Aiichirō Fujiyama

Aiichirō Fujiyama
藤山 愛一郎
Director of the Economic Planning Agency
In office
3 June 1965 – 4 November 1966
Prime MinisterEisaku Satō
Preceded byMamoru Takahashi
Succeeded byEisaku Satō (acting)
In office
18 July 1961 – 6 July 1962
Prime MinisterHayato Ikeda
Preceded byHisatsune Sakomizu
Succeeded byHayato Ikeda (acting)
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
July 10, 1957 – July 19, 1960
Prime MinisterNobusuke Kishi
Preceded byNobusuke Kishi
Succeeded byZentaro Kosaka
Chairman of Japan Airlines
In office
August 1951 – September 1953
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byKunizō Hara
Personal details
Born(1897-05-22)May 22, 1897
Tokyo, Japan
DiedFebruary 22, 1985(1985-02-22) (aged 87)
Tokyo, Japan
Political partyLiberal Democratic Party
Alma materKeio University (Incomplete)

Aiichirō Fujiyama (藤山 愛一郎, Fujiyama Aiichirō, May 22, 1897 – February 22, 1985) was a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party and business executive.[1]

Fujiyama memorial hall in Keio University Hiyoshi campus
The garden of Fujiyama family

A business executive who symbolized "big business" in Japan as president of Dai Nippon Sugar Manufacturing Co. and executive officer of Nitto Chemical Industry Co., he used his influence to bring about the fall of Prime Minister Hideki Tōjō in 1944.

After Japan's World War II surrender, Fujiyama was imprisoned without a trial for three years, having been accused of "war crimes". After his release he represented Japan at the 1951 UNESCO meeting in Paris and later served as Chairman of Japan Airlines (1951-1953).

In 1955 and 1956, Fujiyama, who was Chairman of the Japan Chamber of Commerce at the time, strongly supported Nobusuke Kishi as a successor to Ichirō Hatoyama to the President of the Liberal Democratic Party, according to a report by the Central Intelligence Agency.[2]

Fujiyama was elected to Parliament in 1957 and was reelected five times. As Foreign Minister in the cabinet of Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi (1957–60), he headed Japan's first delegation to the United Nations (1957), helped revise the U.S.–Japan Security Treaty (1960), and promoted the restoration of diplomatic relations between Japan and China. He also served in the cabinet of Kishi's successor Hayato Ikeda as Director of Japan's Economic Planning Agency.[3]

During the 1960s, he controlled a personal faction within the LDP, closely aligned with the Kishi faction, and ran unsuccessfully several times for presidency of the LDP.

In 1970, Fujiyama made an unsanctioned trip to the People's Republic of China in an effort to expand Japanese trade relations with China.

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Aiichiro Fujiyama, 87; Ex-Japanese Politician". The New York Times. 1985-02-23. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-05-27.
  2. ^ "INFORMATION REPORT, KAYA OKINORI VOL.11". Central Intelligence Agency.
  3. ^ Kapur, Nick (2018). Japan at the Crossroads: Conflict and Compromise after Anpo. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 94. ISBN 978-0674984424.
Political offices
Preceded by Minister for Foreign Affairs
1957–1960
Succeeded by
Preceded by Director of the Economic Planning Agency
1961–1962
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Mamoru Takahashi
Director of the Economic Planning Agency
1965–1966
Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by
Munenori Akagi
Chairman of the General Council of the Liberal Democratic Party
1963–1964
Succeeded by
Umekichi Nakamura
Business positions
Preceded by Chairman of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry
1941–1946
Succeeded by
Ryutaro Takahashi
Preceded by
Shinsuke Asao
Chairman of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives
1951–1952
Succeeded by
New title Chairman of Japan Airlines
1951–1953
Succeeded by
Kunizō Hara
Preceded by
Ryutaro Takahashi
Chairman of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry
1951–1957
Succeeded by
Tadashi Adachi
Non-profit organization positions
Preceded by
Ryutaro Takahashi
President of the Community Chest of Tokyo
1952–1957
Succeeded by
Tadashi Adachi