Background
Michio Yuzawa was born on May 20, 1888 in Tochigi, Japan. He was the son of a kannushi (Shinto priest).
三千男 湯沢
Michio Yuzawa was born on May 20, 1888 in Tochigi, Japan. He was the son of a kannushi (Shinto priest).
After his graduation in 1912 from Tokyo Imperial University Michio Yuzawa entered the Home Ministry. He served within the ministry within the field of public health, and oversaw the establishment of the Meiji Shrine Games, which were held annually from 1924-1943. In 1929, he was appointed Governor of Miyagi Prefecture. In 1931 Michio Yuzawa became Director of the Public Works Bureau, and Governor of Hiroshima Prefecture. In 1935, he was appointed Governor of Hyogo Prefecture. In 1936, Yuzawa was appointed Vice Minister of the Home Ministry.
In 1938, under the Hirota Koki administration, Michio Yuzawa was dispatched to China, to assist in the establishment of the Provisional Government of the Republic of China. While working closely with the Japanese Northern China Area Army, he established close connections with its chief-of-staff, General Akira Muto. In 1940, he was appointed chairman of the Dai-Nippon Sangyo Johokokukai, a war-time umbrella organization encompassing all of the former labor unions, which were now under government control.
On February 7, 1942, Michio Yuzawa was appointed Home Minister in the Tojo administration. As Home Minister, he organized government support for the Taisei Yokusankai, which won a landslide victory in the 1942 General Election, but had to contend with the increasing radicalization of the paramilitary youth wing of the party, the Yokusan Sonendan. He also oversaw the creation of Tokyo Metropolis by the merger of Tokyo City with Tokyo-fu in 1942.
From April 1943 until the end of World War II, Yuzawa was appointed to a seat in the House of Peers. After the surrender of Japan, Yuzawa was purged by orders of the American occupation authorities. He subsequently served as honorary chairman of the Central Social Insurance Medical Council. In 1959, he ran for a seat in the post-war upper house of the Diet of Japan under the Liberal Party ticket and served for a single term.
Michio Yuzawa died in 1963.