Kiichirō Hiranuma | |
|---|---|
平沼 騏一郎 | |
.jpg) Hiranuma in 1939, wearing hisPrivy Counsellor's uniform | |
| Prime Minister of Japan | |
| In office 5 January 1939 – 30 August 1939 | |
| Monarch | Shōwa |
| Preceded by | Fumimaro Konoe |
| Succeeded by | Nobuyuki Abe |
| President of the Privy Council | |
| In office 9 April 1945 – 3 December 1945 | |
| Monarch | Shōwa |
| Preceded by | Kantarō Suzuki |
| Succeeded by | Kantarō Suzuki |
| In office 13 March 1936 – 5 January 1939 | |
| Monarch | Shōwa |
| Preceded by | Ichiki Kitokuro |
| Succeeded by | Fumimaro Konoe |
| Minister of Home Affairs | |
| In office 21 December 1940 – 18 July 1941 | |
| Prime Minister | Fumimaro Konoe |
| Preceded by | Eiji Yasui |
| Succeeded by | Harumichi Tanabe |
| Vice President of the Privy Council | |
| In office 12 April 1926 – 13 March 1936 | |
| Monarchs | Taishō Shōwa |
| President | Yūzaburō Kuratomi Ichiki Kitokurō |
| Preceded by | Yūzaburō Kuratomi |
| Succeeded by | Arai Kentarō |
| Minister of Justice | |
| In office 6 September 1923 – 7 January 1924 | |
| Prime Minister | Yamamoto Gonnohyōe |
| Preceded by | Den Kenjirō |
| Succeeded by | Suzuki Kisaburō |
| Member of theHouse of Peers | |
| In office 9 January 1924 – 7 February 1924 | |
| Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Judicature of Japan | |
| In office 5 October 1921 – 5 September 1923 | |
| Appointed by | Emperor Taishō |
| Preceded by | Tomitani Shōtarō |
| Succeeded by | Hideo Yokota |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1867-09-28)28 September 1867 Tsuyama, Okayama, Japan |
| Died | 22 August 1952(1952-08-22) (aged 84) Tokyo, Japan |
| Political party | Independent |
| Children | Takeo Hiranuma (adopted) |
| Alma mater | Tokyo Imperial University |
BaronKiichirō Hiranuma (平沼 騏一郎; 28 September 1867 – 22 August 1952) was a Japanese lawyer and politician who served asPrime Minister of Japan in 1939.
Hiranuma rose to prominence as a prosecutor and official in the Ministry of Justice. He served as minister of Justice under Prime MinisterYamamoto Gonnohyōe and later became aprivy counsellor. After serving as president of the privy council, he became prime minister in 1939, but resigned later the same year. He later returned to cabinet underFumimaro Konoe. After the Japanese surrender, he was sentenced tolife imprisonment by theInternational Military Tribunal for the Far East for his role inWorld War II.
Hiranuma was born on 28 September 1867, in what is nowTsuyama City,Okayama Prefecture, as the son of a low-rankingsamurai from theTsuyama Domain ofMimasaka Province. His upbringing and early education was steeped inbushido and the study ofChinese classics.[1] Hiranuma graduated with a degree inEnglish law fromTokyo Imperial University in 1888.[2]
Hiranuma reacted against the rapid westernisation and disregard for Japanese culture common at that time. Throughout his life, his political principles would be substantially based onConfucianism as taught by theMito School. Like the Mito scholars, Hiranuma believed that Japan possessed a particular essence, thekokutai, characterised by the moral bond between the nation and theEmperor as a sacred ruler. Foreign influences, unless properly adapted, he viewed as threats to thekokutai.[3][4]
After graduation, Hiranuma obtained a post in theMinistry of Justice. Hiranuma established a reputation during his time at the Ministry of Justice as a strong opponent of government corruption, and successfully handled a number of high-profile cases. He served as director of theTokyo High Court,public prosecutor of theSupreme Court of Japan, and Director of the Civil and Criminal Affairs Bureau. In 1909, he secured the conviction of 25 former and serving members of theDiet of Japan for accepting bribes from the Japan Sugar Company.[5]
Hiranuma was highly outspoken against corruption and immorality in Japan's political parties, and that attitude soon expanded to include what he saw to be foreign threats, such associalism andliberal democracy. As Hiranuma rose within the ministry he attracted a considerable following among his juniors, notably includingKisaburo Suzuki andSuehiko Shiono.[6]
In 1911, he was chief prosecutor for theHigh Treason Incident, the 1910socialist-anarchist plot to assassinate theMeiji Emperor. The closed-court trial of 25 men and 1 woman, including 4Buddhist monks, resulted in the execution of 12, including the prominent anarchistShūsui Kōtoku and thefeministKanno Suga.
