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Katayama Cabinet
Katayama Cabinet
; 46th Cabinet of Japan
	The Katayama Cabinet on June 1, 1947.
Date formed	May 24, 1947
Date dissolved	March 10, 1948
People and organisations
Emperor	Shōwa
Prime Minister	Tetsu Katayama
Deputy Prime Minister	Hitoshi Ashida; (from June 1, 1947)
Member parties	(Allied occupation); Japan Socialist Party; Democratic Party; National Cooperative Party
Status in legislature	Majority (coalition)
Opposition parties	Liberal Party; Japanese Communist Party; Japan Farmers Party
History
Elections	1947 councillors election; 1947 Japanese general election
Legislature term	2nd National Diet
Predecessor	First Yoshida Cabinet
Successor	Ashida Cabinet

The Katayama Cabinet (片山内閣, Katayama naikaku) governed Japan under the premiership of Tetsu Katayama from 24 May 1947 to 10 March 1948, during the Allied occupation. It was the first cabinet under the postwar constitution.

Cabinet

The Japan Socialist Party (Nihon Shakaitō, JSP) had emerged as strongest party from both the 23rd lower house election and the 1st upper house election. However, the formation of a coalition proved difficult as any majority coalition would involve at least two of the three largest parties. While the Socialists offered the conservative Japan Liberal Party (Nihon Jiyūtō, JLP) of incumbent prime minister Shigeru Yoshida a grand coalition, Yoshida refused active participation in the government. Under the new constitution, the prime minister was no longer selected by the Emperor, but elected by the Diet, "before the conduct of any other business" – and the Socialists pushed for an early vote to prevent the other two major parties from excluding them from a ruling coalition: on May 23, Socialist Tetsu Katayama was elected almost unopposed (420 votes of 426 present in the House of Representatives, 205 of 207 in the House of Councillors) while the coalition negotiations were still in progress. When Katayama formally became prime minister on May 24 after his ceremonial investiture by the Emperor, he technically held all ministerial posts – a so-called "one-man cabinet" (hitori naikaku, 一人内閣). The JLP still refused cooperation, and the JSP eventually agreed on a coalition with the Democratic Party (Minshutō) and the National Cooperative Party (Kokumin Kyōdōtō). Together, the three parties held a solid majority in the HR, and were able to control the HC given the fact that the largest group there, the Ryokufūkai formed by independents, was willing to support the government. The other cabinet members were eventually appointed on June 1. The cabinet initially consisted of seven Socialists (including the prime minister), eight Democrats, two Cooperativists and one Ryokufūkai member.

After conflicts over price controls and taxes, the left wing of the Socialist Party threatened to block the budget for fiscal 1948 (begins in April), and in February 1948, Katayama resigned. Deputy prime minister Hitoshi Ashida was elected on February 21 to succeed him, the Katayama Cabinet remained in office until his investiture on March 10. The three-party coalition of Socialists, Democrats and Cooperativists continued under Democrat Ashida, however the Ashida Cabinet would be engulfed by the largest corruption scandal of the occupation period and last even shorter.

