Editing Tetsu Katayama

{{short description|Prime Minister of Japan from 1947 to 1948}}
{{use dmy dates|date=November 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix    = [[Junior Second Rank]]
| name                = Tetsu Katayama
| native_name         = {{nobold|片山 哲}}
| native_name_lang    = ja
| image               = 片山哲.jpg
| caption             = Official portrait, 1947
| office              = [[Prime Minister of Japan]]
| monarch             = [[Hirohito]]
| governor            = [[Douglas MacArthur]]
| deputy              = [[Hitoshi Ashida]]
| term_start          = 24 May 1947
| term_end            = 10 March 1948
| predecessor         = [[Shigeru Yoshida]]
| successor           = Hitoshi Ashida
| office1             = Member of the [[House of Representatives (Japan)|House of Representatives]]
| constituency1       = [[Kanagawa 3rd district (1947–1993)|Kanagawa 3rd]]
| term_start1         = 2 October 1952
| term_end1           = 23 October 1963
| constituency2       = Kanagawa 3rd
| term_start2         = 25 April 1947
| term_end2           = 23 December 1948
| predecessor2        = ''Constituency established''
| successor2          = ''Multi-member district''
| constituency3       = [[Kanagawa at-large district (House of Representatives)|Kanagawa at-large]]
| term_start3         = 11 April 1946
| term_end3           = 31 March 1947
| predecessor3        = ''Constituency established''
| successor3          = ''Multi-member district''
| constituency4       = [[Kanagawa 2nd district (1928–1942)|Kanagawa 2nd]]
| term_start4         = 21 February 1936
| term_end4           = 30 April 1942
| constituency5       = Kanagawa 2nd
| term_start5         = 21 February 1930
| term_end5           = 21 January 1932
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1887|7|28|df=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Nishimuro District, Wakayama|Nishimuro, Wakayama]], [[Empire of Japan|Japan]]
| death_date          = {{death date and age|1978|5|30|1887|7|28|df=y}}
| death_place         = [[Fujisawa, Kanagawa]], Japan
| spouse              = {{marriage|Kikue Shimizu|1913}}
| signature           = KatayamaT kao.png
| party               = [[Democratic Socialist Party (Japan)|DSP]] (1960–1978)
| otherparty          = [[Social Democratic Party (Japan, 1926)|SDP]] (1926–1932)<br>[[Shakai Taishūtō]] (1932–1940)<br>[[Independent politician|Independent]] (1940–1945)<br>[[Japan Socialist Party|JSP]] (1945–1951; 1955–1960)<br>[[Right Socialist Party of Japan|RSP]] (1951–1955)
| alma_mater          = [[University of Tokyo|Tokyo Imperial University]]
}}
{{nihongo|'''Tetsu Katayama'''|片山 哲|Katayama Tetsu|extra=28 July 1887 &ndash; 30 May 1978}} was a Japanese politician who served as [[Prime Minister of Japan|prime minister of Japan]] from 1947 to 1948. He was the first [[socialist]] to serve as Japanese prime minister, and the last non-member of the [[Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)|Liberal Democratic Party]] or its forerunners to serve until 1993.

Born in [[Wakayama Prefecture]], Katayama graduated in law from [[Tokyo Imperial University]] in 1912. He was strongly influenced by the [[Christian socialism]] of [[Abe Isoo]], and in the 1920s served as a legal adviser to labor organizations and socialist political parties. He helped form the [[Social Democratic Party (Japan, 1926)|Social Democratic Party]] in 1926, and was elected to the [[National Diet|Diet]] for the first time in 1930. In 1932, his party merged with the [[Shakai Taishūtō]], which was dissolved in 1940. After the [[Pacific War]], he became the secretary-general of the [[Japan Socialist Party]].  After the 1947 election, Katayama became prime minister, heading a coalition cabinet with members of the [[Democratic Party (Japan, 1947)|Democratic Party]] and [[National Cooperative Party]]. With the backing of occupation authorities, he helped implement a wide range of progressive social reforms, including the establishment of a labor ministry, but had insufficient political strength for more radical reforms such as wage and price controls, forcing him to resign in 1948. Katayama lost his Diet seat in 1949, although he remained a leading figure in his party's right wing throughout the 1950s. From 1960, he supported the newly-formed [[Democratic Socialist Party (Japan)|Democratic Socialist Party]].

