Suzuki Kisaburō

Suzuki Kisaburō (鈴木喜三郎, 6 November 1867 – 24 June 1940) was a statesman, politician, judge, prosecutor, educator and cabinet minister in Taishō and early Shōwa period Japan.

Suzuki Kisaburō
Born	November 6, 1867 Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan
Died	June 24, 1940 (aged 72) Tokyo, Japan
Resting place	Yanaka Cemetery, Tokyo
Nationality	Japanese
Occupation	Cabinet Minister, politician, judge, educator

Early life and education

Suzuki was born Kawashima Kisaburō in what is now part of the city of Kawasaki, Kanagawa. A younger son, he was adopted at an early age by Suzuki Jiko, a Buddhist prelate in Kawasaki, and received the Suzuki surname.

Kisaburo Suzuki after 1900

He was a graduate of the law school of Tokyo Imperial University in 1891.

Career

Suzuki entered the Ministry of Justice in 1891 as a judge.[1]^:57 In 1893, he became a judge at the Tokyo District Court then its Chief Judge in 1907[1] and subsequently was promoted to the Tokyo Court of Appeals, and finally to the Supreme Court of Judicature of Japan, where he was noted for his quick judgments. He then served as Chief of the Criminal Affairs Bureau of the Justice Ministry, Vice Justice Minister, and Public Prosecutor General [1]) in 1921.[2]

Suzuki’s political career began in 1920, when he was appointed to the House of Peers. In 1924, he was selected as Justice Minister[2][1] in the cabinet of Kiyoura Keigo. During this period, he lent aid to and was "very active" in the Kokuhonsha, a nationalist organization founded by Kiichirō Hiranuma "to combat the spread of liberal and foreign ideas".[2] Following the collapse of the Kiyoura administration in 1926, Suzuki joined the Rikken Seiyūkai. The following year, he joined the administration of Tanaka Giichi as Home Minister.[2] While Home Minister, he strengthened the Tokubetsu Kōtō Keisatsu and enforcement of the stricter Peace Preservation Laws, and took an uncompromisingly harsh position against activities by the outlawed Japan Communist Party, culminating in the March 15 incident which involved the arrest of hundreds of known party members and suspected party sympathizers. He also used his position as Home Minister to replace 17 prefectural governors with Rikken Seiyūkai members,[3] as well as showing favoritism to promotions within the Ministry itself towards party members. These actions led to his forced resignation in 1928 after charges were made this constituted illegal interference with the 1928 General Election.

Suzuki returned to the Diet of Japan in the 1932 General Election, when he was elected to the House of Representatives from the Kanagawa 2nd district. He returned to the cabinet as Justice Minister from 1931-1932 and as Home Minister[2] from 1932-1933 under the Inukai administration. On Inukai’s assassination in the May 15 incident, Suzuki became president of the Rikken Seiyūkai. However, despite holding a majority of the seats in the Diet of Japan, Suzuki was not selected to become Prime Minister, largely due to a long-standing enmity with the last genrō Saionji Kinmochi, who favored Admiral Saitō Makoto for the post.[4][5] After Saitō’s resignation in 1934, Suzuki was again sidelined, and the office of Prime Minister went to Okada Keisuke.

Following losses in the 1936 General Election, Suzuki no longer had a seat in the Diet.[1]^:227 Pressured to resign as head of the Rikken Seiyūkai, he held onto the post until 1937 as part of a collective leadership.

Additionally, Suzuki taught criminal law at Waseda University.[6]^:58

Personal life and demise

Suzuki was married to Kazuka Hatoyama, daughter of Kazuo Hatoyama,[6]^:58 [1]^:57 head of the political Hatoyama family.

Suzuki died in 1940, and his grave is at the Yanaka Cemetery in Tokyo.

References

• Duss, Peter (1990). The Cambridge History of Japan. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521223547.

External links

• National Diet Library biography

Notes

1. Haley, John Own (1998). The Spirit of Japanese Law. University of Georgia Press. ISBN 9780820320229.
2. Watson, Andrew (2016). Popular Participation in Japanese Criminal Justice: From Jurors to Lay Judges. Springer. p. 12. ISBN 9783319350776.
3. Hori, Harumi (2006). The Changing Japanese Political System: The Liberal Democratic Party and the Ministry of Finance. Routledge. ISBN 9781134193165.
4. Berger, Gordon M. (1988). "Politics and Mobilization in Japan, 1931–1945". In Duus, Peter (ed.). The Cambridge History of Japan (1997 ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 108. ISBN 9780521657280.
5. Pike, Francis (2016). Hirohito's War: The Pacific War, 1941-1945. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781350021228.
6. Itoh, M. (2003). The Hatoyama Dynasty: Japanese Political Leadership Through the Generations. Springer. ISBN 9781403981523.