Yōsuke Matsuoka | |
|---|---|
松岡 洋右 | |
(b)(2)).jpg) Matsuoka in 1932 | |
| Minister for Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 22 July 1940 – 16 July 1941 | |
| Prime Minister | Fumimaro Konoe |
| Preceded by | Hachirō Arita |
| Succeeded by | Teijirō Toyoda |
| Minister of Colonial Affairs | |
| In office 22 July 1940 – 28 September 1940 | |
| Prime Minister | Fumimaro Konoe |
| Preceded by | Kuniaki Koiso |
| Succeeded by | Kiyoshi Akita |
| Member of theHouse of Representatives | |
| In office 21 February 1930 – 28 December 1933 | |
| Preceded by | Ihei Kuzuhara |
| Succeeded by | Torahiko Ogawa |
| Constituency | Yamaguchi 2nd |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1880-03-04)4 March 1880 |
| Died | 27 June 1946(1946-06-27) (aged 66) |
| Party | Rikken Seiyūkai |
| Spouse | Ryūko Shin |
| Children | Kenichirō Kaneko Yōji Shinzō Shirō |
| Parent(s) | Sanjurō Matsuoka Yū Ogawa |
| Education | Meiji University University of Oregon |
| Occupation | Diplomat, Cabinet Minister |
Yōsuke Matsuoka (松岡 洋右,Matsuoka Yōsuke; March 4, 1880 – June 27, 1946) was a Japanese diplomat andMinister for Foreign Affairs of theEmpire of Japan during the early stages ofWorld War II. He is best known for his defiant speech at theLeague of Nations in February 1933, ending Japan's participation in the organization. He was also one of the architects of theTripartite Pact and theSoviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact in the years immediately prior to the outbreak of war.
Matsuoka was born as the fourth son to a shipping magnate inKumage District,Yamaguchi Prefecture (now part of the city ofHikari). At the age of 11, his father's business went bankrupt, and Matsuoka was sent to theUnited States with a cousin in 1893 under the sponsorship ofMethodist missionaries to studyEnglish. He settled inPortland, Oregon, living initially at the Methodist Mission, and was subsequently taken into the household of the widower William Dunbar, which included Dunbar's son Lambert, and Dunbar's sister, Mrs. Isabelle Dunbar Beveridge. Mrs. Beveridge served as a foster mother to Matsuoka and helped him adjust to American society. Matsuoka's affection for her lasted well after he returned to Japan. She died in 1906.[1][2]
Matsuoka enrolled at Portland's Atkinson Grammar School (which still exists asAtkinson Elementary School), and due to the influence of the Mrs. Beveridge and the Dunbar family, became aPresbyterianChristian, being baptized by a Rev. Kawabe,[3][4][5] taking the name of "Frank Matsuoka". He later moved toOakland, California, with his older brother Kensuke and attendedOakland High School for 18 months. He then returned to Portland and studied law, paying his way by various odd jobs, including busboy, door-to-door salesman (of coffee) and interpreter for a Japanese contractor.[6]
Matsuoka graduated from theUniversity of Oregon law school in 1900.[7][8] Although the University of Oregon had strong connections withWaseda University in Japan, Matsuoka considered going on to anIvy League school for post-graduate studies. However, the deteriorating health of his mother influenced his return to Japan in 1902.
On Matsuoka's return to Japan in 1902, he attempted to gain admission toTokyo Imperial University, but was unsuccessful due to his lack of connections and the lack of acceptance of his studies overseas by the Tokyo University Law School. In 1904, Matsuoka decided to pursue a career as a bureaucrat instead, and passed the Foreign Service examinations and was accepted into the Foreign Ministry. Within two years, he was appointed vice-consul at the Japanese consulate inShanghai. He was subsequently attached to the Governor-General of theKwantung Leased Territory, where he became acquainted withGotō Shinpei, then president of theSouth Manchuria Railway andYamamoto Jōtarō, then working forMitsui in developing the natural resources ofManchuria. Over the next 18 years Matsuoka advanced quickly through the ranks of diplomats. He was briefly assigned as First Secretary of the Japanese Embassy inWashington D.C. in 1914, and was a member of the Japanese delegation to theParis Peace Conference in 1919. Matsuoka served as secretary toPrime MinisterTerauchi and to Terauchi's Foreign Minister Gotō Shinpei, where his knowledge of the English language was an asset. Matsuoka was also an outspoken defender of Japanese participation in theSiberian Intervention against theBolshevik forces in theRussian Civil War.
Matsuoka was assigned as JapaneseConsul to China in 1921, but turned down the assignment to return to Manchuria as a director of the South Manchurian Railway Company in 1922. In 1927, Matsuoka was promoted to the position of Vice-President of the South Manchurian Railway Company.[9] He was also responsible for the expansion of the coal mines inFushun and the construction of acoal liquefaction plant. However, in 1930, he resigned from the South Manchurian Railway and returned to Japan.In the1930 General Election, Matsuoka ran for a seat in theLower House of theDiet of Japan fromYamaguchi Prefecture with the support of theRikken Seiyūkai (Constitutional Association of Political Friendship) political party.
