- Ichizō Kobayashi
nihongo|Ichizō Kobayashi|小林 一三|Kobayashi Ichizō (1873–1957) was a
Japan ese industrialist andMinister of Commerce and Industry . He was a believer ofright-wing doctrines, and representative of Japanese capital in Government.He founded Mino-o Arima Electric Tramway Company (then Hankyu Corp., Present:
Hankyu Hanshin Holdings , Inc.) in 1907. Later Kobayashi was president of council ofTokyo Gasu Denky . In the 1940Konoye Cabinet he was appointed to charge of the Commerce and Industry Ministry. [ [http://www.hankyu-usa.com/toho.asp Hankyu-Toho Group ] ]He joined the
Taisei Yokusankai Group, withShozo Murata andAkira Kazami . They supported a fresh political and economicmilitarist-socialist program,. Kobayashi had faith inAdolf Hitler 's policies; he interviewed by the press during a business visit toGermany . He stood for capitalist interests in Asian conquests, and atotalitarian right-socialist government.Kobayashi diplomatic mission, September 1940
Ichizo Kobayashi was commissioned by the Foreign Affairs Office, to lead a diplomatic mission to the
Dutch East Indies in 1940. Negotiations were for a new agreement on Dutch oil. During September 12 1940, a Japanese delegation of 24, led by Ichizo Kobayashi as the Minister of Commerce and Industry, arrived in Batavia to renegotiate political and economic relations between Japan and the Dutch East Indies. Included were six high-ranking military officers, one of them Rear-AdmiralTadashi Maeda .The Dutch Embassy in Japan did not actively take part, although the Dutch Ambassador in Tokyo,
J .C. Pabst , received the first list of Japanese economic demands already in June 1940. Later, all further negotiations were to conducted via the Dutch colonial administration in Batavia, and received support from the Japanese Consulate General, in the persons ofMatatoshi Saito (before 1941) and later byYutaka Ishizawa .Their first demand was an increase of petrol exports to Japan from the existing 570,000 tons in 1939 to 3,750,000 tons, about 50% of the total Dutch East Indies production. The Dutch answer was that existing obligations would only permit an increase to about 1,800,000 tons. Kobayashi initially accepted this proposal, but was soon recalled to Japan on October 2, 1940.
Another diplomatic commission was then led by
Kenkichi Yoshizawa .Notes
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
