Kunio Miura
Kunio Miura | |
|---|---|
三浦 一雄 | |
Miura in 1956 | |
| Minister of Agriculture and Forestry | |
| In office June 12, 1958 – June 18, 1959 | |
| Prime Minister | Nobusuke Kishi |
| Preceded by | Munenori Akagi |
| Succeeded by | Takeo Fukuda |
| Director‑General of the Cabinet Legislation Bureau | |
| In office July 22, 1944 – April 7, 1945 | |
| Prime Minister | Kuniaki Koiso |
| Preceded by | Eiichi Moriyama |
| Succeeded by | Naokai Murase |
| Chief Cabinet Secretary | |
| In office July 22, 1944 – July 29, 1944 | |
| Prime Minister | Kuniaki Koiso |
| Preceded by | Naoki Hoshino |
| Succeeded by | Takeo Tanaka |
| Member of the House of Representatives | |
| In office October 1, 1952 – January 30, 1963 | |
| Preceded by | Genzaburō Natsubori |
| Succeeded by | Yoshio Kumagai |
| Constituency | Aomori 1st |
| In office April 30, 1942 – December 18, 1945 | |
| Preceded by | Tetsuo Kudō |
| Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
| Constituency | Aomori 1st |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 22, 1895 |
| Died | January 30, 1963 (aged 67) |
| Resting place | Tama Cemetery, Fuchū, Tokyo |
| Alma mater | University of Tokyo (Faculty of German Law) |
| Occupation | Politician, Government official |
Kunio Miura (三浦 一雄 (みうら くにお, Miura Kunio); April 22, 1895 – January 30, 1963) was a Japanese politician and government official from Aomori Prefecture. His career spanned bureaucratic service, wartime cabinet positions, and postwar elected office, including a term as Minister of Agriculture and Forestry.
Early life and education
Miura was born on April 22, 1895 in Sannohe District, Aomori Prefecture.[1] He graduated from the Faculty of German Law at the University of Tokyo in 1920, entering the Japanese civil service thereafter.[1]
He was born in Gonohe Town, Sannohe District, Aomori Prefecture. He was awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure, First Class. His father was Michitarō Miura, who served as mayor of Gonohe Town and as a member of the Aomori Prefectural Assembly.[2][3] His grandfather, Senpachi Miura, was known as a pioneer of the Utaru area around Lake Towada.[3]
He went on to Tokyo Imperial University after graduating from Sendai Second High School, and while still a student, he joined the All Japan Revitalization Association, which was organized at the University of Tokyo by Uesugi Shinkichi. After graduating from the university, he joined the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce. His contemporaries included Nobusuke Kishi. His older sister, Tayoko Noda, is a folklorist who studied under Kunio Yanagita.[2]
Bureaucratic career
After graduation, Miura joined the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce, which later became part of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. He served in key administrative positions, including:[1]
- Director of the Livestock‑Industry Policy Division (畜産局畜政課長)
- Director of a Forestry Administration Division (山林局管理課長)
- Section Chief, Planning Agency (企画院)
In 1925, when the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce was divided into the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (now the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries), Miura transferred to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, where he was deeply involved in the movement to revitalize the rural economy, and after a period of secondment to the Planning Agency, he retired from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry as Vice Minister of Agriculture and Forestry. He entered politics in the 1942 Imperial Rule Assistance Election.[1][4] In 1941, he was appointed Vice‑Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, becoming a senior bureaucrat influencing national policy.[1]
When the Koiso Cabinet was formed in 1944, Miura served as Director-General of the Legislative Bureau and also served as Chief Cabinet Secretary for a time. After the Koiso Cabinet resigned, he served as Director of the Planning Department of the Imperial Rule Assistance Association, but was banned from public office immediately after the end of the war. After the ban was lifted, he returned to politics in the 1952 general election and served as Minister of Agriculture and Forestry in the second Kishi Cabinet. He died while serving as a member of the House of Representatives.[1]
