Shunichi Matsumoto

Shunichi Matsumoto
松本 俊一
Matsumoto in 1964
Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary
(Political affairs)
In office
14 June 1958 – 19 July 1960
Prime MinisterNobusuke Kishi
Preceded byTanaka Tatsuo
Succeeded byHeiji Ogawa
Member of the House of Representatives
In office
28 February 1955 – 23 October 1963
Preceded byKōzaburō Miyahara
Succeeded byKazuo Tanikawa
ConstituencyHiroshima 2nd
Personal details
Born(1897-06-07)7 June 1897
Died25 January 1987(1987-01-25) (aged 89)
PartyLiberal Democratic
Other political
affiliations
Democratic (1955)
EducationFirst Higher School
Alma materTokyo Imperial University

Shunichi Matsumoto (松本 俊一, Matsumoto Shun'ichi; 7 June 1897 – 25 January 1987) was a Japanese diplomat and politician who served as Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary, ambassador to the United Kingdom and vice minister for foreign affairs.

Diplomatic career

Matsumoto served as Japanese Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs under the cabinet of General Hideki Tōjō from 1942 to 1944, and Japanese Ambassador to French Indochina from November 1944 to March 1945, shortly before the Japanese authorities took actual control of the area. On 9 March 1945, he served French Governor-General Jean Decoux the ultimatum demanding the surrender of the French forces to the Japanese authorities.[1] He came back to Japan as Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs at the Cabinet of Admiral Kantarō Suzuki in 1945, at the time of surrender. In this position, he advocated the acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration.[2]

He was the first Japanese Ambassador to the United Kingdom following the reestablishing of diplomatic relations after the Second World War, serving in that position in from 1952 to 1955. From 1955 to 1963, he was a member of House of Representatives of Japan. In 1956, he took part in negotiations with the Soviet government on establishment of diplomatic relations. He served as Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary for political affairs under Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi from June 1958 to July 1960. In 1967, he was given the Order of the Sacred Treasure.

Works

  • Mosukuwa ni Kakeru Niji [Rainbow over Moscow—The Secret Record of Restoring Japan-Soviet Relations] (Asahi Shimbunsha, 1966) - diplomatic memoirs about talks with Moscow 1955-1956

References

  1. ^ Sanderson Beck, Southeast Asia 1941-1945
  2. ^ Kazutoshi Hando, The Pacific War Research Society, Japan's Longest Day (Tokyo: Kodansha International, Ltd., 1968), pp. 11-53 "Kazutoshi Hando, the Pacific War Research Society, Japan's Longest Day (Tokyo: Kodansha International, LTD., 1968), pp. 11-". Archived from the original on 25 February 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2011.

Further reading

  • Kimie Hara, "The Åland Settlement as a Resolution Model for Asia-Pacific Regional Conflicts? Considering the "Nitobe Settlement" for the "Northern Territories" Problem as a Case Study" in New Initiatives for Solving the Northern Territories Issue between Japan and Russia: An Inspiration from the Åland Islands Conference, Mariehamn/Åland, 18–20 August 2006 [1]