Takahashi Korekiyo

Korekiyo Takahashi (Japanese高桥 是 清, born July 27, 1854 in Edo (now Tokyo), † February 26, 1936 ) was a Japanese politician and the 20th Prime Minister of Japan on 13 November 1921 to the June 12, 1922. He was known as a financial expert.

Takahashi studied English and American culture at the private school of James Hepburn, Yokohama. He then went with a son of Katsu kaishu abroad and studied in London, since 1867 in the United States. After he returned to Japan, he became in 1875 director of a school called Kyōritsu Gakko, today's Kaisei High School in Osaka. He worked in the Ministry of Education and later in the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce. He was appointed as supreme head of the Patent Office, which was established as an external department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce, and regulated the patent system in Japan. In 1890 he resigned from this post and traveled to Peru to exploit a silver mine where he was, however, deceived by a German swindler. After he returned to Japan, he was appointed in 1891 as Vice President and later as President of the Bank of Japan. In 1904 he was entsand to purchase foreign bonds in the United States and England, where he met Max Warburg.

In 1913 he was appointed by the Prime Minister Yamamoto Gonnohyōe of Finance and joined the party Seiyūkai. In 1918 he was appointed by Prime Minister Hara Takashi again as Minister of Finance. After Hara was assassinated in 1921, Takahashi was Prime Minister and President of the Seiyūkai. Members of the party were so very upset and Takahashi was not prepared for these two offices. That's why he came after half a year from his post as Prime Minister. The party chairmanship he held until 1925. 1927, 1931-34 and 1924-36 he was again Minister of Finance.

In the Great Depression, he realized the opportunities offered a deficit spending under flexible exchange rates. His writings show that he had already recognized the mechanism of the Keynesian multiplier. He saw to it that the Bank of Japan the gold standard sat on December 17, 1931 override the discount rate from 1932 to 1936 dropped to about one third of the initial value and that unsecured notes were issued in great deal to devalue the yen and exports to. stimulate This operation is considered one of the most brilliant and successful combinations of financial, monetary and exchange rate policy of the 20th century. However, he launched increasing the government's share to 38 % of gross domestic product did not satisfy the demands of the militants.

When putsch of February 26, 1936 Takahashi was killed as one of three Cabinet members.