Shigeo Ōdachi (大達 茂雄, Ōdachi Shigeo, 5 January 1892 – 25 September 1955) was a bureaucrat, politician and cabinet minister in both early Shōwa periodJapan and in the post-war era.
Ōdachi was born in what is now Hamada, Shimane, as the younger son of a local sake brewer. After his graduation in 1916 from the law school of Tokyo Imperial University, he entered the Home Ministry.[1] He rose to the post of Deputy Manager of the Local Affairs Bureau, and was appointed governor of Fukui Prefecture in 1932.
In 1934, Ōdachi was appointed Secretary of Internal Affairs and Communications of the Management and Coordination Agency of Manchukuo. He assisted Naoki Hoshino is developing the first Five-Year Plan for Manchukuo, which had a strong emphasis on the development of heavy industry. He returned to Japan in 1939, and served as a bureaucrat in the Home Ministry during the administrations of Nobuyuki Abe and Mitsumasa Yonai.
Following the start of World War II, on 7 March 1942 Ōdachi was appointed civilian mayor of Shōnan (Singapore) under Japanese occupation. During this period, he was critical of the heavy-handed military administration by the Imperial Japanese Army and its actions against the Chinese population, as well as civilian opportunists who sought to make quick profits under the occupation.[2] His criticism of General Wataru Watanabe, the military administrator of Singapore led to Watanabe’s reassignment in 1943.[3]
Ōdachi returned to Japan in 1943, and with the amalgamation of Tokyo City and Tokyo-fu into Tokyo Metropolis, he became the first Administrator of Tokyo, a position equivalent to the present Governor of Tokyo. As the war was quickly deteriorating for Japan, and Tokyo came under increasing threat of attack, he organized the evacuation of children from Tokyo. In September 1943, he gave the order to destroy all of the animals at Ueno Zoo, an act recounted in the post-war book Faithful Elephants. In July 1944, he was asked to join the cabinet of Prime MinisterKuniaki Koiso as Home Minister. Ōdachi was awarded the 1st class of the Order of the Sacred Treasure on September 12, 1944.
After the surrender of Japan, Ōdachi was (along with all other members of the wartime government) purged from public office by orders of the American occupation authorities. However, he was never accused of war crimes. In 1953, he ran for a seat in the post-war upper house of the Diet of Japan, under the Liberal Party banner.
With the support of Chief Cabinet SecretaryTaketora Ogata, Ōdachi joined the 5th Yoshida administration as Minister of Education in 1953. Noted for his conservative, authoritarian outlook, he immediately came into conflict with the leftistJapan Teachers Union over its pro-Socialist curriculum in schools and due to his efforts to restore the teaching of "public morals" in schools.[4] This led to the passage of a number of laws aimed at enforcing political neutrality in textbooks and in placing restrictions on the hiring of non-civil servants as educators in public schools in 1954. These laws continued to be criticized by the Japan Teachers Union in the 1950s and 1960s as indicative of the Reverse Course pursued by the Japanese government.
