Heitarō Inagaki

Heitarō Inagaki (稲垣 平太郎, Inagaki Heitarō, 4 July 1888 – 23 April 1976) was an entrepreneur and politician, who served as the final Minister of Commerce and Industry and first Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry in post-war Japan.

Inagaki was born in the city of Okayama. He graduated from the Economics Department of Keio University in 1913. Although he received a job offer from Mitsui Bussan, he was recruited personally by , the president of the and went to work for Furukawa instead. During World War I, he was sent to Germany, where he negotiated a joint-venture, which Fuji Electric in 1923.^[1] Afterwards, he became a director of the Jiji Shimpo newspaper (1932), director of Yokohama Rubber Company (1942), president of Yokohama Rubber (1945) and chairman of Yokohama Rubber (1947).

In 1947, Inagaki was elected to a seat in the Diet of Japan in 1947 Upper House election under the Minshutō banner. He supported efforts to join with the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in a coalition government in 1949, and became the final Minister of Commerce and Industry and first Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry under the 3rd Shigeru Yoshida administration.^[2] In this post, he advised the American occupation authorities that he foresaw a time when China would become Japan’s most important trading partner.^[3]

Inagaki joined with Kamejiro Hayashida in 1950 to form the Minshu Kurabu (Democratic Club), which later merged with the Liberal Party.^[4] However, in the 1953 Upper House election, he chose to run as an independent, but was not elected.

Afterwards, Inagaski served as chairman of the Japan Foreign Trade Council (JFTC),^[5] chairman of Nippon Broadcasting System, chairman of Nippon Zeon Corporation, and as a director of the Institute of National Policy Research. He attempted a return to politics in the 1962 Japanese House of Councillors election under the LDP banner, but failed to secure a seat. He was awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure, 1st class in 1971.

References[]

• Kudo, Akira. Japanese-German Business Relations: Co-operation and Rivalry in the Interwar Era. Routledge Japanese Studies Series. (2002) ISBN 0203018516
• Nara, Hiroshia, Yoshida Shigeru: Last Meiji Man. Rowman & Littlefield. (2007) ISBN 0742539334
• Scaller, Michael. The American Occupation of Japan: The Origins of the Cold War in Asia. Oxford University Press (1988) ISBN 0199878846
• Shimizu, Sayuri. Creating People of Plenty. Kent State University Press (2001) ISBN 978-0-87338-706-4
• Watanabe, Tsuneo. Japan's Backroom Politics: Factions in a Multiparty Age. Lexington Books (2013) ISBN 0739173901

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