He rose to becomeVice Minister of Justice in 1911 and Prosecutor General in 1912. In 1915, he forcedHome MinisterŌura Kanetake in the cabinet ofPrime MinisterŌkuma Shigenobu to resign for suspected bribery in what is known as theŌura scandal. In 1921, Hiranuma became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.[5]
Hiranuma was appointedMinister of Justice in thesecond cabinet ofGonnohyōe Yamamoto, formed in the aftermath of theGreat Kantō earthquake in September 1923. Hiranuma resigned along with rest of the cabinet in January 1924 to take responsibility for the lapse in security represented by theToranomon incident, in which a communist attempted to assassinateCrown Prince Hirohito. The incident gave Hiranuma a renewed vigilance towards what he considered subversive ideology and for this reason he formed theKokuhonsha, a political organisation with the intention of defending thekokutai. This organisation gathered a broad range of influential figures, including GeneralSadao Araki, AdmiralKanji Katō, Kisaburo Suzuki,Yoshimichi Hara andHarumichi Tanabe.[7]
At the nomination of the new prime ministerKeigo Kiyoura, Hiranuma was appointed to the Privy Council in February 1924.[8]
While serving on the Privy Council, Hiranuma continued to exercise a strong influence on the Ministry of Justice. Hiranuma and his clique were the driving force behind the adoption of thePeace Preservation Law, intended to combatcommunism and other threats to thekokutai.[2][9]
In April 1926Yūzaburō Kuratomi [ja], one of Hiranuma's old superiors in the Ministry of Justice, was appointed president of the Privy Council. Upon Kuratomi's request, Hiranuma was appointed vice president. Hiranuma would serve in that role for ten years and exerted considerable influence. Hiranuma, together with the senior privy counsellorsMiyoji Ito andKentaro Kaneko, would lead the conservatives who dominated the council.[10] In October of the same year, Hiranuma was elevated to the rank of baron (男爵,danshaku) in theKazokupeerage system abolished by the1947 Constitution.[2]
Hiranuma was strongly opposed to Prime MinisterWakatsuki Reijirō's efforts at economic reform. He was also strongly opposed to the ratification of theLondon Naval Treaty of 1930. In 1931, he rallied support within the government for theImperial Japanese Army after it had seized control ofManchuria without prior authorization, and he later helped in the creation ofManchukuo. He also pushed for Japan's withdrawal from theLeague of Nations. According to one theory, he in 1934 he directed the prosecution during theTeijin Incident.
During the 1930s, Hiranuma was often considered as a candidate for prime minister, but he had incurred the enmity of the lastgenrōPrince Saionji, who had the right to nominate the prime minister. As a supporter of parliamentary government, Saionji disliked Hiranuma for undermining party cabinets. Furthermore, Saionji was wary of the influence of theKokuhonsha, which he considered to be close tofascism. Hiranuma himself denied any association with fascism, which he considered a foreign ideology unsuitable for Japan.[11]
When Kuratomi retired in May 1934 he recommended Hiranuma as his successor, but due to Saionji's opposition the Imperial Household MinisterKitokurō Ichiki was appointed instead.[12] Hiranuma was appointed President of the Privy Council after Ichiki's retirement in February 1936.[13]
 | |
| Premiership of Hiranuma Kiichirō 5 January 1939 – 30 August 1939 | |
| Monarch | Emperor Shōwa |
|---|---|
| Cabinet | Hiranuma Cabinet |
| Party | Independent |
| Seat | Naikaku Sōri Daijin Kantei |
 Emblem of the Government of Japan | |
Hiranuma served asPrime Minister of Japan from 5 January to 30 August 1939. His administration was dominated by the debate on whether Japan should ally itself withGermany against theSoviet Union. Hiranuma wanted an anticommunist pact, but feared a military alliance would commit Japan to war against theUnited States and theUnited Kingdom when most of its armed forces were already committed to theSecond Sino-Japanese War.
