Keizo Shibusawa
Japanese businessman, philanthropist and folklorist
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Viscount Keizō Shibusawa (渋沢 敬三, Shibusawa Keizō; 25 August 1896 – 25 October 1963) was a Japanese businessman, central banker, politician, philanthropist, and folklorist. He served as the 16th Governor of the Bank of Japan and later as Minister of Finance in the immediate postwar government of Kijūrō Shidehara.
Keizō Shibusawa | |
|---|---|
渋沢 敬三 | |
| |
| Minister of Finance | |
| In office 9 October 1945 – 22 May 1946 | |
| Prime Minister | Kijūrō Shidehara |
| Preceded by | Juichi Tsushima |
| Succeeded by | Tanzan Ishibashi |
| 16th Governor of the Bank of Japan | |
| In office 18 March 1944 – 9 October 1945 | |
| Prime Minister | Hideki Tojo Kuniaki Koiso Kantaro Suzuki Naruhiko Higashikuni |
| Preceded by | Toyotarō Yūki |
| Succeeded by | Eikichi Araki |
| Member of the House of Peers | |
| In office 17 March 1945 – 10 June 1946 Nominated by the Emperor | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 25 August 1896 |
| Died | 25 October 1963 (aged 67) Minato, Tokyo, Japan |
| Party | Independent |
| Relatives | Shibusawa Eiichi (grandfather) Hozumi Nobushige (uncle) Sakatani Yoshirō (uncle) Kiuchi Jūshirō (father-in-law) |
| Alma mater | Tokyo Imperial University |
Early life
Shibusawa was born in Tokyo into a prominent family. He was the grandson of Shibusawa Eiichi, a noted industrialist and economic reformer.[1][2]
Career
Shibusawa served as Governor of the Bank of Japan from 18 March 1944 to 9 October 1945.[3] He resigned from the post to become Minister of Finance in October 1945, under the cabinet of Prime Minister Kijūrō Shidehara.[4]
During his tenure as finance minister, Shibusawa oversaw initial steps toward the dissolution of the zaibatsu, Japan's large industrial and financial conglomerates, as part of postwar economic reforms.[2]
Beyond finance and politics, Shibusawa was also known for his contributions to cultural preservation and academia. He was instrumental in forming the core ethnographic collections of what later became the National Museum of Ethnology in Osaka.[5]
