- Hitoshi Ashida
Infobox Politician
name = Ashida Hitoshi
width =150px
height =300px
caption =Prime Minister of Japan
birth_date =15 November 1887
birth_place =Fukuchiyama, Kyoto ,Japan
residence =
death_date =death date and age|1959|6|20|1887|11|15
death_place =
office =47thPrime Minister of Japan
salary =
term_start =10 March 1948
term_end =15 October 1948
predecessor =Tetsu Katayama
successor =Shigeru Yoshida Hitoshi Ashida (芦田均 "Ashida Hitoshi",
November 15 ,1887 ndashJune 20 ,1959 ) was aJapan esepolitician who served as the 47thPrime Minister of Japan fromMarch 10 toOctober 15 ,1948 . He was a prominent figure in the immediate postwar political landscape, but was forced to resign his leadership responsibilities after a corruption scandal targeting two of his cabinet ministers.Early political life
Ashida was born in
Fukuchiyama, Kyoto and studied French civil law atTokyo Imperial University . After graduation, he worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for twenty years.In 1932, Ashida ran his first successful campaign for a seat in the House of Representatives as a member of the
Seiyukai Party . He sided withIchirō Hatoyama 's "orthodox" wing following the Seiyukai's split in 1939.After the war, Ashida won a seat in the new Diet as a member of the Liberal Party, which soon merged with
Kijuro Shidehara 's Progressive Party to form theJapan Democratic Party . Ashida was elected president of the new party, and became Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1947 under Socialist prime ministerTetsu Katayama .Prime Minister and later life
Ashida became prime minister in 1948, leading a
coalition government of Democratic and Socialist members. His tenure ended just seven months after it began. Two of his cabinet ministers were accused of corruption in the Showa Electric scandal, which forced the cabinet to resign.Ten years later, in 1958, Ashida was cleared of all charges in relation to the incident. He died a year later at the age of seventy-one.
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