Eisaku Sato - Eisaku Sato

Politician. Younger brother of Kishi Nobusuke. Born in Yamaguchi Prefecture on March 27, 1901. After graduating from the Faculty of Law at Tokyo Imperial University in 1924 (Taisho 13), he joined the Ministry of Railways, becoming Director General of the Railway Bureau in 1946 (Showa 21) and Vice Minister of Transport in 1947. During that time, he became acquainted with Yoshida Shigeru, and after retiring from the ministry in 1948 he joined the Liberal Party, becoming Chief Cabinet Secretary in the second Yoshida Cabinet in October of the same year. In 1949, he was first elected as a member of the House of Representatives from Yamaguchi 2nd District, and was subsequently elected 10 times in a row. In April 1950, he became Secretary General of the Liberal Party, and after serving as Minister of Posts and Telecommunications in the third Yoshida Cabinet and Minister of Construction in the fourth Yoshida Cabinet, he rose to the position of a central figure in the Yoshida faction, becoming Secretary General again in February 1953. In April 1954, he was implicated in a shipbuilding scandal and arrest was inevitable, but he was saved by the extraordinary exercise of power by Minister of Justice Inukai Takeru. He went on to serve as Minister of Finance, Minister of International Trade and Industry, and Secretary-General of the LDP, and succeeded the Yoshida faction to build the Sato faction, the largest faction within the party. In the 1964 LDP presidential election, he ran against Ikeda Hayato's third term, but was defeated. However, when Ikeda retired due to illness, he became Prime Minister in November of the same year, and maintained power for a long period of seven years and eight months. Sato was known as "Sato the Personnel Manipulator" and "Sato the Waiting Man," and showed exceptional skill in maneuvering within the party, and was characterized by defensive politics, following the situation and making safe and secure choices. This was a political style suited to the period of high economic growth, and was the secret to his long rule, but it was unable to adapt to the changing times since the 1970s, as typified by the Nixon Shock of 1971 (dollar crisis, US-China rapprochement). He retired in July 1972, his farewell being the return of Okinawa to Japan in May. In 1974, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize along with Seán MacBride (1904-1988) of Ireland. He died on June 3, 1975.

[Satoru Ito]

"Postwar Conservative Party History" by Tomimori Eiji (1977, Nippon Hyoronsha)" ▽ "The Sato Administration" by Okamoto Fumio (1974, Hakuba Publishing)" ▽ "The True Story of Sato Eisaku, Volumes 1 and 2 (1988, Shinchosha) by Yamada Eizo" ▽ "The Sato Eisaku Diary, 6 volumes (1997-1999, Asahi Shimbun)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

政治家。岸信介(のぶすけ)の実弟。明治34年3月27日山口県生まれ。1924年（大正13）東京帝国大学法学部卒業後鉄道省に入り、1946年（昭和21）鉄道総局長官、1947年運輸次官となる。その間吉田茂(よしだしげる)の知遇を受け、1948年退官して自由党に入り、同年10月第二次吉田内閣の官房長官に就任した。1949年山口2区より衆議院議員に初当選、以後連続10回当選。1950年4月自由党幹事長、さらに第三次吉田内閣の郵政相、第四次吉田内閣の建設相を経て1953年2月ふたたび幹事長になるなど吉田派の中心人物の地位にのし上がった。1954年4月造船疑獄に連座し逮捕が必至となったが、犬養健(いぬかいたける)法相の異例の指揮権発動で救われた。その後も蔵相、通産相、自民党幹事長などを歴任、吉田派を継承し党内最大派閥の佐藤派を築いた。1964年の総裁選では池田勇人(いけだはやと)3選に反対して立候補したが敗れた。しかし池田の病気引退により同年11月首相となり、以後7年8か月の長期にわたり政権を維持した。佐藤は「人事の佐藤」「待ちの佐藤」といわれたように、党内操縦術に抜群の手腕を示すとともに、状況に追随し手堅く無難な選択を行う守りの政治を特徴とした。それは、高度成長期には適合的な政治スタイルで、長期政権の秘訣(ひけつ)もここにあったが、1970年代以降の時代の変化には対応しきれないもので、それは1971年のニクソン・ショック（ドル危機、米中接近）に典型的に示された。1972年5月の沖縄返還を花道に7月引退した。1974年アイルランドのマクブライドSeán MacBride（1904―1988）とともにノーベル平和賞受賞。昭和50年6月3日死去。

［伊藤　悟］

『富森叡児著『戦後保守党史』（1977・日本評論社）』▽『岡本文夫著『佐藤政権』（1974・白馬出版）』▽『山田栄三著『正伝佐藤栄作』上下（1988・新潮社）』▽『『佐藤栄作日記』全6巻（1997～1999・朝日新聞社）』

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