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Kazushige Ugaki | |
|---|---|
宇垣 一成 | |
 Ugaki as Army Minister (1924) | |
| Minister for Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 26 May 1938 – 30 September 1938 | |
| Prime Minister | Fumimaro Konoe |
| Preceded by | Hirota Kōki |
| Succeeded by | Hachirō Arita |
| Minister of Colonial Affairs | |
| In office 26 May 1938 – 30 September 1938 | |
| Prime Minister | Fumimaro Konoe |
| Preceded by | Sonyu Ōtani |
| Succeeded by | Fumimaro Konoe |
| Governor-General of Korea | |
| In office 17 June 1931 – 5 August 1936 | |
| Monarch | Hirohito |
| Preceded by | Saitō Makoto |
| Succeeded by | Jirō Minami |
| In office 15 April 1927 – 1 October 1927 | |
| Monarch | Hirohito |
| Preceded by | Saitō Makoto |
| Succeeded by | Hanzō Yamanashi |
| Minister of the Army | |
| In office 2 July 1929 – 14 April 1931 | |
| Prime Minister | Osachi Hamaguchi |
| Preceded by | Yoshinori Shirakawa |
| Succeeded by | Jirō Minami |
| In office 7 January 1924 – 20 April 1927 | |
| Prime Minister | |
| Preceded by | Giichi Tanaka |
| Succeeded by | Yoshinori Shirakawa |
| Member of theHouse of Councillors | |
| In office 3 May 1953 – 30 April 1956 | |
| Constituency | National district |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1868-08-09)9 August 1868 |
| Died | 30 April 1956(1956-04-30) (aged 87) Izunagaoka, Shizuoka, Japan |
| Party | Independent |
| Education | Imperial Japanese Army Academy |
| Alma mater | Army Staff College |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Empire of Japan |
| Branch/service | Japanese Army |
| Years of service | 1891–1931 |
| Rank | General |
| Battles/wars | Russo-Japanese War |
Kazushige Ugaki (宇垣 一成,Ugaki Kazushige; 9 August 1868 – 30 April 1956) was a Japanese general in theImperial Japanese Army and cabinet minister beforeWorld War II, the 5th principal ofTakushoku University, and twiceGovernor-General of Korea. Nicknamed Ugaki Issei, he served as Foreign Minister of Japan in theKonoe cabinet in 1938.
Ugaki was the fifth son of an impoverished farming family in Ochi village,Bizen Province (currently the town ofSeto, Okayama). He excelled in all studies, and passed a teacher recruitment examination. He worked as an elementary school teacher in his teens, moved to Tokyo, and managed to secure a position at the first class of the reformedImperial Japanese Army Academy. He graduated in 1891 ranked 11th out of a class of 150. In 1900, he graduated from theArmy Staff College, ranked 3rd out of a class of 39 and was awarded a sword of merit.
Ugaki became a protege of GeneralKawakami Soroku as a captain and was sent asmilitary attaché toGermany from 1902 to 1904, and again from 1906 to 1907. Ugaki also was a protege of generalTanaka Giichi, under whom he was promoted tocolonel in 1910 andmajor general in 1915. He was chief of the 1st Bureau of theImperial Japanese Army General Staff in 1916 and was promoted toLieutenant General in 1919. He served as commandant of the Army Staff College from 1919 to 1921 and became commander of theHimeji-basedIJA 10th Division from March 1921 to May 1922. From October 1923, he served as Vice Minister of the Army.
In January 1924, Ugaki was appointedArmy Minister by Prime MinisterKeigo Kiyoura. He continued in this post in theKatō Takaaki and the firstReijirō Wakatsuki cabinets until April 1927. The political machinations of theRikken Seiyukai political party and his mentor, Tanaka Giichi, were behind his appointment.
Ugaki strove to protect the superior position of the Imperial Japanese Army in Japanese politics, fearing a loss of influence to theImperial Japanese Navy, should theUnited States be judged "Hypothetical National Enemy No. 1". Ugaki's plans called for an Army of 50 divisions. Nevertheless, despite Ugaki's strenuous opposition, the Katō Takaaki cabinet continued with its fiscal retrenchment policy (from May 1925) and Ugaki was forced to eliminate four infantry divisions (theIJA 13th Division,IJA 15th Division,IJA 17th Division, andIJA 18th Division), which resulted in the release of approximately 2,000 commissioned officers. He was also forced to shorten the period of time conscripts served with the remaining divisions and to force many senior officers into early retirement. The fact that the monies saved by these policies were used to implement much-needed modernization of military equipment and training had little impact on Ugaki's extremely unpopularity within the Army, and in 1927 Ugaki accepted a posting asGovernor-General of Korea from April 1927 rather than continue as Army Minister.[1]
Ugaki's first term as Governor-General of Korea was only until December 1927.
