Kenkichi Yoshizawa
Encyclopedia
was a diplomat in the Empire of Japan
, serving as 46th Foreign Minister
of Japan in 1932.
, Niigata prefecture
. He was a graduate of the English literature
department of Tokyo University and entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1899. He was assigned to the Japanese consulate in Amoy
, China
in 1902, and later to the consulate in Shanghai
.
In 1905, Yoshizawa married the eldest daughter of politician (and future Prime Minister) Tsuyoshi Inukai, and moved to London
. He continued to live in England
for the next several years, eventually becoming First Secretary to the Japanese embassy. He was given the post of Consul-General in Hankou
, China in 1912.
and Tianjin
. He met with Soviet Foreign Minister Lev Karakhan
in Beijing in 1925 for talks which led to the formal establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and the Soviet Union
per the Soviet-Japanese Basic Convention
.
Yoshizawa later served as Japanese ambassador to France
and official representative to the League of Nations
.
He was appointed to the cabinet of Prime Minister
Inukai Tsuyoshi
as Foreign Minister from January 14, 1932 to May 26, 1932. On receiving word of his appointment, Yoshizawa traveled from Europe back to Japan via the Trans-Siberian Railway
and Manchuria
to see conditions first-hand. Following the assassination of Inukai in the May 15 Incident
, the Inukai cabinet was dissolved. However, Yoshizawa received an appointment to the House of Peers
by command of Emperor Hirohito, and joined the Rikken Seiyūkai
political party
.
In the period immediately prior to the start of the Pacific War
, Yoshizawa was appointed as a special envoy by Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe
to the Netherlands East Indies following the diplomatic mission of Ichizo Kobayashi
. Yoshizawa was assigned to present a new set of demands on the Dutch government in Batavia
, which were deliberately intended to be unacceptable.
In December 1940, Yoshizawa was met by Hubertus Johannes van Mook
, deputy minister of Economic Affairs, K. L. J. Enthoven, director of Justice, and Hoessein Djajadiningrat, director of Education and Religion. The negotiations dragged on unsuccessfully, and on June 11 1941, the Liaison Meeting of the Imperial General Headquarters and Government decided to recall Yoshizawa and terminate the talks. Yoshizawa suddenly announced to the Dutch his plan to depart and asked to be received by the Dutch Governor-General A. W. L. Tjarda van Starkenborgh Stachouwer on June 17, 1941. The latter was worried that he might receive a declaration of war
, but to his relief Yoshizawa only handed him a draft declaration stating that the negotiations had ended without an agreement.
From 1941-1944, Yoshizawa served as Japanese ambassador to French Indochina
. The posting was mostly symbolic, as by then mostly under Japanese military occupation. In August 1945, he became a member of the Privy Council
.
After the end of World War II
,Yoshizawa was purged from public office by the American occupation authorities
. In post-war Japan, he was appointed as Japanese ambassador to the Republic of China
on Taiwan
in 1952. He retired from public life in December 1956.
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
, serving as 46th Foreign Minister
Minister for Foreign Affairs (Japan)
The of Japan is the Cabinet member responsible for Japanese foreign policy and the chief executive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.Since the end of the American occupation of Japan, the position has been one of the most powerful in the Cabinet, as Japan's economic interests have long relied on...
of Japan in 1932.
Biography
Yoshizawa was a native of what is now part of Joetsu cityJoetsu, Niigata
is a city located in Niigata Prefecture, Japan.As of June 1, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 205,521, with 72,982 households and a population density of 211.15 persons per km². The total area is 973.32 km²....
, Niigata prefecture
Niigata Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Honshū on the coast of the Sea of Japan. The capital is the city of Niigata. The name "Niigata" literally means "new lagoon".- History :...
. He was a graduate of the English literature
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
department of Tokyo University and entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1899. He was assigned to the Japanese consulate in Amoy
Amoy
Xiamen, or Amoy, is a city on the southeast coast of China.Amoy may also refer to:*Amoy dialect, a dialect of the Hokkien lects, which are part of the Southern Min group of Chinese languages...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
in 1902, and later to the consulate in Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
.
In 1905, Yoshizawa married the eldest daughter of politician (and future Prime Minister) Tsuyoshi Inukai, and moved to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. He continued to live in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
for the next several years, eventually becoming First Secretary to the Japanese embassy. He was given the post of Consul-General in Hankou
Hankou
Hankou was one of the three cities whose merging formed modern-day Wuhan, the capital of the Hubei province, China. It stands north of the Han and Yangtze Rivers where the Han falls into the Yangtze...
, China in 1912.
Diplomatic career
Yoshizawa served as Minister to China from 1923-1929, and was stationed at the Japanese consulates at BeijingBeijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
and Tianjin
Tianjin
' is a metropolis in northern China and one of the five national central cities of the People's Republic of China. It is governed as a direct-controlled municipality, one of four such designations, and is, thus, under direct administration of the central government...
. He met with Soviet Foreign Minister Lev Karakhan
Lev Karakhan
Lev Mikhailovich Karakhan Armenian Կարախանյան Լեւոն Միքայելի, Russian Лев Михайлович Карахан was an ethnic Armenian-born Russian revolutionary and a Soviet diplomat...
in Beijing in 1925 for talks which led to the formal establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
per the Soviet-Japanese Basic Convention
Soviet-Japanese Basic Convention
The was a treaty normalizing relations between the Empire of Japan and the Soviet Union, signed on 20 January 1925. Ratifications were exchanged in Beijing on February 26, 1925...
.
Yoshizawa later served as Japanese ambassador to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and official representative to the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
.