Portfolio	Name		Term start	Term end
Prime Minister	Tetsu Katayama	Socialist	May 24, 1947	March 10, 1948
Deputy Prime Minister	Hitoshi Ashida	Democratic	June 1, 1947	March 10, 1948
Minister for Foreign Affairs	Tetsu Katayama (acting)	Socialist	May 24, 1947	June 1, 1947
Minister for Foreign Affairs	Hitoshi Ashida	Democratic	June 1, 1947	March 10, 1948
Minister of Home Affairs	Tetsu Katayama (acting)	Socialist	May 24, 1947	June 1, 1947
Minister of Home Affairs	Kozaemon Kimura	Democratic	June 1, 1947	December 31, 1947
Minister of Finance	Tetsu Katayama (acting)	Socialist	May 24, 1947	June 1, 1947
	Yano Shōtarō	Democratic	June 1, 1947	June 25, 1947
	Takeo Kurusu	Independent	June 25, 1947	March 10, 1948
Minister of Justice	Tetsu Katayama (acting)	Socialist	May 24, 1947	June 1, 1947
Minister of Justice	Suzuki Yoshio	Socialist	June 1, 1947	February 15, 1948
Attorney General	Suzuki Yoshio	Socialist	February 15, 1948	March 10, 1948
Minister of Education	Tetsu Katayama (acting)	Socialist	May 24, 1947	June 1, 1947
Minister of Education	Morito Tatsuo	Socialist	June 1, 1947	March 10, 1948
Minister of Health	Tetsu Katayama (acting)	Socialist	May 24, 1947	June 1, 1947
Minister of Health	Hitotsumatsu Sadayoshi	Democratic	June 1, 1947	March 10, 1948
Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries	Tetsu Katayama (acting)	Socialist	May 24, 1947	June 1, 1947
	Hirano Rikizō	Socialist	June 1, 1947	November 4, 1947
	Tetsu Katayama (acting)	Socialist	November 4, 1947	December 13, 1947
	Hatano Kanae	Socialist	December 13, 1947	March 10, 1948
Minister of Commerce and Industry	Tetsu Katayama (acting)	Socialist	May 24, 1947	June 1, 1947
Minister of Commerce and Industry	Mizutani Chōzaburō	Socialist	June 1, 1947	March 10, 1948
Minister of Transport	Tetsu Katayama (acting)	Socialist	May 24, 1947	June 1, 1947
	Tomabechi Gizō	Democratic	June 1, 1947	December 4, 1947
	Kitamura Tokutarō	Democratic	December 4, 1947	March 10, 1948
Minister of Communications	Tetsu Katayama (acting)	Socialist	May 24, 1947	June 1, 1947
Minister of Communications	Takeo Miki	National Cooperative	June 1, 1947	March 10, 1948
Minister of Labor	Yonekubo Mitsusuke	Socialist	September 1, 1947	March 10, 1948
Minister of State Director-General of the Economic Stabilization Board	Vacant		May 24, 1947	June 1, 1947
	Wada Hirō	Independent	June 1, 1947	March 10, 1948
Minister of State Chief of the Price Board	Vacant		May 24, 1947	May 27, 1947
	Tetsu Katayama	Socialist	May 27, 1947	June 1, 1947
	Wada Hirō	Independent	June 1, 1947	March 10, 1948
Minister of State President of the Demobilization Board (from June 1, 1947, until October 15, 1947) Director-General of the Board of Reparations (from February 1, 1948)	Sasamori Junzō	National Cooperative	June 1, 1947	March 10, 1948
Minister of State President of the Administrative Research Board	Saitō Takao	Democratic	June 1, 1947	March 10, 1948
Minister of State Chairman of the Local Finance Committee (from January 7, 1948)	Takeda Giichi	Democratic	December 4, 1947	March 10, 1948
Minister of State President of the Construction Board	Kozaemon Kimura	Democratic	January 1, 1948	March 10, 1948
Minister of State	Hayashi Heima	Democratic	June 1, 1947	November 25, 1947
Minister of State	Yonekubo Mitsusuke	Socialist	June 1, 1947	September 1, 1947
Minister of State Chief Cabinet Secretary	Suehiro Nishio	Socialist	June 1, 1947	March 10, 1948
Director-General of the Cabinet Legislation Bureau	Satō Tatsuo^[ja]	Independent	June 14, 1947	February 15, 1948
Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary	Takikawa Sueichi	Socialist	June 10, 1947	March 10, 1948
Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary	Sone Eki	Independent	June 17, 1947	March 10, 1948

Source:^[1]

References

^ "Katayama Cabinet". Prime Minister's Official Residence.

Kantei, Japanese Cabinet: Katayama Cabinet (in Japanese)
Kohno, Masaru (1997): Japan's Postwar Party Politics. Princeton, pp. 49–67, "Chapter 4: Coalition building under the pre-1955 multiparty system".