With the signing of theGerman-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact in August 1939, Hiranuma's cabinet resigned over that foreign policy issue and over the massive defeat of the Japanese Army inMongolia during theNomonhan Incident against the Soviet Union.
Hiranuma became a central figure in a conservative reaction against theNew Order Movement promoted byFumimaro Konoe since his reappointment as prime minister in July 1940. Hiranuma criticised theImperial Rule Assistance Association as a potential "new shogunate" prejudicial to the prerogatives of the Emperor. Hiranuma was furthermore concerned that the new organisation was being dominated by radicals with socialist tendencies, such asYoriyasu Arima,Kingoro Hashimoto andSeigo Nakano.[14][15]
Eventually Konoe himself began to feel that the New Order Movement had become too radical. As a solution for this Hiranuma entered thecabinet asHome Minister in December 1940. Hiranuma's associate, Lieutenant GeneralHeisuke Yanagawa became minister of justice at the same time. Hiranuma moved to neutralise the IRAA, stating in the Diet in January 1941 that the IRAA would not conduct politics, but merely serve as a public association supporting the state. In March the leadership of the IRAA was replaced, with Yanagawa being appointed to the hitherto vacant post of vice president and the moderate former Finance MinisterSōtarō Ishiwata [ja] replacing Yoriyasu Arima as secretary general. Hiranuma declared in April that IRAA would be under the supervision and control of the Home Ministry.[14]
As Home Minister, he was a staunch defender ofState Shinto. Hiranuma declared: "We should research the ancient rites in detail and consider their application in administrative affairs in general and the common life of the nation.”
Hiranuma was strongly opposed to the political and diplomatic actions ofForeign MinisterYōsuke Matsuoka and to theTripartite Pact concluded betweenImperial Japan,Nazi Germany, andFascist Italy in September 1940. The cabinet was reshuffled in July 1941 in order to remove Matsuoka, partially due to Hiranuma's maneuvering.[16]
In thenew cabinet Matsuoka was replaced by AdmiralTeijiro Toyoda. Hiranuma and Yanagawa became ministers without portfolio, with Hiranuma's protégéHarumichi Tanabe as his successor in the Home Ministry. During this period Hiranuma frequently met with the American AmbassadorJoseph Grew in order to de-escalate the conflict between Japan and America. In August 1941 was Hiranuma attacked in his home by a member of a small ultranationalist group. Despite being shot six times Hiranuma survived and fully recovered.[17]
Hiranuma withdrew from government upon the resignation of Konoe in October 1941.
Hiranuma served as one of thejushin (重臣), or unofficial senior advisors, to EmperorHirohito duringWorld War II. Hiranuma saw thejushin as the core of a new group ofgenrō advisors, as the last survivingMeiji periodgenrō, PrinceSaionji Kinmochi, had died in November 1940. The new group included former prime ministersMitsumasa Yonai,Nobuyuki Abe andFumimaro Konoe. In April 1945, Hiranuma was again appointed president of the Privy Council.
After the War, he was arrested by theAmerican Occupation Authorities and was convicted by theInternational Military Tribunal for the Far East as aClass A War Criminal.
He was given alife sentence, butparoled in early 1952, and died shortly afterwards. His grave is inTama Cemetery, outside Tokyo.
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Japan 1939 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Home Affairs 1940–1941 | Succeeded by |
| Empire of Japan (1868–1947) |
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| Japan (1947–present) |
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| International | |
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| National | |
| Academics | |
| People | |
| Other | |
