Takuo Godō (伍堂 卓雄, Godō Takuo, 23 September 1877 – 7 April 1956) was a naval architect, vice admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy, entrepreneur and cabinet minister in the pre-war Empire of Japan.
Godō was born in Tokyo to an ex-medical doctor (gotten-i) family. He graduated from Tokyo Imperial University in 1901 with a degree in naval engineering, and was accepted into the Imperial Japanese Navy's Engineering Department. He rapidly rose through the ranks, serving as a military attaché to the United Kingdom as a lieutenant commander from June 1911 to July 1913, and to the United States as a captain from May 1917 to January 1918, and June 1919 to June 1920. He was promoted to rear admiral in December 1922 and became commandant of Kure Naval Arsenal in June 1924. In December 1926, he was promoted to vice admiral.
In 1928, Godō left the navy to accept the post of president of Showa Steel Works, based in Anshan, Manchuria, and the following year became one of the directors of the South Manchurian Railway Company. In 1937, Prime MinisterSenjūrō Hayashi asked that Godō accept both the posts of Minister of Commerce and Industry and Railway Minister. He was also granted a seat in the House of Peers in the Diet of Japan. In 1938, he became chairman of both the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Tokyo Stock Exchange. He led a Japanese trade delegation to Nazi Germany in 1938 to purchase advanced weapons and production machinery, although the German government at the time still strongly favored China in its conflict with Japan.[1] In 1939, Prime Minister Nobuyuki Abe reappointed Godō Minister of Commerce and Industry, and simultaneously Minister of Agriculture and Forestry. He appointed Nobusuke Kishi, then still in Manchukuo, as his Assistant Secretary for Commerce and Industry. In 1942, Godō became chairman of the Japan Management Association. In 1945, he served as an advisor to the Ministry of Munitions.
After World War II, Godō was apprehended by American occupation authorities along with most members of the pre-war Japanese government under Class A war criminal charges. However, he was subsequently released from Sugamo Prison without coming to trial. He continued to hold the title of chairman of the Japan Management Association after his release.
Referencesedit
Kudo, Akira. Japanese-German Business Relations: Co-operation and Rivalry in the Interwar Period. Routledge (2012) ISBN1-134-75008-0
Ito, Takeo. Life Along the South Manchurian Railway: The Memoirs of Itō Takeo. M.E. Sharp (1988) ISBN0-87332-465-X
takuo, godō, 伍堂, 卓雄, godō, takuo, september, 1877, april, 1956, naval, architect, vice, admiral, imperial, japanese, navy, entrepreneur, cabinet, minister, empire, japan, 伍堂卓雄born, 1877, september, 1877tokyo, japandiedapril, 1956, 1956, aged, nationalityjapane. Takuo Godō 伍堂 卓雄 Godō Takuo 23 September 1877 7 April 1956 was a naval architect vice admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy entrepreneur and cabinet minister in the pre war Empire of Japan Takuo Godō 伍堂卓雄Born 1877 09 23 September 23 1877Tokyo JapanDiedApril 7 1956 1956 04 07 aged 78 NationalityJapaneseOccupation s engineer admiral entrepreneur cabinet minister Contents 1 Background 2 References 3 External links 4 NotesBackground editGodō was born in Tokyo to an ex medical doctor gotten i family He graduated from Tokyo Imperial University in 1901 with a degree in naval engineering and was accepted into the Imperial Japanese Navy s Engineering Department He rapidly rose through the ranks serving as a military attache to the United Kingdom as a lieutenant commander from June 1911 to July 1913 and to the United States as a captain from May 1917 to January 1918 and June 1919 to June 1920 He was promoted to rear admiral in December 1922 and became commandant of Kure Naval Arsenal in June 1924 In December 1926 he was promoted to vice admiral In 1928 Godō left the navy to accept the post of president of Showa Steel Works based in Anshan Manchuria and the following year became one of the directors of the South Manchurian Railway Company In 1937 Prime Minister Senjurō Hayashi asked that Godō accept both the posts of Minister of Commerce and Industry and Railway Minister He was also granted a seat in the House of Peers in the Diet of Japan In 1938 he became chairman of both the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Tokyo Stock Exchange He led a Japanese trade delegation to Nazi Germany in 1938 to purchase advanced weapons and production machinery although the German government at the time still strongly favored China in its conflict with Japan 1 In 1939 Prime Minister Nobuyuki Abe reappointed Godō Minister of Commerce and Industry and simultaneously Minister of Agriculture and Forestry He appointed Nobusuke Kishi then still in Manchukuo as his Assistant Secretary for Commerce and Industry In 1942 Godō became chairman of the Japan Management Association In 1945 he served as an advisor to the Ministry of Munitions After World War II Godō was apprehended by American occupation authorities along with most members of the pre war Japanese government under Class A war criminal charges However he was subsequently released from Sugamo Prison without coming to trial He continued to hold the title of chairman of the Japan Management Association after his release References editKudo Akira Japanese German Business Relations Co operation and Rivalry in the Interwar Period Routledge 2012 ISBN 1 134 75008 0 Ito Takeo Life Along the South Manchurian Railway The Memoirs of Itō Takeo M E Sharp 1988 ISBN 0 87332 465 XExternal links editNishida People of the Imperial Japanese NavyNotes edit Kudo Japanese German Business Relations Political offices Preceded byGōtarō Ogawa Minister of Commerce and IndustryFeb 1937 June 1937 Succeeded byShinji Yoshino Preceded byYoshiaki Hatta Minister of Commerce and IndustryAug 1939 Jan 1940 Succeeded byGinjirō Fujiwara Preceded byYukio Sakurauchi Minister of Agriculture and ForestryAug 1939 Oct 1939 Succeeded byTadamasa Sakurai Preceded byYonezō Maeda Railway MinisterFeb 1937 June 1937 Succeeded byChikuhei Nakajima Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Takuo Godō amp oldid 1171484547, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
