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Tanaka Giichi | |
|---|---|
田中 義一 | |
 | |
| Prime Minister of Japan | |
| In office 20 April 1927 – 2 July 1929 | |
| Monarch | Hirohito |
| Preceded by | Wakatsuki Reijirō |
| Succeeded by | Hamaguchi Osachi |
| President of the Rikken Seiyūkai | |
| In office 10 April 1925 – 29 September 1929 | |
| Preceded by | Takahashi Korekiyo |
| Succeeded by | Inukai Tsuyoshi |
| Minister of Colonial Affairs | |
| In office 10 June 1929 – 2 July 1929 | |
| Prime Minister | Himself |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Genji Matsuda |
| Minister for Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 20 April 1927 – 2 July 1929 | |
| Prime Minister | Himself |
| Preceded by | Kijūrō Shidehara |
| Succeeded by | Kijūrō Shidehara |
| Minister of Home Affairs | |
| In office 4 May 1928 – 23 May 1928 | |
| Prime Minister | Himself |
| Preceded by | Suzuki Kisaburō |
| Succeeded by | Mochizuki Keisuke |
| Minister of the Army | |
| In office 2 September 1923 – 7 January 1924 | |
| Prime Minister | Yamamoto Gonnohyōe |
| Preceded by | Yamanashi Hanzō |
| Succeeded by | Ugaki Kazushige |
| In office 20 September 1918 – 9 June 1921 | |
| Prime Minister | Hara Takashi |
| Preceded by | Ōshima Ken'ichi |
| Succeeded by | Yamanashi Hanzō |
| Member of theHouse of Peers | |
| In office 29 January 1926 – 29 September 1929 Nominated by theEmperor | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1864-06-22)22 June 1864 |
| Died | 29 September 1929(1929-09-29) (aged 65) |
| Resting place | Tama Reien Cemetery,Fuchū, Tokyo |
| Political party | Rikken Seiyūkai |
| Spouse | |
| Children | Tanaka Tatsuo |
| Alma mater | Imperial Japanese Army Academy Army War College |
| Signature |  |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  Empire of Japan |
| Branch |  Imperial Japanese Army |
| Years of service | 1874–1924 |
| Rank |  General |
BaronTanaka Giichi (Japanese:田中 義一;IPA:[ta̠na̠ka̠ɡʲiːt͡ɕi]; 22 June 1864 – 29 September 1929) was a Japanese general and politician who served asPrime Minister of Japan from 1927 to 1929.
Born to asamurai family in theChōshū Domain, Tanaka became an officer in theImperial Japanese Army and rose through the ranks. He served as Minister of the Army under Prime MinistersHara Takashi andYamamoto Gonnohyōe. After retiring from active duty he accepted the presidency of theRikken Seiyūkai, a major conservative party. Following the resignation of theWakatsuki Cabinet in 1927, Tanaka was appointed Prime Minister. In foreign affairs, he pursued a hawkish policy; in domestic affairs, he sought to suppress communist and socialist movements. Criticised for his handling of the unauthorisedassassination of Zhang Zuolin by aKwangtung Army officer, he resigned in 1929 and died soon afterwards.
Tanaka was born as the third son of a low-rankingsamurai family in the service ofChōshū Domain inHagi,Nagato Province (modern dayYamaguchi Prefecture), Japan. At the age of 13, he participated in theHagi Rebellion. He had an interest in politics from an early age, serving on a village council and as an elementary school teacher. He only joined the Imperial Japanese Army at the age of 20.
He graduated from the former 8th class ofImperial Japanese Army Academy and the 8th class of theArmy War College in 1892, and served as a junior officer during theFirst Sino-Japanese War. After the end of the war, he was sent as amilitary attaché to Moscow andPetrograd, and was inRussia at the same time asTakeo Hirose of theImperial Japanese Navy, with whom he became close friends. Tanaka was fluent in theRussian language, which he learned while attending mass every Sunday at aRussian Orthodox church, which enabled him to practice his Russian at church social events, although it is uncertain if he ever actually converted to Christianity. As one of the few Russian experts within the military, he was an invaluable resource to Army planners during theRusso-Japanese War, and served as aide to GeneralKodama Gentarō inManchuria.
In 1906, Tanaka helped draft a defense plan which was so highly regarded by theImperial Japanese Army General Staff and GeneralYamagata Aritomo that it was adopted as basic policy untilWorld War I. He was also awarded theOrder of the Golden Kite (3rd class) in April 1906.
In 1910, he established a Veterans Association. Tanaka was promoted tomajor general in 1911, and was made director of the Military Affairs Bureau at theMinistry of the Army, where he recommended an increase in the strength of the standing army by two additionalinfantry divisions. He was awarded theOrder of the Sacred Treasure (1st class) in September 1918. He joined the cabinet ofPrime MinistersHara Takashi asArmy Minister from September 1918 to June 1921. He was promoted to full general in 1920 and was awarded theOrder of the Rising Sun (1st class). He was also elevated to the title ofdanshaku (baron) under thekazoku peerage system. However, the Hara cabinet came under unceasing criticism due to theNishihara Loans, the disastrousNikolayevsk incident and accusations of Army misappropriation of secret funds, and supporting unsavory figures such asWhite Movement generalRoman von Ungern-Sternberg. After suffering from an attack ofangina, Tanaka resigned all posts, and retired to his summer home inOiso, Kanagawa.
