Ministry of Communications (Japan)

Ministry of Communications
逓信省
Teishin-shō
Agency overview
FormedDecember 22, 1885 (1885-12-22)
DissolvedApril 1, 1949 (1949-04-01)
Superseding agencies
Jurisdiction Japan
HeadquartersChiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Parent agencyGovernment of Japan
Communications Ministry (Teishin-shō) offices, Tokyo, pre-1923

The Ministry of Communications (逓信省, Teishin-shō) was a Cabinet-level ministry in the Empire of Japan. Its modern successors include the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Japan Post and Nippon Telegraph and Telephone

History

Meiji period

On December 22, 1885 the Ministry of Communications was established, combining the Bureau of Posts and Post Station Maintenance and Shipping Bureau formerly under the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce with the Telegraph Bureau and Lighthouse Management Bureau formerly under the Ministry of Industry. On August 16, 1891, the ministry was also placed in charge of the nascent Japanese electric power industry. On July 21, 1892, the Railway Bureau was transferred to the Ministry of Communications from the Home Ministry and from November 10, 1893, the ministry was charged with the supervision of all land and water transportation businesses.

However, on December 5, 1908, the Railway Bureau was separated to become an independent bureau reporting directly to the Cabinet.

Showa period

In April 1923, responsibility for civil aviation supervision was transferred to the Ministry of Communications from the Army Ministry. With the creation of the Railway Ministry in May 1928, supervision of all land transportation was removed from the Ministry of Communications. With the establishment in January 1938 of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, all matters pertaining to the postal insurance program were transferred to the new ministry, with the Ministry of Communications retaining control of the post offices and managing the postal system (including the Postal savings system. In December 1941, an external Maritime Affairs Council was established and took over the Lighthouse Bureau.

On November 1, 1943 the Ministry of Communications was merged with Railway Ministry to become the Ministry of Communications and Transport. Electrical production and aircraft manufacturing regulation was transferred to the Minister of Munitions. Posts, telephone and telegraph, post office bank and insurance came under the Communications Institute, where issues relating the transportation came under the Directorate General of Shipping.

In May 1945, the Communications Institute became the Board of Communications, reporting directly to the Cabinet, and the Ministry of Communications and Transport was renamed the Ministry of Transport.

Post-war dissolution

After the surrender of Japan, the American occupation authorities briefly reestablished the Ministry of Communications on April 1, 1946; however it was in charge of only posts, telecommunications and the security of aerial navigation. The Ministry was formally abolished on April 1, 1949 and its responsibilities divided between the new Ministry of Postal Services and Ministry of Telecommunications.

Ministers of Communications

Name Cabinet Date in office comments
1 Enomoto Takeaki 1st Itō, Kuroda 22 December 1885 concurrently Agriculture & Commerce
2 Gotō Shōjirō Kuroda, 1st Yamagata, 1st Matsukata 30 April 1888  
3 Kuroda Kiyotaka 2nd Itō 8 August 1892
4 Watanabe Kunitake 2nd Itō 17 March 1895 concurrently Finance Minister
5 Shirane Senichi 2nd Itō, 2nd Matsukata 9 October 1895  
6 Nomura Yasushi 2nd Matsukata 26 September 1898  
7 Suematsu Kenchō 3rd Itō 12 January 1898  
8 Hayashi Yūzō Ōkuma 30 June 1898  
9 Yoshikawa Akimasa 2nd Yamagata 8 November 1898  
10 Hoshi Tōru 4th Itō 19 October 1900  
11 Hara Takashi 4th Itō 22 December 1900  
12 Yoshikawa Akimasa 1st Katsura 2 June 1901  
13 Sone Arasuke 1st Katsura 17 July 1903 concurrently Finance Minister
14 Ōura Kanetake 1st Katsura 12 September 1903  
15 Yamagata Isaburō 1st Saionji 7 July 1906  
16 Hara Takashi 1st Saionji 14 January 1908 concurrently Home Minister
17 Hotta Masayasu 1st Saionji 25 March 1908  
18 Gotō Shinpei 2nd Katsura 14 July 1908  
19 Hayashi Tadasu 2nd Katsura 30 August 1911 concurrently Home Minister
20 Gotō Shinpei 3rd Katsura 21 December 1912  
21 Motoda Hajime 1st Yamamoto 20 February 1913  
22 Taketomi Tokitoshi 2nd Ōkuma 16 April 1914  
23 Minoura Katsundo 2nd Ōkuma 10 August 1915  
24 Den Kenjirō Terauchi 9 October 1916  
25 Noda Utarō Hara, Takahashi 29 September 1918  
26 Maeda Toshisada Katō Tomosaburō 12 June 1922  
27 Inukai Tsuyoshi 2nd Yamamoto 2 September 1923 concurrently Education Minister
28 Yoshirō Fujimura Kiyoura 7 January 1924  
29 Inukai Tsuyoshi Katō Takaaki 11 June 1924  
30 Adachi Kenzō Katō Takaaki, 1st Wakatsuki 30 May 1925  
31 Mochizuki Keisuke Tanaka 20 April 1927  
32 Fusanosuke Kuhara Tanaka 23 May 1928  
33 Matajirō Koizumi Hamaguchi, 2nd Wakatsuki 2 July 1929  
34 Chūzō Mitsuji Inukai 13 December 1931  
35 Hiroshi Minami Saitō 26 May 1932  
36 Tokonami Takejirō Okada 8 July 1934  
37 Keisuke Okada Okada 9 September 1935 concurrently Prime Minister
38 Mochizuki Keisuke Okada 12 September 1935  
39 Tanomogi Keikichi Hirota 9 March 1936  
40 Tatsunosuke Yamazaki Hayashi 2 February 1937 concurrently Agriculture & Forestry Minister
41 Hideo Kodama Hayashi 10 February 1937  
42 Ryūtarō Nagai 1st Konoe 4 June 1937  
43 Suehiko Shiono Hiranuma 5 January 1939 concurrently Justice Minister
44 Harumichi Tanabe Hiranuma 7 April 1939  
45 Ryūtarō Nagai Abe 30 August 1939 concurrently Railway Minister
46 Masanori Katsu Yonai 16 January 1940  
47 Shōzō Murata 2nd Konoe, 3rd Konoe 22 July 1940  
48 Ken Terajima Tōjō 18 October 1941  
49 Yoshiaki Hatta Tōjō 8 October 1943 concurrently Railway Minister

References

  • Beasley, W.G. (2000). The Rise of Modern Japan: Political, Economic, and Social Change since 1850. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 0-312-23373-6.
  • Samuels, Richard J (1996). Rich Nation, Strong Army:National Security and the Technological Transformation of Japan. ornell University Press. ISBN 0-312-23373-6.
  • Sims, Richard (2001). Japanese Political History Since the Meiji Renovation 1868-2000. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 0-312-23915-7.
  • Howe, Christopher (1996). The Origins of Japanese Trade Supremacy: Development and Technology in Asia. C Hurst Publishing. ISBN 185065221X.
  • Low, Morris (1999). Science, Technology and Society in Contemporary Japan. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521654254.
  • "Imperial Ordinance No. 343" (PDF). Official Gazette: English Edition. No. 74. Government Printing Bureau. 1946-07-01. pp. 1–3. Retrieved 2021-03-18.
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