He was appointed to the cabinet of Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Japan
The is the head of government of Japan. He is appointed by the Emperor of Japan after being designated by the Diet from among its members, and must enjoy the confidence of the House of Representatives to remain in office...
Inukai Tsuyoshi
Inukai Tsuyoshi
was a Japanese politician and the 29th Prime Minister of Japan from 13 December 1931 to 15 May 1932.-Early life:Inukai was born to a former samurai family of the Niwase Domain, in Niwase village, Bizen Province , and was a graduate of Keio Gijuku in Tokyo. In his early career, he worked as a...
as Foreign Minister from January 14, 1932 to May 26, 1932. On receiving word of his appointment, Yoshizawa traveled from Europe back to Japan via the Trans-Siberian Railway
Trans-Siberian Railway
The Trans-Siberian Railway is a network of railways connecting Moscow with the Russian Far East and the Sea of Japan. It is the longest railway in the world...
and Manchuria
Manchuria
Manchuria is a historical name given to a large geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria usually falls entirely within the People's Republic of China, or is sometimes divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast...
to see conditions first-hand. Following the assassination of Inukai in the May 15 Incident
May 15 Incident
The ' was an attempted coup d'état in Japan, on May 15, 1932, launched by radical elements of the Imperial Japanese Navy, aided by cadets in the Imperial Japanese Army and civilian remnants of the League of Blood Incident. Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi was assassinated by 11 young naval officers...
, the Inukai cabinet was dissolved. However, Yoshizawa received an appointment to the House of Peers
House of Peers (Japan)
The ' was the upper house of the Imperial Diet as mandated under the Constitution of the Empire of Japan ....
by command of Emperor Hirohito, and joined the Rikken Seiyūkai
Rikken Seiyukai
The was one of the main political parties in the pre-war Empire of Japan. It was also known simply as the ‘Seiyūkai'Founded on September 15, 1900 by Itō Hirobumi , the Seiyūkai was a pro-government alliance of bureaucrats and former members of the Kenseitō. The Seiyūkai was the most powerful...
political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
.
In the period immediately prior to the start of the Pacific War
Pacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
, Yoshizawa was appointed as a special envoy by Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe
Fumimaro Konoe
Prince was a politician in the Empire of Japan who served as the 34th, 38th and 39th Prime Minister of Japan and founder/leader of the Taisei Yokusankai.- Early life :...
to the Netherlands East Indies following the diplomatic mission of Ichizo Kobayashi
Ichizo Kobayashi
, occasionally referred to by his pseudonym Itsuō , was a Japanese industrialist. He is best known as the founder of Hankyu Railway and Takarazuka Revue. He was a supporter of right-wing doctrine and represented Japanese capital in government.-Career:...
. Yoshizawa was assigned to present a new set of demands on the Dutch government in Batavia
Jakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
, which were deliberately intended to be unacceptable.
- Adherence to Japans vision and policy in South East Asia,
- Unrestricted rights to explore and exploit minerals all over the Dutch East Indies
- Unrestricted fishing and shipping rights in all the waters of the Dutch East Indies
- Unrestricted rights to start all sorts of commercial enterprises
- Japans export to the DEI must be increased to more than 80% of all imports of the Dutch East Indies
- The existing demand for oil was slightly increased to 3,800,000 tons
- The Dutch East Indies was to supply Japan with 1,000,000 tons of tin, 400,000 tons of bauxite, 180,000 tons of nickel, 30,000 tons of rubber, 30,000 tons of coconut oil and 10,000 tons of sugar.
- Airline and telegraph connections between Japan and the Dutch East Indies
In December 1940, Yoshizawa was met by Hubertus Johannes van Mook
Hubertus Johannes van Mook
Hubertus Johannes van Mook was a Dutch administrator in the East Indies. During the Indonesian National Revolution, he served as the Acting Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies from 1942 to 1948. van Mook also had a son named Cornelius van Mook who studied marine engineering at the...
, deputy minister of Economic Affairs, K. L. J. Enthoven, director of Justice, and Hoessein Djajadiningrat, director of Education and Religion. The negotiations dragged on unsuccessfully, and on June 11 1941, the Liaison Meeting of the Imperial General Headquarters and Government decided to recall Yoshizawa and terminate the talks. Yoshizawa suddenly announced to the Dutch his plan to depart and asked to be received by the Dutch Governor-General A. W. L. Tjarda van Starkenborgh Stachouwer on June 17, 1941. The latter was worried that he might receive a declaration of war
Declaration of war
A declaration of war is a formal act by which one nation goes to war against another. The declaration is a performative speech act by an authorized party of a national government in order to create a state of war between two or more states.The legality of who is competent to declare war varies...
, but to his relief Yoshizawa only handed him a draft declaration stating that the negotiations had ended without an agreement.
From 1941-1944, Yoshizawa served as Japanese ambassador to French Indochina
French Indochina
French Indochina was part of the French colonial empire in southeast Asia. A federation of the three Vietnamese regions, Tonkin , Annam , and Cochinchina , as well as Cambodia, was formed in 1887....
. The posting was mostly symbolic, as by then mostly under Japanese military occupation. In August 1945, he became a member of the Privy Council
Privy Council (Japan)
was an advisory council to the Emperor of Japan that operated from 1888 to 1947.-Functions:Modeled in part upon the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, this body advised the throne on matters of grave importance including:...
.
After the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
,Yoshizawa was purged from public office by the American occupation authorities
Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers
Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers was the title held by General Douglas MacArthur during the Occupation of Japan following World War II...
. In post-war Japan, he was appointed as Japanese ambassador to the Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
on Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
in 1952. He retired from public life in December 1956.