Tanaka returned as Army Minister in the 2ndYamamoto administration from September 1923 to January 1924. After retiring from the army, Tanaka was invited to accept the post of party president of theRikken Seiyūkai political party in 1925 and was made a member of theHouse of Peers in January 1926. He had been scheduled to be promoted to the rank ofField Marshal at the time of his retirement. However, when news reached the ears of the Army Ministry of a 3 million Yen bonus that Tanaka received on agreeing to join theRikken Seiyukai, the promotion was denied.
 Tanaka, before 1929 | |
| Premiership of Tanaka Giichi 20 April 1927 – 2 July 1929 | |
| Monarch | Emperor Shōwa |
|---|---|
| Cabinet | Tanaka Giichi Cabinet |
| Party | Rikken Seiyūkai |
| Election | 1928 |
| Seat | Naikaku Sōri Daijin Kantei |
 Emblem of the Government of Japan | |
Tanaka becamePrime Minister of Japan on 20 April 1927, during theShōwa financial crisis, serving simultaneously as theForeign Affairs Minister. He later added the posts ofHome Minister (4 May 1928 to 23 May 1928), andColonial Affairs Minister (10 June 1929 to 2 July 1929) to his portfolio.
On the domestic front, Tanaka attempted to suppress communists and socialists and their sympathizers through widespread arrests (the15 March incident of 1928, and the19 April incident of 1929).
On foreign policy, Tanaka differed from his predecessor Shidehara both tactically and strategically. Whereas Shidehara preferred to evacuate Japanese residents where conflicts occurred with local people, Tanaka preferred using military force. While Shidehara theoretically respected China's sovereignty, Tanaka openly pursued a "separation of Manchuria and Inner Mongolia policy" (満蒙分離政策,Man-Mō bunri seisaku) tocreate a sense of difference between those areas and the rest of China.[1] On three separate occasions in 1927 and 1928 he sent troops to intervene militarily inShandong Province to blockChiang Kai-shek'sNorthern Expedition to unify China underKuomintang rule, in what became known as theJinan Incident.
Tanaka came into office even as forces were already beginning to converge that would draw Japan intoWorld War II. In 1928, however, the machinations of the ultranationalist secret societies and theKwantung Army resulted in a crisis: theassassination of the Manchurian warlordZhang Zuolin and the failed attempt to seizeManchuria. Tanaka himself was taken by surprise by the assassination plot and argued that the officers responsible should be publiclycourt-martialed for homicide. The military establishment, from which Tanaka was by now estranged, insisted on covering up the facts of the incident, which remained an official secret. Bereft of support, and under mounting criticism in theDiet and even from emperorHirohito himself, Tanaka and his cabinet resigned en masse on 2 July 1929.
Tanaka was succeeded byHamaguchi Osachi, and died a few months after his resignation. He was awarded theOrder of the Paulownia Flowers on his death. His grave is at theTama Cemetery inFuchū, Tokyo.[2]
In 1929, China accused Tanaka of having authored the "Tanaka Memorial Imperialist Conquest Plan," which advocated the conquest of Manchuria, Mongolia, and eventually the whole of China. He was alleged to have presented the plan to the emperor in 1927. The plan was presented as fact in the wartime propaganda film seriesWhy We Fight, which claimed that the plan envisaged the conquest of America after East Asia.[3] In a memoir published in the mid-1950s, a Japanese-born Taiwanese businessman, Tsai Chih-Kan, claimed that he had personally copied the "Plan" from the Imperial Library on the night of 20 June 1928 in a covert action assisted by several of Japan's leading prewar politicians and officers, who were opposed to Tanaka. Today, most historians regard the document as a forgery.[4][5]
From the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia
Imperial Constitution Promulgation Medal[7]
Order of the Sacred Treasure, 6th class[8]
Order of the Golden Kite, 5th class[8]
First Sino-Japanese War Medal[9]
Order of the Sacred Treasure, 5th class[10]
Order of the Sacred Treasure, 4th class[11]
Order of the Golden Kite, 3rd class[12]
Korean Annexation Commemorative Medal[13]
Order of the Sacred Treasure, 2nd Class[14]
Emperor Taishō Enthronement Commemorative Medal[15]
Order of the Sacred Treasure, 1st Class[16]
Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun[6]
World War I Victory Medal[17]
First National Census Commemorative Medal[18]
Order of the Paulownia Flowers[19]
Imperial Capital Rehabilitation Commemorative Medal[20]
Russia:Order of Saint Anna, 2nd class[21]
Russia:Order of Saint Stanislaus, 2nd class[22]
Qing dynasty:Order of the Double Dragon, Class II Grade II[23]Russia: Order of Saint Stanislaus, 1st class[24]
Bulgaria:Order of Saint Alexander, 2nd class[25]Russia: Order of Saint Anna, 1st class[26]
China:Order of the Striped Tiger, 2nd class[27]China: Order of the Striped Tiger, 1st class[28]
France: Grand Cross of theLegion d'Honneur[29]
Greece:Order of George I, 1st class[30]
Romania:Grand Cross of the Star of Romania, with Swords[31]_pasador.svg)
Spain:Cross of Military Merit, with White Decoration[32]
US:Distinguished Service Medal (DSM)[33]
Czechoslovakia:War Cross 1918, 3rd award[34]
Poland:Order of Polonia Restituta, Grand Cordon[35]
Denmark: Grand Cross of theOrder of the Dannebrog[36]
UK:Knight Grand Cross of The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George (GCMG)[19]
UK:Knight Grand Cross of The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (GBE)
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| Japan (1947–present) |
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