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Takahashi Korekiyo | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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高橋 是清 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Prime Minister of Japan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 13 November 1921 – 12 June 1922 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Monarch | Taishō | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Regent | Hirohito | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Hara Takashi Uchida Kōsai (acting) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Katō Tomosaburō | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| President of the Rikken Seiyūkai | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 13 November 1921 – 10 April 1925 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Hara Takashi | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Tanaka Giichi | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Member of theHouse of Representatives | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 10 May 1924 – 21 January 1928 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Umatarō Ōya | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Constituency abolished | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Constituency | Iwate 1st | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Member of theHouse of Peers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 29 January 1905 – 24 March 1924 Nominated by theEmperor | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1854-07-27)27 July 1854 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 26 February 1936(1936-02-26) (aged 81) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Manner of death | Assassination (gunshot wound) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Resting place | Tama Reien Cemetery,Tokyo | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Party | Rikken Seiyūkai | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Signature |  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname | Keynes of Japan[1][2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ViscountTakahashi Korekiyo (高橋 是清; 27 July 1854 – 26 February 1936) was a Japanesepolitician who served asprime minister of Japan from 1921 to 1922 andMinister of Finance when he was assassinated. He was also a member of theHouse of Peers and head of theBank of Japan.
Takahashi made many contributions to Japan's development during the early 20th century, including introducing its firstpatent system and securing foreign financing for theRusso-Japanese War. Following the onset of theGreat Depression, he introduced controversial financial policies which included abandoning thegold standard, lowering interest rates, and using theBank of Japan to financedeficit spending by the central government. His decision to cut government spending in 1935 led to unrest within the Japanese military, who assassinated him in February 1936. Takahashi's policies are credited for pulling Japan out of the Depression, but led to soaring inflation following his assassination, as Takahashi's successors became highly reluctant to cut off funding to the government.[3]
Takahashi was born inEdo (modern-day Tokyo), while Japan was still under theTokugawa shogunate.[4] He was the illegitimate son of a court painter in residence atEdo Castle, and adopted as the son of Takahashi Kakuji, a low-rankingsamurai in the service of theDatedaimyō ofSendai Domain. He studied theEnglish language and American culture in a private school run by the missionaryJames Hepburn (the forerunner ofMeiji Gakuin University). On 25 July 1867, he set sail from Japan toOakland, California, in theUnited States,[5] and found employment as a menial laborer. Another version of the story has it that he went to the United States to study, but was sold as a slave by his landlord and only with some difficulty was he able to return to Japan.[6]
After his return to Japan in 1868, Takahashi taught English conversation. He later became the first master of theKyōryū Gakkō [ja] high school in Tokyo (currentlyKaisei Academy), and at the same time worked as a low-ranking bureaucrat in theMinistry of Education, and then in theMinistry of Agriculture and Commerce. He was appointed as the first chief of the Bureau of Patents, a department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce, and helped organized thepatent system in Japan. At one point, he resigned his government positions and went toPeru to start a silver mining enterprise, but failed.[3]
Takahashi became an employee of theBank of Japan in 1892, and his talents were soon recognized, as he rose to become vice-president in 1898.
During and after theRusso-Japanese War of 1904–1905, Takahashi raised foreign loans that were critical to Japan's war effort. He met personally with American financierJacob Schiff, who floated half of Japan's loans in the U.S. He also raised loans from theRothschild family in Britain.
For this success, he was appointed to theHouse of Peers of theDiet of Japan in 1905.
Takahashi was named president of theYokohama Specie Bank in 1906. He was made abaron (danshaku) under thekazoku peerage system in 1907.
Takahashi was Governor of the Bank of Japan from 1 June 1911, through 20 February 1913.[7]
In 1913, Takahashi was appointedMinister of Finance byPrime MinisterYamamoto Gonnohyōe and then joined theRikken Seiyūkai political party. He was re-appointed by Prime MinisterHara Takashi in 1918. In 1920, Takahashi's title was elevated toviscount (shishaku).
 Takahashi in 1935 or 1936 | |
| Premiership of Takahashi Korekiyo 13 November 1921 – 12 June 1922 | |
| Monarch | Emperor Taishō |
|---|---|
| Cabinet | Takahashi Cabinet |
| Party | Rikken Seiyūkai |
| Seat | Naikaku Sōri Daijin Kantei |
← Uchida Kōsai (acting) | |
 Emblem of the Government of Japan | |
After Hara was assassinated in 1921, Takahashi was appointed both Prime Minister and the Rikken Seiyūkai party president.
Takahashi was the second Christian Prime Minister in Japanese history. His term lasted less than seven months, primarily due to his inability as an outsider to control the factions in his party, and his lack of a power base in the party.
After resigning as Prime Minister, Takahashi still retained the position of president of theRikken Seiyūkai. He resigned his seat in the House of Peers in 1924, and was elected to a seat in theLower House of the Diet of Japan in the1924 General Election. WhenKatō Takaaki became the prime minister and set up a coalition cabinet in 1924, Takahashi accepted the post of Minister of Agriculture and Commerce. He divided the department into theMinistry of Agriculture and Forestry and theMinistry of Commerce and Industry. Takahashi resigned from theRikken Seiyūkai in 1925.
Takahashi served as Finance Minister under the administrations ofTanaka Giichi (1927–1929),Inukai Tsuyoshi (1931–1932),Saitō Makoto (1932–1934) andKeisuke Okada (1934–1936). To bring Japan out of theGreat Depression of 1929, he instituted dramatically expansionary monetary and fiscal policy, abandoning thegold standard in December 1931, and running deficits.[8]
Despite considerable success, his fiscal policies involving reduction of military expenditures created many enemies within the military; and he was among those assassinated by rebelling military officers in theFebruary 26 incident of 1936. His grave is at the Tama Reien Cemetery inFuchū, Tokyo. Along withSaitō Makoto (who was also assassinated during the Incident), Takahashi would be the last former Japanese prime minister to be assassinated until theassassination of Shinzo Abe 86 years later in 2022.
From the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia
_1Class_BAR.svg)
Grand Cordon of theOrder of the Sacred Treasure (1 April 1906; 5th Class: 28 December 1902; 6th Class: 25 October 1889)
Grand Cordon of theOrder of the Rising Sun (7 September 1920)
Grand Cross of theLégion d'honneur (3 July 1924)
Grand Cordon of theOrder of the Paulownia Flowers (3 June 1927)
Grand Cordon of theOrder of the Chrysanthemum (26 February 1936; posthumous)
| Government offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Governor of the Bank of Japan Jun 1911 – Feb 1913 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Minister of Finance Feb 1913 – Apr 1914 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Finance Sept 1918 – Jun 1922 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Japan Nov 1921 – Jun 1922 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Agriculture & Commerce Jun 1924 – Apr 1925 | Succeeded by position abolished |
| Preceded by none | Minister of Commerce & Industry Apr 1925 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by none | Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Apr 1925 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Justice Feb 1925 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Finance Apr–Jun 1927 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Finance Dec 1931 – Jul 1934 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Finance Nov 1934 – Feb 1936 | Succeeded by |
| Empire of Japan (1868–1947) |
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| Japan (1947–present) |
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