However, following theManchurian Incident of 1931, the establishment ofManchukuo and theLytton Report to theLeague of Nations condemning Japan's actions, Matsuoka was drawn back into the arena of foreign affairs to head Japan's delegation to the League of Nations in 1933. Matsuoka gained international notoriety for a speech condemning the League of Nations and announcing Japan's withdrawal, leading the Japanese delegation out of the League's assembly hall.[10][11]
Following his return to Japan, Matsuoka announced his resignation from theRikken Seiyūkai and his intent to form his own political party modeled after theNational Fascist Party in Italy. However, the party never gained the mass support Matsuoka had anticipated, and in 1935 he returned to Manchuria as president of the South Manchuria Railway. He held that post until 1939.[9] Despite his admiration of the Italian fascist movement, Matsuoka was also a supporter of theplan to settle Jewish refugees in Manchukuo.
In 1940, Matsuoka was asked to assume the cabinet position of Minister of Foreign Affairs underPrime MinisterFumimaro Konoe. Matsuoka was a major advocate of a Japanese alliance withNazi Germany andFascist Italy, whose assistance he saw as a perfect balancing force against theUnited States, and as such was one of the primary orchestrators of theTripartite Pact in 1940.
On December 31, 1940, Matsuoka told a group of Jewish businessmen that he was "the man responsible for the alliance withAdolf Hitler, but nowhere have I promised that we would carry out hisantisemitic policies in Japan. This is not simply my personal opinion, it is theopinion of Japan, and I have no compunction about announcing it to the world."[12]
During March–April 1941 Matsuoka visitedMoscow andBerlin. On March 29, 1941, at a conversation with German Minister of Foreign AffairsJoachim von Ribbentrop, Ribbentrop was instructed to not tell the Japanese anything about the upcomingOperation Barbarossa, and that the Japanese be kept in the dark about Germany's plans.[13] Ribbentrop tried to convince Matsuoka to urge the government in Tokyo to attackSingapore, claiming theBritish navy was too weak to retaliate due to its involvement in theBattle of the Atlantic. Matsuoka responded to this by stating preparations to occupySingapore were under way.[14]
Matsuoka also signed theSoviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact during his visit to Moscow in April 1941. However, afterNazi Germany's invasion of theSoviet Union in June 1941, Hitler proposed to Matsuoka that Japan take part in the attack as well. Matsuoka became a fervent supporter of the idea of a Japanese attack onSiberia, and constantly pressured Konoe and the leaders of theImperial Japanese Army andImperial Japanese Navy to mobilize the military for that purpose. In the end, both the army and the navy as well as Konoe decided to concentrate military efforts on targets south of Japan.
Despite the military's opposition to his ideas, Matsuoka continued to loudly advocate an invasion of Russia and became increasingly reckless in his diplomatic dealings with the United States, which he believed was conspiring to provoke Japan into a war. Matsuoka's hostility towards the United States (a vocal opponent of Japan's military campaigns) alarmed Konoe, who wanted to avoid war with the United States. Konoe and the military hierarchy colluded to get rid of Matsuoka. To this end, Konoe resigned in July 1941 and his cabinet ministers resigned with him, including Matsuoka. Konoe immediately was made prime minister again, and replaced Matsuoka as Foreign Minister with AdmiralTeijirō Toyoda.
When the Pacific war broke out, Matsuoka professed, "Entering into the Tripartite Pact was the mistake of my life. Even now I still keenly feel it. Even my death won't take away this feeling."[15] Matsuoka subsequently drifted into obscurity and lived in retirement through the war years.
Following thesurrender of Japan, Matsuoka was arrested by theSupreme Commander of the Allied Powers in 1945 and held atSugamo Prison. However, he died in prison ofnatural causes on June 26, 1946, before his trial onwar crimes charges came up before theInternational Military Tribunal for the Far East.[16]
In 1979, he was enshrined inYasukuni Shrine, together with 12 convictedwar criminals of the Pacific War.[4]
Still, the requirement of unquestioned submission to one God remained alien to him. Religion to him was a mere cultural milieu. While in America, he was happy to be a Christian and become part of its culture. Back in Japan, he was equally conformable playing homage to the Buddha statues in a Shin temple in Murozumi, much to the delight of his mother. As a foreign minister he was remembered for his obsessive desire to worship at Ise and other Shinto shrines. Viewing religion as he did, Matsuoka found no contradiction in these actions.
"Hotta, Eri, "Japan, 1941" (Alfred A. Knopf, 2013)
Media related toYosuke Matsuoka at Wikimedia Commons
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Minister for Foreign Affairs July 1940 – July 1941 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Colonial Affairs September 1940 – July 1941 | Succeeded by |
| House of Representatives (Japan) | ||
| Preceded by Yoichi Sawamoto ... | Representative forYamaguchi's 2nd district (multi-member) 1930–1936 Served alongside:Shigeo Nishimura, Yoichi Sawamoto, Yōji Kodama, Kenji Michimoto, Yoshimichi Kuboi | Succeeded by Shigeo Nishimura ... |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| People | |
| Other | |
