Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce

Japanese: 農商務省 - のうしょうむしょう

Established in April 1881, this central government agency was responsible for the administration of agriculture, forestry, commerce and industry. From the early Meiji period until the establishment of the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce, agriculture, forestry, commerce and industry administration was handled by the following ministries: the Civil Affairs Bureau, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Industry, and the Ministry of Home Affairs, as administrative agencies were reformed and abolished. The Bureau of Industrial Promotion, which was the Ministry of Home Affairs' first-class dormitory established in 1873, was the central authority for agriculture, forestry, fisheries, commerce and industry in general, and was at the core of the government's policy of promoting industry and new production. Together with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Industry, it was working toward the goal of building a modern nation and fostering a capitalist economy. The three ministries worked together on agricultural and industrial promotion projects, such as establishing agricultural experiment stations and agricultural schools for agricultural improvement, and establishing and selling off model government-run factories. After the Satsuma Rebellion, the government began to streamline paper currency and cut costs, while at the same time feeling the need to give a boost to industrial development. As part of this, based on the proposals of Shigenobu Okuma and Hirobumi Ito, the government unified the agriculture, forestry, commerce and industry administrations that had been administered by each ministry, and established the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce as the governing authority. The first Minister of Agriculture and Commerce was Toshikama Kono, who oversaw eight bureaus: Secretariat, Agriculture, Commerce, Engineering, Forestry, Post Office, Museum, and Accounting. A separate Council of Senior Ministers of Agriculture, Commerce and Industry was also established. With the inauguration of the Cabinet system in 1985, some changes were made, such as the Post Office Bureau being transferred to the Ministry of Communications. From the 1890s onwards, agricultural policy was further enhanced with the development of commerce and industry, but the importance of commerce and industry administration increased rapidly after World War I, so in March 1925, the Ministry was separated into the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (→Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries) and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and was abolished.

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

Japanese:

1881年4月設置された農林，商工行政を司った中央官庁。明治初年から農商務省設置までの間の農林，商工行政は行政機関の改廃につれて，民部官，民部省，大蔵省，工部省，内務省の諸省によって担当された。 73年に設けられた内務省の一等寮であった勧業寮は農林，水産，商工全般の元締め的存在として政府の殖産興業政策の中核となり，大蔵，工部両省とともに近代国家建設，資本主義経済育成の目標に向って突進していた。農業改良のための農事試験場，農学校の設立，模範的官営工場の設立と払下げなど勧農，勧業事業に3省は一致して取組んだ。西南戦争後，政府は紙幣整理，経費節減に取りかかると同時に産業振興に一層拍車をかける必要を感じていたが，その一環として大隈重信，伊藤博文の建議に基づき，各省に分管されていた農林，商工行政の一本化がはかられ，統轄官庁としての農商務省が設置された。初代農商務卿には河野敏鎌がなり，書記，農務，商務，工務，山林，駅逓，博物，会計の8局を統裁したが，別に農商工上等会議が設けられていた。 85年内閣制度発足とともに駅逓局が逓信省に移管されるなど若干の改変があった。明治 30年代以後商工業の発達とともに農業政策も一層充実したが，第1次世界大戦以後急速に商工行政の重要性が増大してきたため，1925年3月，農林省 (→農林水産省 ) ，商工省に分離され，廃省となった。

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