Wartime political service
During the Koiso Cabinet (July 22, 1944 – April 7, 1945), Miura held dual roles:[4]
- Director‑General of the Cabinet Legislation Bureau
- Chief Secretary of the Cabinet (内閣書記官長)
These posts gave him significant influence over legislation and cabinet coordination during World War II.[1]
Postwar political career
After Japan’s defeat there was a purge of over 27,000 politicians, bureaucrats, teachers, and businesspeople. By 1951 they had all been allowed to return to their former fields of work.[5][6][7] Miura was banned from government service until 1951.[8] He was re-elected to the House of Representatives in 1952 and served five consecutive terms through the 29th general election.[1][9]
In 1958, he was appointed Minister of Agriculture and Forestry in the second cabinet of Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi, where he oversaw agricultural policy during Japan’s postwar recovery.[8] He also held leadership roles within political parties, including:[8]
- Policy‑Committee Chairman of the Japan Reform Party
- Secretary‑General of the Japan Democratic Party
- Secretary‑General of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)
Later life and death
Miura continued serving in politics until his death on January 30, 1963. He is remembered as a figure bridging prewar bureaucratic service and postwar political leadership, particularly in agricultural policy.[1]
Honors
- August 15, 1940 – Commemorative medal for the 2,600th anniversary of the founding of the Empire[10]
- On the date of his death, he was promoted from Senior Fourth Rank to Senior Third Rank and posthumously awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure, First Class.[11]
Legacy
Miura’s career illustrates the continuity of experienced bureaucrats who transitioned from wartime government service to democratic political institutions in postwar Japan. His administrative expertise and legislative influence contributed to both wartime governance and the shaping of agricultural policy in the 1950s.[12]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Kunio Miura". Portraits of Modern Japanese Historical Figures. National Diet Library. Retrieved December 8, 2025.
- ^ a b Sato, Mitsunori (2002). "Tayoko Noda". 青森県人名事典 [Aomori Prefecture Biographical Dictionary] (in Japanese). Aomori, Japan: Tō-Ō Nippō Publishing. p. 541. ISBN 4885610656.
- ^ a b Tomizawa, Tomonari (1995). "Tayoko Noda". きたおぅう人物伝 近代化への足跡 [Kitaou Biography: Footsteps to Modernization] (in Japanese). Aomori: Daily Tohoku Shimbun. pp. 204–205. BA88316534.
- ^ a b "小磯内閣" [Koiso Cabinet] (in Japanese). Kantei. Retrieved December 8, 2025.
- ^ Dower, John W.; Tetsuo, Hirata (July 12, 2007). "Japan's Red Purge: Lessons from a Saga of Suppression of Free Speech and Thought". Translated by Middleton, Ben. Asia-Pacifc Journal. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
- ^ "5-7 Purge of Undesirables from Public Office". National Diet Library. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
- ^ "公職追放令 (SCAPIN-550・548) の形成過程" [The formation process of the Public Office Purge Orders (SCAPIN-550 and 548)]. J-Stage (in Japanese). 85: 73–96. 1987. doi:10.11375/kokusaiseiji1957.85_73.
- ^ a b c "三浦一雄（読み）ミウラ クニオ" [Kazuo Miura (reading) Miura Kunio] (in Japanese). Kotobank. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
- ^ "三浦一雄 衆議院議員の実績" [Kazuo Miura, Member of the House of Representatives: Basic Information and Achievements] (in Japanese). Kokkai. Retrieved December 8, 2025.
- ^ "Official Gazette No. 4438". Appendix "Appointment Order 2. October 23, 1941.
- ^ "Official Gazette No. 10837". February 4, 1963. p. 59.
- ^ "戦後上級官僚の行動様式と「政官関係」の変容" [Postwar Behavior of Senior Bureaucrats and Changes in "Politician-Bureaucrat Relationships"] (in Japanese). Nara University. February 2, 2011. Retrieved December 9, 2025.