In 1929, Ugaki was promoted to fullgeneral. Under Prime MinisterHamaguchi Osachi, he agreed to return as Army Minister in July 1929. However, the failure of Hamaguchi's economic policies after the start of theGreat Depression and his push for demilitarization with theLondon Naval Treaty of 1930 enraged right-wing ultranationists. In 1931, although Ugaki refused to cooperate with them, he also failed to punish the insurgents responsible for theMarch Incident, an attempted coup-d'etat by young officers of theSakurakai who sought to make him Prime Minister. Having lost the support of his fellow officers, Ugaki resigned from the military in April 1931 and once again accepted a posting as Governor-General of Korea.
During his second period in Korea, from June 1931 to August 1936, Ugaki made concentrated efforts to build up the industrial base in the Korean peninsula, especially in the areas of heavy industry and munitions, which he felt would be invaluable in an upcoming war with China, which he considered unavoidable in the near future.[2] He also promoted a policy of reconciliation which was in stark contrast to the more repressive regimes before and after his administration.
Recalled to Japan after the fall of theHirota Kōki administration, Ugaki was namedPrime Minister in February 1937, but was unable to form a Cabinet due to strong opposition from his political enemies within the Army. Ugaki was highly regarded bySaionji Kinmochi and was perceived as having a moderate foreign policy and being opposed to the increasingly fascistic trends within the military. The situation in Japan had become highly unstable, with increasing international isolation following the withdrawal from theLeague of Nations, lack of economic recovery and increasing distrust of politicians due to constant corruption scandals, and terrorist attacks by elements of the Army itself. After theFebruary 26 Incident in 1936, the Japanese military had obtained a restoration of the requirement that the Army and Navy Ministers must be selected only from active duty officers. Ugaki, although Prime Minister-designate (and a retired full general in his own right) remained apersona non grata with the Army leadership over his previous terms as Army Minister and over theMarch Incident, along with his alleged ties to thezaibatsu businesses over the Korean industrialization program, so they[who?] refused to provide him with the position of Army Minister. As a consequence, although officially appointed, Ugaki could never assume office. The post of prime minister then went toSenjūrō Hayashi, another ex-general and member of theTōseiha faction.[citation needed]
The Imperial Japanese Army's ability to control the formation of a government by means of withholding nomination of a cabinet minister was a staggering blow to the evolution ofparliamentary government anddemocracy in Japan and unquestionably, the decisive factor in the military supremacy over civilian authority before and duringWorld War II.[3]
In May 1938, Ugaki accepted the post ofForeign Minister under the firstKonoe administration, simultaneously holding the portfolio ofMinister of Colonial Affairs, but resigned after only four months. Ugaki had been requested by Konoe for assistance to negotiate a peace settlement with theRepublic of China following theMarco Polo Bridge incident to avoid an all-out war. Ugaki enlisted the aid of British and American ambassadors to open a direct negotiation with Chinese premierH. H. Kung; however, his efforts were quickly undercut by the Japanese Army, who applied pressure onto Konoe that the military and not a civilian military should be responsible for all negotiations. Konoe wavered between positions and finally sided with the military, and Ugaki resigned in protest.
In 1944, Ugaki left politics and accepted the post of president ofTakushoku University, which he held throughout the remainder of the war years. He was the center of a movement which supported a quick end to World War II, and from 1943 was active in efforts to oust Prime MinisterHideki Tojo from office.
AfterWorld War II, along with all former members of the Japanese government, Ugaki waspurged from public service and arrested by theAmerican Occupation authorities. However, he was never charged with anywar crimes, and was soon released.
In 1953, Ugaki ran for public office on a national ticket and was elected to theHouse of Councillors in the post-warDiet of Japan with an overwhelming vote. Ugaki died in 1956 at his summer villa inIzunokuni,Shizuoka.
Order of the Sacred Treasure, 5th class[4]
Order of the Golden Kite, 4th class
Order of the Rising Sun, 4th class[5]
Order of the Sacred Treasure, 3rd class[6]
Order of the Rising Sun, 2nd class[7]
Grand Cordon of the Order of the Sacred Treasure
Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Army Minister 1924–1926 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Japanese Governor-General of Korea 1927 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Army Minister 1929–1931 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Japanese Governor-General of Korea 1931–1936 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister for Foreign Affairs 1938 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Colonial Affairs 1938 | Succeeded by |
| Academic offices | ||
| Preceded by | Principal ofTakushoku University 1944–1945 | Succeeded by |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by Tenkō Nijita | Oldest member of theHouse of Councillors of Japan 1953–1956 | Succeeded by Toyokazu Ishizaka |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| Other | |