shigeo, Ōdachi, 大達, 茂雄, Ōdachi, shigeo, january, 1892, september, 1955, bureaucrat, politician, cabinet, minister, both, early, shōwa, period, japan, post, 大達, 茂雄personal, detailsborn, 1892, january, 1892hamada, shimane, japandiedseptember, 1955, 1955, aged, t. Shigeo Ōdachi 大達 茂雄 Ōdachi Shigeo 5 January 1892 25 September 1955 was a bureaucrat politician and cabinet minister in both early Shōwa period Japan and in the post war era Shigeo Ōdachi大達 茂雄Personal detailsBorn 1892 01 05 January 5 1892Hamada Shimane JapanDiedSeptember 25 1955 1955 09 25 aged 63 Tokyo JapanCause of deathstomach cancerAlma materTokyo Imperial UniversityOccupationBureaucrat Politician Cabinet MinisterBiography editŌdachi was born in what is now Hamada Shimane as the younger son of a local sake brewer After his graduation in 1916 from the law school of Tokyo Imperial University he entered the Home Ministry 1 He rose to the post of Deputy Manager of the Local Affairs Bureau and was appointed governor of Fukui Prefecture in 1932 In 1934 Ōdachi was appointed Secretary of Internal Affairs and Communications of the Management and Coordination Agency of Manchukuo He assisted Naoki Hoshino is developing the first Five Year Plan for Manchukuo which had a strong emphasis on the development of heavy industry He returned to Japan in 1939 and served as a bureaucrat in the Home Ministry during the administrations of Nobuyuki Abe and Mitsumasa Yonai Following the start of World War II on 7 March 1942 Ōdachi was appointed civilian mayor of Shōnan Singapore under Japanese occupation During this period he was critical of the heavy handed military administration by the Imperial Japanese Army and its actions against the Chinese population as well as civilian opportunists who sought to make quick profits under the occupation 2 His criticism of General Wataru Watanabe the military administrator of Singapore led to Watanabe s reassignment in 1943 3 Ōdachi returned to Japan in 1943 and with the amalgamation of Tokyo City and Tokyo fu into Tokyo Metropolis he became the first Administrator of Tokyo a position equivalent to the present Governor of Tokyo As the war was quickly deteriorating for Japan and Tokyo came under increasing threat of attack he organized the evacuation of children from Tokyo In September 1943 he gave the order to destroy all of the animals at Ueno Zoo an act recounted in the post war book Faithful Elephants In July 1944 he was asked to join the cabinet of Prime Minister Kuniaki Koiso as Home Minister Ōdachi was awarded the 1st class of the Order of the Sacred Treasure on September 12 1944 After the surrender of Japan Ōdachi was along with all other members of the wartime government purged from public office by orders of the American occupation authorities However he was never accused of war crimes In 1953 he ran for a seat in the post war upper house of the Diet of Japan under the Liberal Party banner With the support of Chief Cabinet Secretary Taketora Ogata Ōdachi joined the 5th Yoshida administration as Minister of Education in 1953 Noted for his conservative authoritarian outlook he immediately came into conflict with the leftist Japan Teachers Union over its pro Socialist curriculum in schools and due to his efforts to restore the teaching of public morals in schools 4 This led to the passage of a number of laws aimed at enforcing political neutrality in textbooks and in placing restrictions on the hiring of non civil servants as educators in public schools in 1954 These laws continued to be criticized by the Japan Teachers Union in the 1950s and 1960s as indicative of the Reverse Course pursued by the Japanese government Ōdachi died of stomach cancer in 1955 at the age of 63 References editGaron Sheldon The State and Labor In Modern Japan University of California Press 2004 ISBN 0195171764 Hunter Janet A Concise Dictionary of Modern Japanese History University of California Press 1994 ISBN 0520045572 Aspinal Robert W 2001 Teachers Unions and the Politics of Education in Japan State University of New York Press ISBN 079145049X Akashi Yoji 2009 New Perspectives on the Japanese Occupation in Malaya and Singapore 1941 1945 Singapore University Press ISBN 978 9971692995 Kratoska Paul H 1998 The Japanese Occupation of Malaya University of Hawaii Press ISBN 082481889X Notes edit Odachi Shigeo National Diet Library 2013 Akashi New Perspectives on the Japanese Occupation in Malaya and Singapore 1941 1945 page 33 36 Kratoska The Japanese Occupation of Malaya page 57 Aspinall Teachers Unions and the Politics of Education in Japan page 40 Political offices Preceded byKiyohide Okano Education Minister21 May 1953 10 December 1954 Succeeded byMasazumi Andō Preceded byKisaburō Andō Home Minister22 July 1944 7 April 1945 Succeeded byGenki Abe Preceded byNewly Created Shenton Thomas Governor of the Straits Settlements Mayor of Syonan7 March 1942 8 July 1943 Succeeded byKanichi Naito Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Shigeo Ōdachi amp oldid 1214073874, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
