Background
KEISUKE OKADA was bornon 20 January 1868 in Fukui. He was the son of a samurai of the domain of Fukui.
岡田啓介
KEISUKE OKADA was bornon 20 January 1868 in Fukui. He was the son of a samurai of the domain of Fukui.
He graduated from the Naval Academy and Naval Staff College and, after being commissioned as an ensign in 1890, advanced rapidly until, by 1913, he held the rank of rear admiral.
In 1915 he became head of the Personnel Section of the Naval Ministry. In 1917 he advanced to vice admiral and became commander of the naval dockyard at Sasebo, head of the Bureau of Warship Construction and Maintenance, and vice-minister of the navy. In 1924 he was made a military councilor and commander of the Combined Fleet and in 1926 commander of the Yokosuka Naval Yard. After holding these important posts, he was appointed minister of the navy in the Tanaka Giichi cabinet in 1927. In 1929 he once more became a military councilor and in 1930 worked to smooth over differences of opinion within naval circles and to pave the way for Japan’s signing of the agreement drawn up by the London Disarmament Conference, gaining the recognition of the elder statesman Saionji Kimmochi.
He served once more as minister of the navy in the Saito Makoto cabinet in 1932 and the following years entered the reserve. In 1934, on the recommendation of Saionji Kimmochi, he succeeded Saito as prime minister and formed his own cabinet, but as a result of the furor caused by Professor Minobe Tatsukichi’s description of the emperor as an “organ of the state,” and the necessity that it precipitated for the government to clarify the exact nature of the national polity, he Was subjected to heavy pressure from right- wing military leaders and members of the Seiyukai.
In 1936, shortly after the opposition party, the Minseito, emerged victorious in the general election, the revolt of the young army officers known as the February 26 incident occurred. One group of officers attacked the prime minister’s residence, and when word was given out that Okada had been put to death, the cabinet resigned. In fact, however, he managed to escape with his life. Thereafter, as a senior statesman, he took part in the selection of men for the post of prime minister, and in 1944, toward the end of the Pacific War, played a key role in overthrowing the Tojo Hideki cabinet.