Monarch Showa Name Hitoshi Ashida | Signature | |
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Born 15 November 1887Fukuchiyama, Japan ( 1887-11-15 ) Other politicalaffiliations Constitutional Association of Political Friendship (Before 1945)Liberal Party (1945–1947)Democratic Party (1947–1950)People's Democratic Party (1950–1952)Kaishinto(Reformative Progressive Party) (1952–1954)Japan Democratic Party (1954–1955) Died June 20, 1959, Tokyo, Japan Similar People Tetsu Katayama, Yukio Hatoyama, Naoto Kan, Ichiro Ozawa, Hirohito | ||
Hitoshi Ashida (芦田 均, Ashida Hitoshi, 15 November 1887 – 20 June 1959) was a Japanese politician who served as the 34th Prime Minister of Japan from 10 March to 15 October 1948. He was a prominent figure in the immediate postwar political landscape, but was forced to resign his leadership responsibilities after a corruption scandal (Shōwa Denkō Jiken) targeting two of his cabinet ministers.
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Early political life
Ashida was born in Fukuchiyama, Kyoto, and studied French civil law at Tokyo Imperial University. After graduation, he worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for twenty years.
In 1932, Ashida ran his first successful campaign for a seat in the House of Representatives as a member of the Seiyūkai Party. He sided with Ichirō Hatoyama's "orthodox" wing following the Seiyukai's split in 1939.
After the war, Ashida won a seat in the new Diet as a member of the Liberal Party,from which he split to merge with Kijūrō Shidehara's Progressive Party to form the Democratic Party. Ashida was elected president of the new party, and became Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1947 under Socialist prime minister Tetsu Katayama.
He also chaired the Committee on the Bill for Revision of the Imperial Constitution, and served as the chairman of the Kenpō Fukyū Kai, a society created to promote the revised Constitution of Japan, from 1946-1948.During his term, he made a key amendment to Article Nine of the planned Japanese Constitution, which enabled the creation of the Japanese Self-Defense Force.
Prime Minister and later life
Ashida became prime minister in 1948, leading a coalition government of Democratic and Socialist members. His tenure ended just seven months after it began. Two of his cabinet ministers were accused of corruption in the Showa Electric scandal, which forced the cabinet to resign.
Ten years later, in 1958, Ashida was cleared of all charges in relation to the incident. He died a year later at the age of seventy-one.