==Early life and education==
He was born in [[Tanabe, Wakayama|Tanabe]], [[Wakayama Prefecture]] on 28 July 1887.<ref name="NDL">{{cite web|title=Historical Figures|url=http://www.ndl.go.jp/constitution/e/etc/figures.html|publisher=National Diet Library|access-date=13 January 2013}}</ref> He attended [[Tokyo Imperial University]] and received a bachelor's degree in law.<ref name="NDL"/> Raised in the Christian faith, he was strongly influenced by the [[Christian socialism]] of [[Abe Isoo]]. After graduating, he opened a law office in a rented [[YMCA]] dormitory, and worked as an attorney.<ref name="NDL"/>

==Political career==
Katayama became secretary-general of the [[Social Democratic Party (Japan, 1926)|Social Democratic Party]] when it was established in 1926.<ref name="NDL"/> He was elected to Japan's [[House of Representatives (Japan)|House of Representatives]], representing [[Kanagawa Prefecture]], in 1930.<ref name="NDL"/> Later in 1932, he joined the executive committee of the [[Socialist Masses Party]]. He was removed from the party since he did not participate in the session of the House on which [[Saitō Takao (politician)|Takao Saito]] was expelled from the House for his antimilitary speech.<ref name="NDL"/> After [[World War II]], Katayama began to serve as secretary-general of the [[Japan Socialist Party]] when it was established in November 1945.<ref name="NDL"/> In September 1946, he became the chairman of the party's executive committee.<ref name="NDL"/>

==Premiership (1947–1948)==
{{seealso|Katayama Cabinet}}
[[File:Tetsu Katayama Cabinet 19470524.jpg|thumb|Katayama's cabinet]]
Following the 1947 elections, in which the Socialist Party came in first, Katayama formed a coalition government with the [[Democratic Party (Japan, 1947)|Democratic Party]] and the [[National Cooperative Party]]. Although in reality, Emperor Hirohito was displeased by the fact that Katayama became the prime minister, wherein he was not included in the votation process.<ref>Bix 2016, p. 626</ref> Despite leading a short-lived administration, Katayama, during his time in office, saw the enactment of a wide range of progressive social reforms such as the establishment of Japan's first Labour Ministry;<ref>{{Cite book |last=Totten |first=George Oakley |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s24FAQAAIAAJ |title=Studies on Japan's Social Democratic Parties: Socialist parties in postwar Japan |date=1966 |publisher=Yale University Press |language=en}}</ref> an Unemployment Compensation Act; an Unemployment Insurance Act; and the overhaul revision of the Civil Code, whose section on the family institution was completely rewritten to provide, for instance, the eldest son with a greater inheritance share.<ref>{{cite web|last=Odaka|first=Konosuke|title=The Evolution of Social Policy in Japan|url=http://siteresources.worldbank.org/WBI/Resources/wbi37202.pdf|publisher=World Bank|access-date=13 January 2013|year=2002}}</ref><ref name="Mackie 2003, p. 130">{{Cite book|title=Feminism in Modern Japan: Citizenship, Embodiment and Sexuality|last=Mackie|first=Vera|date=2003-02-26|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=g7_5Cm8k2MkC&pg=PA130]|isbn=9780521527194}}</ref>

The Labour Standards Act of September 1947 introduced maternity leave for a five weekly mandatory post-natal period and prohibited dismissal of women during maternity leave and for thirty days after the end of the leave although not all workers were covered.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.oecd.org/els/family/PF2.5%20Trends%20in%20leave%20entitlements%20around%20childbirth%20since%201970%20-%2010%20oct%202012%20-%20FINAL%20-%20Annex.pdf |title=Trends in leave entitlements around childbirth since 1970 |access-date=21 November 2014 |archive-date=21 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140721142403/http://www.oecd.org/els/family/PF2.5%20Trends%20in%20leave%20entitlements%20around%20childbirth%20since%201970%20-%2010%20oct%202012%20-%20FINAL%20-%20Annex.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> In addition, the law provided for equal pay for equal work.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mKNcjos0aH0C&pg=PA61|title=Women and Women's Issues in Post World War II Japan|last=Beauchamp|first=Edward R.|date=1998-01-01|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=9780815327318}}</ref> The Employment Security Law of November 1947 contained authority for the government to operate a system of free public employment exchanges on a broader and more democratic basis than under the former Employment Exchange Law. It also provided for public services to the handicapped in securing employment, and outlawed labor bosses and other undemocratic forms of labor recruitment.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uhLlbioRXrwC&pg=PA16 |title = Economic Policy in Postwar Japan: Growth Versus Economic Democracy|last1 = Yamamura|first1 = Kōzō|last2 = Yamamura|first2 = K̄oz̄o|year = 1967}}</ref> The Child Welfare Law of December 1947 extended special protection to abused, abandoned, and neglected children, guaranteed the privacy rights of children born out of wedlock, established health-care programmes for mothers and children, provided for prenatal care, outlawed the employment of minors in dangerous occupations, and abolished the practice of indentured labour. The legislation also laid the institutional foundation for a nationwide system of childcare centres, created standards for foster parentage, and made the state responsible for setting up and supervising orphanages and other juvenile institutions.<ref name="Mackie 2003, p. 130"/>

