Osachi Hamaguchi

Osachi Hamaguchi (Japanese滨 口 雄 幸, or in a respectful reading Hamaguchi Yuko; born May 1, 1870 in Kōchi, Tosa Province (now Kōchi ) prefecture, Japan, † August 26, 1931 in Tokyo ) was a Japanese politician and 27th Prime Minister of Japan.

Life

Hamaguchi was first appointed in 1895 in the service of the Treasury, in which his qualifications noticed quickly. In the third cabinet of Katsura taro he was between December 1912 and February 1913 Secretary of State ( jikan ) for communication, and then in the government of Okuma Shigenobu April 1914 to October 1916 Deputy Minister of Finance.

In 1915 he was in the constituency Kōchi City as the candidate of Rikken Dōshikai a member of the Shūgiin, the lower house elected soon .. He took leading positions within the Kenseikai. From June 1924 to June 1925 he was Minister of Finance and for some time after Interior Minister. In 1927 he became the founding chairman of the Rikken Minseitō. On 2 July 1929, he was the Prime Minister himself as the successor of Tanaka Giichi eventually.

As prime minister, he led at the beginning of 1930, a currency reform, in which he coupled the yen back to the gold standard. The Shūgiin - election in February 1930 his party won in one of the cleanest election campaigns of Japanese history, surpassing the long dominant Rikken Seiyūkai to mandates. The Tennō Reserve left him as Prime Minister in office. However, the world economic crisis also left traces in Japan, so his policy was quickly unpopular. To combat the growing inflation, he promoted the mechanization and rationalization of the industry. The effects of the global economic crisis, however, led to a stronger deflation in the economy than he intended, and his actions led to great social unrest. In addition, thrust his intention of reducing the salaries in the public sector with strong resistance. Ultimately led his attempts to reduce the military leadership in favor of civilian leadership, to the resistance at the political right ( uyoku ). Ultimately was especially his acceptance of the provisions of the London Naval Conference in 1930, which provided for a reduction or setting the limit of the fleet to special rejection.

On November 14, 1930 a young right-wing extremists perpetrated in Tokyo Station to assassinate him, which he first lived. In March 1931, the military tried under Lieutenant Colonel Hashimoto Kingoro and Captain Isamu Chō of the secret organization Sakurakai ( Cherry Blossom Society) unsuccessfully to depose him in a coup.

In February 1931 Hamaguchi supported a bill for women's suffrage at the municipal level, after further plans on resistance leading politicians of both major parties had failed. The law passed the Shūgiin, but failed in Kizokuin, the manor house. However, in April 1931, he suffered a health relapse, which forced him on April 14, 1931 resignation from the office of the Prime Minister. His successor as party leader and as prime minister was the Minseitō Wakatsuki Reijiro.