Hachirō Arita | |
|---|---|
有田 八郎 | |
 Arita in 1936 | |
| Minister for Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 16 January 1940 – 22 July 1940 | |
| Prime Minister | Mitsumasa Yonai |
| Preceded by | Kichisaburō Nomura |
| Succeeded by | Yōsuke Matsuoka |
| In office 29 October 1938 – 30 August 1939 | |
| Prime Minister | Fumimaro Konoe Kiichirō Hiranuma |
| Preceded by | Kazushige Ugaki |
| Succeeded by | Nobuyuki Abe |
| In office March 1936 – February 1937 | |
| Prime Minister | Kōki Hirota |
| Preceded by | Kōki Hirota |
| Succeeded by | Senjūrō Hayashi |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1884-09-21)September 21, 1884 Sado, Niigata, Empire of Japan |
| Died | March 4, 1965(1965-03-04) (aged 80) Tokyo, Japan |
| Political party | Japan Socialist Party (1955-1965) |
| Alma mater | Tokyo Imperial University |
Hachirō Arita (有田 八郎,Arita Hachirō, 21 September 1884 – 4 March 1965) was a Japanese politician and diplomat who served as theMinister for Foreign Affairs for three terms. He coined the termGreater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, which provided an official agenda forImperial Japan's expansionism.
After the war, Arita was active as a leftist politician. The circumstances surrounding his second marriage and his unsuccessful 1959 run forGovernor of Tokyo served as the model for the novelAfter the Banquet byYukio Mishima. This led to a famous court case in which Arita successfully sued forinvasion of privacy.
Arita was born on the island ofSado inNiigata Prefecture. He joined theMinistry of Foreign Affairs after graduation in 1909 from the Law School ofTokyo Imperial University, and established himself as an expert on Asian affairs. Arita was on the Japanese delegation to theVersailles Peace Treaty Conference of 1919, and in his early career also was stationed at the Japanese consulates inMukden and inHonolulu. He served as Japanese ambassador toAustria in 1930. He returned to Japan to briefly serve as Vice Foreign Minister in 1932, but returned to Europe in 1933 as Japanese ambassador toBelgium.
Arita became Foreign Minister under the cabinet ofPrime MinisterKōki Hirota from 1936 to 1937. He returned to that post under the administrations ofFumimaro Konoe andKiichirō Hiranuma from 1938 to 1939 and againunderMitsumasa Yonai in 1940. He was also a appointed member of theHouse of Peers in theDiet of Japan from 1938.
Arita was an opponent of theTripartite Pact, and continually pushed for better relations with theUnited States. However, with the increasing power and influence of the military in Japanese politics, he was repeatedly forced to make compromises. From 1938 to 1940, he and Konoe worked together to create theGreater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, which deliberately outlined vague objectives for propaganda purposes. Arita emphasized on the economic aspects, at the behest ofYōsuke Matsuoka, whilst Konoe emphasized on pan-Asian unity.[1]
After thesurrender of Japan, Arita waspurged from public office by the occupation. When the purge was lifted he became active as a leftist politician and successfully ran for a seat in theHouse of Representatives in the1953 election. In the same year, the widowed Arita married Terui Azegami, the proprietress of an upscaleryotei inShirokanedai.[2]
Arita ran for the office ofGovernor of Tokyo as a candidate of theJapan Socialist Party in 1955 and again in 1959, but lost both elections. During the 1959 election his wife closed and mortgaged her restaurant to raise campaign funds. After the defeat the couple was saddled with debt. Terui decided to raise money for reopening her restaurant with the help of conservative figures such asShigeru Yoshida andEisaku Sato. This caused a dispute between husband and wife and they divorced the same year.[2]
The relationship between Arita and Terui, and the circumstances of the 1959 election served as the model for the novelUtage no ato (宴のあと,After the Banquet) byYukio Mishima. After its publication in 1960, Arita sued Mishima forinvasion of privacy. TheTokyo District Court ruled in favor of Arita in September 1964, marking the first time the right to privacy of a public figure had been recognized by a Japanese court.[2][3]
Arita served as an advisor to the Socialist Party until he died ofpneumonia on 4 March 1965, at the age of 80. His grave is at theTama Cemetery inFuchū, Tokyo.[2]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs 1936–1937 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs 1938–1939 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs 1940 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Academics | |
| Other | |