The Law for the Elimination of Excessive Economic Concentration (passed in December 1947) provided for the dissolution of any company considered to be monopolistic,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Yamamura |first=Kozo |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wWMOIsQuIhkC |title=The Economic Emergence of Modern Japan |date=1997-06-13 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-58946-8}}</ref> while the "law on the expulsion of [[Zaibatsu]]-affiliated controls" of January 1948 enforced the resignation of Zaibatsu board members who were related closely to Zaibatsu families, while a measure was taken to ban on holding the concurrent board posts of their affiliated companies. In addition, a government employees law was enacted, the first group of Japanese Supreme Court justices was appointed, local government and the police were reorganised, the Ministries of Home Affairs, Navy, and War were abolished,<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Cole |first1=Allan Burnett |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ApXaAAAAMAAJ |title=Socialist Parties in Postwar Japan |last2=Totten |first2=George Oakley |last3=Uyehara |first3=Cecil H. |date=1966 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-608-30698-8}}</ref> extensive revisions were made to criminal law, and progress was made on land reform.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O3QuFAHMFqUC&pg=PA186|title=Dictionary of the Modern Politics of Japan|last1=Stockwin|first1=J. A. A.|date=2003-12-16|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=9780203402177}}</ref>

==Later life==
At the end of the 1950s, Katayama was also the president of the Japan Temperance Union.<ref>{{cite news|title=Soviet leader may give up vodka toping|newspaper=St. Petersburg Times|date=26 October 1957|page=[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=rbkoAAAAIBAJ&pg=6204,4640651&dq=tetsu+katayama&hl=en 4]}}</ref> The influence of left-wing socialists, such as [[Suzuki Mosaburō]], forced Katayama to resign early in his term.<ref>{{cite book |last=Duus |first=Peter |title=Modern Japan |date=1998 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin |isbn=978-0-395-74604-2 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=_rDtAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA269 269]}}</ref> After his resignation, Katayama became a member of the [[Democratic Socialist Party (Japan)|Democratic Socialist Party]] and advocated the maintenance of the pacifist constitution, election reform, and formation of a global commonwealth. In 1963, Katayama left politics after he lost his seat in the general elections.<ref name="NDL"/>

===Global policy===
He was one of the signatories of the agreement to convene a convention for drafting a [[world constitution]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Letters from Thane Read asking Helen Keller to sign the World Constitution for world peace. 1961 |url=https://www.afb.org/HelenKellerArchive?a=d&d=A-HK01-07-B149-F04-022.1.8 |access-date=2023-07-01 |website=Helen Keller Archive |publisher=American Foundation for the Blind}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Letter from World Constitution Coordinating Committee to Helen, enclosing current materials |url=https://www.afb.org/HelenKellerArchive?a=d&d=A-HK01-07-B154-F05-028.1.6 |access-date=2023-07-03 |website=Helen Keller Archive |publisher=American Foundation for the Blind}}</ref> As a result, for the first time in human history, a [[World Constituent Assembly]] convened to draft and adopt a [[Constitution for the Federation of Earth]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Preparing earth constitution {{!}} Global Strategies & Solutions {{!}} The Encyclopedia of World Problems |url=http://encyclopedia.uia.org/en/strategy/193465 |url-status= |access-date=2023-07-15 |website=The Encyclopedia of World Problems {{!}} Union of International Associations (UIA)}}</ref>

==Honors==
*Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun (1964)
*Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun with Paulownia Flowers (1978; posthumous)

== See also ==
* [[Katayama Cabinet]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline|Tetsu Katayama}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Shigeru Yoshida]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Prime Minister of Japan]]|years=1947–1948}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Hitoshi Ashida]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Tokutaro Kimura]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Ministry of Justice (Japan)|Minister of Justice]]<br /><small>Interim</small>|years=1947}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Yoshio Suzuki]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Mitsujiro Ishii]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Ministry of Commerce and Industry (Japan)|Minister of Commerce and Industry]]|years=1947}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Chōzaburō Mizutani]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Sadayoshi Hitomatsu]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Ministry of Communications (Japan)|Minister of Communications]]|years=1947}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Takeo Miki]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Tanzan Ishibashi]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Minister of Finance (Japan)|Minister of Finance]]<br /><small>Interim</small>|years=1947}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Shōtaro Yano]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Prime Ministers of Japan}}
{{Japanese finance ministers}}
{{Social democracy}}
{{World Constitutional Convention call signatories}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Katayama, Tetsu}}
[[Category:1887 births]]
[[Category:1978 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century prime ministers of Japan]]
[[Category:People from Tanabe, Wakayama]]
[[Category:20th-century Japanese lawyers]]
[[Category:Ministers of finance of Japan]]
[[Category:Japanese Protestants]]
[[Category:Japanese Christians]]
[[Category:Members of the House of Representatives (Empire of Japan)]]
[[Category:Japan Socialist Party politicians]]
[[Category:Democratic Socialist Party (Japan) politicians]]
[[Category:Japanese Christian socialists]]
[[Category:World Constitutional Convention call signatories]]