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Admiral Kantaro Suzuki 鈴木 貫太郎 Suzuki Kantarō, (December 24, 1867 - April 17, 1948) was a Japanese military leader in World War I and World War II. As 42nd Prime Minister of Japan from April 7, 1945 to August 17, 1945, he was a key voice in favor of Japan's acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration and full surrender to the Allied Powers.
Political and military life
Suzuki was born in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, and grew up in the city of Noda, Chiba Prefecture. He entered the Naval College in 1884 and joined the Imperial Japanese Navy in 1888. He was immediately shipped off to serve in the First Sino-Japanese War.
was graduated from Naval Academy, 1887; was graduated from Naval War College, 1898; commanded a torpedo boat during First Sino-Japanese War, participated in night torpedo assault on Wei-hai-wei (Lt); commanded 4th Destroyer Division, which picked up survivors of the Port Arthur Blockade Squadron, during Russo-Japanese War (Commander).
In 1898,was assigned to the warship Kasuga. As a young officer, he was a commander of a destroyer flotilla during the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05) and participated in the pivotal naval Battle of Tsushima.
Suzuki was Vice Minister of the Navy during World War I, then fleet commander, then Chief of Naval General Staff from 1925 to 1929.
Vice-Minister of Navy, 1914; Vice-Admiral, 1917; Admiral, 1923; Commander-in-Chief of Combined Fleet, Military Councillor Chief of Naval General Staff. After retirement, Grand Chamberlain and Privy Councillor. Seriously wounded during "2-26" Incident. Prime Minister, April-August 1945.
He narrowly escaped assassination in the February 26 Incident in 1936: the would-be assassin's bullet remained inside Suzuki for the rest of his life, and was only revealed upon Suzuki's cremation.
He retired from the navy in 1937 and became Vice Chairman of the Councilors of Court in 1940, taking chairmainship of the imperial advisory council in 1944. Throughout World War II, Suzuki was opposed to Japan's war with the United States.
Prime Minister
In April of 1945, following the Battle of Okinawa, Prime Minister Kuniaki Koiso resigned and Suzuki took his place at the age of seventy-seven. (U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt died less than a week later.)he,if one of last chiefs in "Kodoha" Party in same period.
As prime minister, Suzuki contributed to the final peace negotiations with the Allies. He was involved in calling two unprecedented imperial conferences which helped resolve a split with in the Japanese Imperial Cabinet over the Potsdam Declaration he had outlined the terms to Hirohito who used his imperial power to bring the war to a close . This went squarely against the military faction of the cabinet, who desired to negotiate a more favorable peace agreement with the Allies, Part of that faction attempting to assinate him twice on the morning of August 16th 1945,
Once the surrender became public, Suzuki resigned, and Prince Higashikuni became prime minister.
Suzuki died of natural causes after the war. One of his two sons became director of Japan's immigration service, while the other was a successful lawyer.
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1867 births | 1948 deaths | Imperial Japanese Navy admirals | Japanese military leaders | Prime Ministers of Japan | People from Osaka Prefecture | Kazoku
Kantaro Suzuki | Kantaro Suzuki | קנטרו סוזוקי | 鈴木貫太郎 | Kantaro Suzuki | Suzuki Kantarō | 鈴木貫太郎
"Kantaro Suzuki"