Katō Tomosaburō
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| ’Viscount Katō Tomosaburō’ | |
|---|---|
| 22 February 1861– 24 August 1923 | |
 Japanese Admiral Viscount Katō Tomosaburō |
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| Place of birth | Aki Province, Japan |
| Place of death | Tokyo, Japan |
| Allegiance | Empire of Japan |
| Years of service | 1873–1923 |
| Rank | Fleet Admiral |
| Commands | Imperial Japanese Navy |
| Battles/wars | First Sino-Japanese War Russo-Japanese War |
| Awards | Grand Cordon of the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum |
Tomosaburō Katō (加藤友三郎 Katō Tomosaburō?) (22 February 1861 – 24 August 1923) was a career officer in the Imperial Japanese Navy and the 21st Prime Minister of Japan from 12 June 1922 to 24 August 1923.
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[edit] Early career
Born in Aki Province (modern Hiroshima Prefecture) to a samurai family, Kato enrolled in the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy and graduated in its seventh class. He served in a combat position as gunnery officer on the cruiser Yoshino in the First Sino-Japanese War.
During the Russo-Japanese War, he served as chief of staff to Admiral Togo Heihachiro on the battleship Mikasa, assisting in Japan's victory at the Battle of Tsushima. It is said that during this time he suffered from a very weak stomach, and was vomiting as he issued orders throughout the battle, despite having taken large amounts of medication.
He became a full admiral in 1915 and serving as commander of Kure Naval District, he was appointed Minister of the Navy in the cabinets of Okuma Shigenobu, Terauchi Masatake, Hara Takashi, and Takahashi Korekiyo. Under Hara and Takahashi, Kato was Japan's chief commissioner plenipotentiary to the Washington Naval Conference, and worked with Ambassador Shidehara Kijuro in the negotiations that led to the Five-Power Treaty.
[edit] As Prime Minister
Following his return to Japan, Kato was appointed 21st Prime Minister of Japan in recognition of his performance at the Washington Naval Conference. His cabinet consisted mainly of bureaucrats and members of the House of Peers, which proved unpopular with the Imperial Japanese Army. During his tenure as prime minister, Kato implemented the provisions of the Washington Naval Agreement, withdrew Japanese forces from Shantung in China and from Siberia. Kato succumbed to late-stage colon cancer and died a little over a year into his term. He was posthumously awarded the Grand Cordon of the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum and his title raised to shishaku (viscount).
His death came immediately before the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, and therefore Japan was without a prime minister during that disaster.
His grave is at Aoyama Cemetery, Tokyo.
[edit] References
- Agawa, Hiroyuki. The Reluctant Admiral: Yamamoto and the Imperial Navy. Kodansha International (2000). ISBN 4-7700-2539-4
- Bix, Herbert B. Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan. Harper Perennial (2001). ISBN 0-06-093130-2
- Dupuy, Trevor N. Encyclopedia of Military Biography. I B Tauris & Co Ltd (1992). ISBN 1-85043-569-3
- Spector, Ronald. Eagle Against the Sun: The American War With Japan. Vintage; Vintage edition (1985). ISBN 0-394-74101-3
[edit] External link
| Prime Ministers of Japan |  |
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| Itō · Kuroda · Yamagata · Matsukata · Itō (2nd) · Matsukata (2nd) · Itō (3rd) · Okuma · Yamagata (2nd) · Itō (4th) · Katsura · Saionji · Katsura (2nd) · Saionji (2nd) · Katsura (3rd) · Yamamoto · Okuma (2nd) · Terauchi · Hara · Takahashi · To. Kato · Yamamoto (2nd) · Kiyoura · Ta. Kato · Wakatsuki · G. Tanaka · Hamaguchi · Wakatsuki (2nd) · Inukai · Saitō · Okada · Hirota · Hayashi · Konoe · Hiranuma · N. Abe · Yonai · Konoe (2nd) · Tojo · Koiso · K. Suzuki · Prince Higashikuni · Shidehara · Yoshida · Katayama · Ashida · Yoshida (2nd) · Hatoyama · Ishibashi · Kishi · Ikeda · Sato · K. Tanaka · Miki · Fukuda · Ohira · Z. Suzuki · Nakasone · Takeshita · Uno · Kaifu · Miyazawa · Hosokawa · Hata · Murayama · Hashimoto · Obuchi · Mori · Koizumi · S. Abe | ||
