Hidejirō Nagata

Hidejirō Nagata
永田 秀次郎
Minister of Railways
In office
29 November 1939 – 14 January 1940
Prime MinisterNobuyuki Abe
Preceded byRyūtarō Nagai
Succeeded byTsuruhei Matsuno
Minister of Colonial Affairs
In office
9 March 1936 – 2 February 1937
Prime MinisterKōki Hirota
Preceded byHideo Kodama
Succeeded byToyotarō Yūki
Member of the House of Peers
In office
21 September 1918 – 17 September 1943
Nominated by the Emperor
Mayor of Tokyo
In office
30 May 1930 – 25 January 1933
Preceded byZenjirō Horikiri
Succeeded byToratarō Ushizuka
In office
29 May 1923 – 8 September 1924
Preceded byGotō Shinpei
Succeeded byNakamura Yoshikoto
Governor of Mie Prefecture
In office
28 April 1916 – 23 October 1916
MonarchTaishō
Preceded byEitaro Mabuchi
Succeeded byMiki Nagano
Personal details
Born(1876-07-23)23 July 1876
Died17 September 1943(1943-09-17) (aged 67)
PartyIndependent
EducationThird Higher School

Hidejirō Nagata (永田秀次郎, Nagata Hidejirō; 23 July 1876 – 17 September 1943), was a politician and cabinet minister in the Empire of Japan, serving as a member of the House of Peers of the Diet of Japan, twice as a cabinet minister, and also serving twice as mayor of Tokyo.

Biography

Nagata was born in Mihara District, Hyōgo Prefecture, in what is now part of the city of Minamiawaji. After graduating from the Third Higher School (predecessor of Kyoto Imperial University) and serving as a school principal in Sumoto, Hyōgo from 1902 to 1904, he obtained a posting in the Home Ministry and rose to become head of the Kyoto Prefectural Police Department. From April to October 1916, Nagata was appointed governor of Mie Prefecture, returning afterwards to the Home Ministry to head the Public Security Bureau. From December 22, 1920, to May 29, 1923, he served as Deputy Mayor of Tokyo.

From May 29, 1923, to September 8, 1924, Nagata was appointed mayor of Tokyo, and was thus in office during the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake of September 1, which destroyed most of the city. In 1926, he published a book titled Return to the Spirit of the Founding of the Japanese State, to help promote the new national holiday of National Foundation Day, which he had helped create two years previously through lobbying effects of a right-wing organization which he led.[1]

From May 1929, Nagata became president of Takushoku University.[2] Nagata returned as mayor of Tokyo again from May 30, 1930, to January 25, 1933. He was a strong supporter for the hosting of the 1940 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.[3] For Nagata, it was essential that Tokyo host the 1940 Olympics, as the date coincided with the Japanese 2600th Anniversary celebrations.[4] He was forced to resign after a police sweep rounded up 6900 suspected communists in Tokyo.[5]

Nagata subsequently served in the House of Peers in the Diet of Japan. From March 9, 1936 to February 2, 1937, Nagata was appointed Minister of Colonial Affairs under the Kōki administration. He returned to the cabinet as Railway Minister under the Abe administration from November 29, 1939, to January 14, 1940.

Nagata was also one of the founders of the Japan Football Association.

References

  1. ^ Kazin. Americanism: new perspectives on the history of an ideal. The University of North Carolina Press ISBN 0-8078-3010-0 Page 194
  2. ^ [1] Takushoku University
  3. ^ Findling. Historical dictionary of the modern Olympic movement. Greenwood (1996) ISBN 0-313-28477-6
  4. ^ Kruger. The Nazi Olympics: sport, politics and appeasement in the 1930s. The University of Illinois Press (2003). ISBN 0-252-02815-5 Page 128.
  5. ^ Time Magazine