Mikio Mizuta

Mikio Mizuta
水田三喜男
Minister of Finance
In office 5 July 1971 – 7 July 1972
Prime Minister	Eisaku Satō
Preceded by	Takeo Fukuda
Succeeded by	Koshiro Ueki
In office 3 December 1966 – 30 November 1968
Prime Minister	Eisaku Satō
Preceded by	Takeo Fukuda
Succeeded by	Takeo Fukuda
In office 19 July 1960 – 18 July 1962
Prime Minister	Hayato Ikeda
Preceded by	Eisaku Satō
Succeeded by	Kakuei Tanaka
Minister of International Trade and Industry
In office 23 December 1956 – 25 February 1957
Prime Minister	Tanzan Ishibashi
Preceded by	Tanzan Ishibashi
Succeeded by	Shigesaburo Maeo
Personal details
Born	13 April 1905 Kamogawa, Chiba Prefecture, Japan
Died	December 22, 1976 (aged 71)
Alma mater	Kyoto University

Mikio Mizuta (水田 三喜男 Mizuta Mikio, 13 April 1905 – 22 December 1976) was a Japanese jurist, educator and politician. He served as finance minister of Japan three times and was the founder of Josai University.

Early life and education

Mizuta was born in 1905 in Kamogawa, Chiba Prefecture.^[1][2] He held a law degree from Kyoto University.^[2]

Career

Mizuta was elected to the House of Representatives in 1946 after World War II.^[2] He was a member of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).^[3] He was the minister of trade and industry from 23 December 1956 to 25 February 1957.^[4]

He served as the minister of finance for three terms.^[5][6] He was first appointed to the post on 19 July 1960 and was in office until 18 July 1962.^[5] During this period Japan suffered a financial crisis running a deficit of $700m in July 1961. It fell on Mizuta to successfully negotiate short term loans with three American banks. Despite his nerves he chain-smoked his way to a successful outcome using Japan's underlying financial strength as security.^[7]

Mizuta was the chair of the LDP policy research committee from July 1966 to December 1966 when he was again appointed finance minister.^[5][8] His second ministerial term lasted until 30 November 1968.^[5] From 12 January 1970 to 5 July 1971 he was again the chair of the LDP policy research committee.^[8] His third term as finance minister was between 5 July 1971 and 7 July 1972.^[5] From 25 November 1973 to 11 November 1974 Mizuta served again as the chair of the LDP policy research committee.^[8]

He founded Josai University in 1965.^[9] He was the chancellor and president of it and the house member until his death on 22 December 1976.^[3][9]

Legacy

The house where Mizuta was born in Komagawa is a nationally registered asset and a public museum run by Josai University.^[1]

References

1. "House of Mikio Mizuta (Nationally Registered Cultural Assets)". City of Kamogawa. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
2. The Founder: Mikio Mizuta Josai University. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
3. Karl Dixon (Summer 1977). "The 1976 General Election in Japan". Pacific Affairs. 50 (2). Retrieved 13 December 2013.
4. Chalmers Johnson (1982). Miti and the Japanese Miracle: The Growth of Industrial Policy, 1925–1975. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. p. 330. Retrieved 13 December 2013. – via Questia (subscription required)
5. Finance Ministers of Japan Rulers. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
6. John Creighton Campbell (1980). Contemporary Japanese Budget Politics. University of California Press. p. 136. ISBN 978-0-520-04087-8. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
7. J. Robert Brown (1999). The Ministry of Finance : bureaucratic practices and the transformation of the Japanese economy ([Online-Ausg.] ed.). Westport, CT: Quorum. p. 58. ISBN 1567202306.
8. Toshihiro Nakamura (December 2002). "A Declining Technocratic Regime" (Democracy, Governance and Human Rights Programme Paper Number 9). United Nations Research Institute for Social Development. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
9. "A special event to remember our founder Mikio Mizuta". Josai University. 21 December 2008. Retrieved 13 December 2013.