Machida Chūji | |
|---|---|
町田 忠治 | |
 Machida in 1929 | |
| President of theJapan Progressive Party | |
| In office 18 November 1945 – 23 April 1946 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Kijūrō Shidehara |
| President of theRikken Minseitō | |
| In office 20 January 1935 – 15 August 1940 | |
| Preceded by | Wakatsuki Reijirō |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Minister of Finance | |
| In office 27 February 1936 – 9 March 1936 | |
| Prime Minister | Keisuke Okada |
| Preceded by | Takahashi Korekiyo |
| Succeeded by | Eiichi Baba |
| Minister of Commerce and Industry | |
| In office 8 July 1934 – 9 March 1936 | |
| Prime Minister | Keisuke Okada |
| Preceded by | Jōji Matsumoto |
| Succeeded by | Kawasaki Takukichi |
| Minister of Agriculture and Forestry | |
| In office 2 July 1929 – 13 December 1931 | |
| Prime Minister | Hamaguchi Osachi Wakatsuki Reijirō |
| Preceded by | Teijirō Yamamoto |
| Succeeded by | Teijirō Yamamoto |
| In office 3 June 1926 – 20 April 1927 | |
| Prime Minister | Wakatsuki Reijirō |
| Preceded by | Hayami Seiji |
| Succeeded by | Teijirō Yamamoto |
| Member of theHouse of Representatives | |
| In office 11 May 1924 – 4 January 1946 | |
| Preceded by | Narita Naoichirō |
| Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
| Constituency | Akita 4th (1924–1928) Akita 1st (1928–1946) |
| In office 16 May 1912 – 26 February 1920 | |
| Preceded by | Multi-member district |
| Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
| Constituency | Akita Counties |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1863-05-17)17 May 1863 |
| Died | 12 November 1946(1946-11-12) (aged 83) |
| Party | Rikken Minseitō (1927–1940) |
| Other political affiliations | Rikken Kokumintō (1912–1913) Rikken Dōshikai (1913–1916) Kenseikai (1916–1927) IRAA (1940–1945) JPP (1945–1946) |
| Alma mater | Tokyo Imperial University |
Machida Chūji (町田忠治; 17 May 1863 – 12 November 1946) was a politician and cabinet minister in the pre-warEmpire of Japan.
Machida was born inAkita as the fourth son to asamurai in the service ofKubota Domain. However, his father died when he was three years old. He was raised by his grandparents until adopted by an uncle in 1875, to whose estate he succeeded. He moved to Tokyo and studied at preparatory schools forTokyo Imperial University, where one of his classmates wasIchiki Kitokurō. Although he passed his examinations, he had frequent health problems in Tokyo, including bouts ofberi-beri and was forced to return to Akita. In 1883, he was invited to become an editor for theAkita Sakegake Newspaper, where he specialized in political topics and became acquainted with noted politicianInukai Tsuyoshi. In the summer of 1884, he returned to Tokyo, where he attended the law school of Tokyo Imperial University. One of his classmates at this time wasUchida Kosai andHayashi Gonsuke. However, because of his frequent absences and failure to complete his preliminary studies, Machida never obtained a degree.
On the recommendation ofKaneko Kentaro, Machida obtained a post at theCabinet Legislation Bureau for a year, before leaving to become a reporter for theChoya Shimbun. This newspaper was a mouthpiece for Inukai andOzaki Yukio. In November 1891, at the urging of Ozaki, Machida moved to theHochi Shimbun, where he introduced the theories of Italian economistLuigi Cossa onpublic finance to the general public.[1] His translations were adopted byWaseda University as a textbook.
In May 1893, Machida departedYokohama for the United States, and from there toEngland, where he spent a year studying finance and economics. After his return to Japan, in November 1895, he helped establish theToyo Keizai Shimbun, an economics newspaper.[2] However, in December the following year, at the recommendation ofTameyuki Amano, he became an assistant director of theBank of Japan.
In January 1898, Machida was requested by Bank of Japan chairmanIwasaki Yanosuke to go toOsaka as an auditor to investigate irregularities and managerial disputes. He subsequently became chairman of Yamaguchi Bank (the forerunner ofSanwa Bank)
On May 15, 1912 Machida was elected to a seat from the Akita district in thelower house of theDiet of Japan. He was subsequently elected ten times to the same seat. He joined the 2ndOkuma cabinet as parliamentary undersecretary for Agriculture and Commerce, where he set official government-determined wholesale price of rice. Initially with theRikken Kokumintō, Machida later joined theRikken Dōshikai,Kenseikai andRikken Minseitō (of which he became president in 1935).
From 1919–1926, Machida was also president of theHochi Shimbun.[3]Machida was defeated in the1920 General Election, but regained his seat in the1924 General Election, becoming House Budget Committee chairman under theKatō cabinet. In June 1926, he joined theWakatsuki cabinet asMinister of Agriculture and Forestry. As Agriculture Minister, he addressed the issues of rural debt consolidation and rural development, while preventing extreme fluctuations in the price of rice, drawing praise from both the ruling and opposition parties. He continued in the same position under theHamaguchi administration. In July 1934 he agreed to serve as a consultant to theOkada cabinet, but was soon appointedMinister of Commerce and Industry as well asMinister of Finance. He strongly supported small and medium businesses through the establishment of the Shoko Chukin Bank.
In 1935, Machida, in his role as Japanese Minister of Commerce and Industry, met with former U.S. Ambassador to Japan,W. Cameron Forbes. Forbes was Chairman of an American Economic Mission to Japan and China to promote good business relations. The May 3rd, 1935 photo to the right presents Forbes visiting Machida at Machida's official residence in Tokyo. Together, they renegotiated agreements that would improve commercial relations between the two nations.[4]
Machida was promoted as a possible successor to Wakatsuki Reijirō as party president, which he accepted in 1935; however, although he remained party president until 1940,[5] theFebruary 26 Incident ended hopes that he would one day becomeprime minister. Machida served in the1st Konoe,Hiranuma, and 2nd Konoe administrations as an advisor, and in theKoiso administration as aMinister of State. He refused an offer to join thePrivy Council and elevation to thekazoku peerage as a baron, preferring to remain a commoner. During World War II, he joined theTaisei Yokusankai despite his previous outspoken objections to a one-party state, and theImperial Rule Assistance Political Association in 1942.
After World War II, Machida briefly became the first president of theJapan Progressive Party in November 1945,[6] but waspurged in January 1946 by theAmerican occupation authorities.[7] He died in November of the same year.Kijūrō Shidehara, a long time friend, presided over his funeral.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Minister of Agriculture and Forestry 7 Jun 1926 – 20 Apr 1927 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Agriculture and Forestry 2 Jul 1929 – 13 Dec 1931 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Commerce and Industry 8 Jul 1934 – 9 Mar 1936 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Finance 27 Feb 1936 – 9 Mar 1936 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
