Background
State Minister was born on April 11, 1885 in Toyama Prefecture, Japan.
松太郎 正力
State Minister was born on April 11, 1885 in Toyama Prefecture, Japan.
He graduated from German Law Section, Tokyo University.
He became an official oi the Metropolitan Police Board and rose to the posts of chief of its Secretariat and chief of its Higher Section. He was dismissed from the police after the Toranomon Incident of late 1923.
In 1924, with the help of a powerful investor, he bought Yomiuri Shimbun. Shōriki's innovations included improved news coverage and a full-page radio program guide. The emphasis of the paper shifted to broad news coverage aimed at readers in the Tokyo area. By 1941 it had the largest circulation of any daily newspaper in the Tokyo area.
Shōriki organized a Japanese baseball All-Star team in 1934 that matched up against an American All-Star team. While prior Japanese all-star contingents had disbanded, Shōriki went pro with this group, which eventually became known as the Yomiuri Giants.
Shōriki was classified as a "Class A" war criminal after the Second World War, serving 21 months in prison. However, he was released in 1947 after it was determined that the accusations against him were mostly of an "ideological and political nature".
In January 1956, Shōriki became chairman of the newly created Japanese Atomic Energy Commission, and in May of that year was appointed head of the brand-new Science and Technology Agency, both under the cabinet of Ichirō Hatoyama with strong support behind the scenes from the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.
Shōriki survived an assassination attempt by right-wing nationalists for allowing foreigners (in this case, Americans) to play baseball in Jingu Stadium. He received a 16-inch-long scar from a broadsword during the assassination attempt.