Succeeded by
Ichiki Kitokuro
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