Motoda Hajime

Motoda Hajime
元田 肇
Motoda in 1932
Speaker of the House of Representatives
In office
20 April 1928 – 14 March 1929
MonarchHirohito
DeputyIchirō Kiyose
Preceded byShigeru Morita
Succeeded byKawahara Mosuke
Minister of Railways
In office
15 May 1920 – 12 June 1922
Prime MinisterHara Takashi
Takahashi Korekiyo
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byEnkichi Ōki
Minister of Communications
In office
20 February 1913 – 16 April 1914
Prime MinisterYamamoto Gonnohyōe
Preceded byGotō Shinpei
Succeeded byTaketomi Tokitoshi
Vice Speaker of the House of Representatives
In office
18 May 1898 – 28 December 1902
SpeakerKenkichi Kataoka
Preceded byShimada Saburō
Succeeded byTeiichi Sugita
Member of the Privy Council
In office
27 January 1932 – 1 October 1938
MonarchHirohito
Member of the House of Representatives
In office
15 April 1892 – 21 January 1930
Preceded byKoretsune Makaji
Succeeded byKin'ya Takahashi
ConstituencyŌita 6th (1892–1894)
Ōita 5th (1894–1902)
Ōita Prefecture (1902–1920)
Ōita 6th (1920–1928)
Ōita 2nd (1928–1930)
In office
2 July 1890 – 25 December 1891
Preceded byConstituency established
Succeeded byYoshihiko Ono
ConstituencyŌita 1st
Member of the Tokyo City Council
In office
February 1896 – June 1899
Personal details
Born(1858-02-28)28 February 1858
Died1 October 1938(1938-10-01) (aged 80)
PartyRikken Seiyūkai
Other political
affiliations
Taiseikai (1890–1891)
Kokumin Kyōkai (1892–1899)
Teikokutō (1899–1905)
Seiyūhontō (1924–1927)
RelativesFunada Naka (son-in-law)
Alma materTokyo Imperial University

Motoda Hajime (元田 肇; 28 February 1858 – 1 October 1938) was a Japanese politician and cabinet minister in the Meiji, Taishō and early Shōwa periods of the Japan.

Biography

Motoda was born in Bungo Province in what is now part of Kunisaki, Ōita, where his father, Inomata Eizo was a doctor. He was adopted by Motoda Naoshi, a samurai in the service of Kitsuki Domain on his marriage to Motoda’s daughter. Following the Meiji Restoration, he went to Tokyo, and graduated from Tokyo Imperial University with a legal degree in 1880. In the first Japanese general election of 1890, Motoda was elected to the lower house of the Diet of Japan. He was reelected 16 times, mostly under the Rikken Seiyūkai party, serving for over 40 years, including three terms as Vice-Speaker of the House from 1889-1892.

Under the administration of Prime Minister Yamamoto Gonnohyōe (1913–1914), Motoda was appointed Communications Minister. He subsequently served as the first Railroad Minister, when that cabinet-level post was created under the Hara Takashi administration in May 1920. He continued in the same post under the Takahashi Korekiyo administration until the collapse of that administration in June 1922.

Motoda became Speaker of the House from 20 April 1928 to 14 March 1929. In 1932, he was appointed to the Privy Council, the first party politician to receive this honor. His grave is at the Aoyama Cemetery in Tokyo.

References

  • Fraser, Andrew (2006). Japan's Early Parliaments, 1890–1905: Structure, Issues and Trends. Routledge. ISBN 0415030757.
  • Ozaki, Yukio (2001). The Autobiography of Ozaki Yukio: The Struggle for Constitutional Government. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0691050953.
  • Banno, Junji (2003). The Establishment of the Japanese Constitutional System. Routledge. ASIN B00DHQ6WHE.

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