Ministry of Commerce and Industry

Japanese: 商工省 - しょうこうしょう

A central government agency established in April 1925 to manage Japan's commerce, industry, mining, geology, weights and measures, trade, etc. The first minister was Takahashi Korekiyo. Prior to the establishment of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, industrial administration had been managed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce, but after World War I, the development of industry was much more rapid than that of agriculture, forestry, and fisheries, and the irrationality of unified administration became apparent. As a result, the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce was split up and the three bureaus of commerce, industry, and mining, as well as affiliated organizations such as the steelworks and patent bureau, were taken over to form the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Shortly after its establishment, the economy hit a recession in the early Showa period, and calls were made for industrial rationalization as a way to overcome the depression, and in 1930 the Temporary Industrial Rationalization Bureau was established. After the Manchurian Incident, Japan's control of the mainland and international isolation encouraged the expansion of the military industry and the growth of the export industry, but the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War and its tendency to drag on made it necessary to strengthen the wartime system, and the main duties of the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce were to improve and expand production capacity in the military industry and to supply military supplies. During the Pacific War, it was reorganized into the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce and the Ministry of Munitions in November 1943, but was revived as the Ministry of Commerce and Industry at the end of the war in 1945. In May 1949, it was reorganized into the Ministry of International Trade and Industry under the National Administrative Organization Act.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

日本の商・工・鉱業や地質，度量衡，交易などを管理するために 1925年4月に発足した中央行政官庁。初代大臣は高橋是清。商工省設置以前の産業行政は農商務省が統括してきたが，第1次世界大戦後，農林水産業に比べて工業の発展が著しく，統一行政の不合理が表面化したため，農商務省を分割し，その商工鉱3部局と製鉄所，特許局などの付属機関を引き継いで商工省を発足させた。設置後まもなく，昭和初年の経済不況にあい，恐慌突破策として産業の合理化が叫ばれ，1930年，臨時産業合理局が設けられた。満州事変以後，日本の大陸経営と国際的孤立化は軍需産業の膨張と輸出産業の伸長を促したが，日中戦争の勃発とその長期化の傾向は戦時体制の強化を必要とし，軍需産業における生産力の整備，拡充，および軍需物資の供給などがその主要業務となった。太平洋戦争中，1943年 11月農商省，軍需省に改編されたが 1945年終戦とともに商工省として復活。 1949年5月国家行政組織法により通商産業省に改組された。

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