Katsuo Okazaki
Minister for Foreign Affairs
In office
30 October 1952 – 9 December 1954
Prime MinisterShigeru Yoshida
Preceded byShigeru Yoshida
Succeeded byMamoru Shigemitsu
Chief Cabinet Secretary
In office
6 May 1950 – 26 December 1951
Prime MinisterShigeru Yoshida
Preceded byKaneshichi Masuda
Succeeded byShigeru Hori
Chairman of the Shanghai Municipal Council
In office
5 January 1942 – 1 August 1943
Preceded byJohn Hellyer Liddell
Succeeded byCouncil disbanded
Personal details
Born10 July 1897
Kanagawa, Japan
Died10 October 1965(1965-10-10) (aged 68)
Tokyo, Japan
Political partyLiberal Democratic Party (1955–1963)
Other political
affiliations		Democratic Liberal Party (1949–1950)
Liberal Party (1950–1955)
Alma materTokyo Imperial University

Katsuo Okazaki (岡崎 勝男, Okazaki Katsuo, 10 July 1897 – 10 October 1965) was a Japanese sportsman, diplomat and political figure. He served as the Japanese foreign minister in the 1950s. He was also the final – and only Japanese – chairman of the Shanghai Municipal Council.[1]

Early life

Okazaki was born on 10 July 1897 in Kanagawa, Japan. He was the 10th son of Yasunosuke Okazaki.[2] He studied law at the University of Tokyo and then joined the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.[3]

Sporting prowess

Okazaki participated in the 1924 Paris Olympic Summer Games, qualifying for the 5,000 m final with a time of 15.22.2e.[4] In the final, he fainted in the heatwave and was carried away by medics.[5] He had much success at the Far Eastern Championship Games, winning the mile run at the 1921 Games then doing a middle-distance double in the mile and 880 yards at the 1923 event in Osaka.[6]

Consular positions

Okasaki served as second secretary to the Japanese Embassy in Washington, D.C. in the early 1930s.[7]

He also served in numerous positions in China during the 1930s, including serving as Japanese Consul-General in Nanjing after the Fall of Nanking to the Imperial Japanese Army and during the Nanking Massacre. In 1938, he was serving as Japanese Consul General in Canton.[8] In October 1939 was appointed Japanese Consul at Hong Kong, a position he held until January 1941.[9]

Shanghai Municipal Council

In early January 1942 Okazaki was appointed as Chairman of the Shanghai Municipal Council after the British and American members resigned following the commencement of the Pacific War and the occupation of the Shanghai International Settlement by Japanese troops.[10] After the resignation of the Commissioner General, G. Godfrey Phillips which took effect from 1 March 1942, Okasaki also took over the role of Commissioner General in an honorary capacity.[11] He served until 1943 when the council was disbanded.

Surrender of Japan

The Japanese representatives on board USS Missouri during the surrender ceremonies on 2 September 1945. Okazaki is in the second row, second from the left (in top hat).

Okazaki took part in the surrender negotiations between the Japanese emissaries and American military officials on Iejima in 1945. He was present as a representative of Japan at the formal surrender on 2 September 1945 aboard the USS Missouri.

Post-war political and diplomatic career

Okazaki in 1951

Okazaki was elected to the Japanese House of Representatives in 1949. In 1951, he was appointed by Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida as Chief Cabinet Secretary and state minister without portfolio.[3]

In 1952, he was appointed Foreign Minister and served in that position until 1954. In 1954, building on work by Ikeda, Okazaki signed a Mutual Security Assistance (MSA) Agreement with U.S. Ambassador John Allison.[12]

In 1961 he was called out of retirement to serve in the United Nations in what was described at the time as a move to strengthen the Japanese delegation. He served as Japan's delegate to the United Nations from April 1961 to July 1963.[13]

Death

Okazaki died on 10 October 1965 in Tokyo of a stomach ulcer at the age of 68.[13]

Family members

Okazaki was married to Shimako with whom he had a son, Taro, and a daughter, Yoshiko.[14]

He is the grandfather of the Japanese-American figure skater Kyoko Ina, Yoshiko's daughter.[15]

References

  1. ^ "Katsuo Okazaki". Olympedia. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
  2. ^ 『第廿一版 人事興信録 上』
  3. ^ a b Obituary, New York Times, Oct 12, 1965, p47
  4. ^ Sports Reference for Katsuo Okazaki
  5. ^ Raevuori, Antero (1997). Paavo Nurmi, juoksijoiden kuningas (in Finnish) (2nd ed.). WSOY. p. 174. ISBN 951-0-21850-2.
  6. ^ Far Eastern Championships. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2014-12-18.
  7. ^ T Maga, Judgment at Tokyo: The Japanese War Crimes Trials, p. 41
  8. ^ China Monthly Review Volume 86, page 422
  9. ^ Hong Kong Government Gazette, October 25, 1939
  10. ^ New York Times, Jan 9, 1942, p4
  11. ^ Shanghai Municipal Council Annual Report, 1942, p6
  12. ^ Geffard, Sydney (1997). Japan Among the Powers, 1890-1990. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-06891-7.
  13. ^ a b Washington Post, October 12, 1965, pC4
  14. ^ Yoshiko's name could possibly be Toshiko. Obituary, New York Times, Oct 12, 1965, p47 The New York Times' obituary referred to Okazaki's daughter as "Toshiko". Other articles refer to her as Yoshiko or Yoshi. See for example New York Times, "FIGURE SKATING; High Hopes in a Tough Season", January 5, 1998. Her mother's name in Japanese is "淑子" which can be read either Yoshiko or Toshiko. See: http://olympico.cocolog-nifty.com/olympic_plus/2005/10/33_45b1.html
  15. ^ Sports Reference for Kyoko Ina
House of Representatives of Japan Preceded bySaburo Ogoshi Chair, Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives of Japan 1949–1950 Succeeded byGoro Morishima Political offices Preceded byKaneshichi Masuda Chief Cabinet Secretary 1950–1951 Succeeded byShigeru Hori Preceded byShigeru Yoshida Minister for Foreign Affairs 1952–1954 Succeeded byMamoru Shigemitsu Government offices New office Director, Intelligence and Analysis Service of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Japan 1945 Succeeded byShoji Ogata Diplomatic posts Consulate evacuated Japanese Consul General to Guangzhou 1939–1941 Succeeded byNagao Kita Preceded byAkiyoshi Tajiri Japanese Consul General to Hong Kong 1940–1942 Succeeded bySeiki Yano N/A Japanese Consul General to Kolkata 1941 Office abolished Preceded byKoto Matsudaira Japanese Ambassador to the United Nations 1961–63 Succeeded byAkira Matsui
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