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Tsuyoshi Inukai

Tsuyoshi Inukai (4 June 1855 – 15 May 1932) was Prime Minister of Japan from 13 December 1931 to 15 May 1932, succeeding Wakatsuki Reijiro and preceding Takahashi Korekiyo.

Biography[]

Tsuyoshi Inukai was born on 4 June 1855 in Okayama, Bizen Province, Japan. Inukai was originally a reporter, accompanying the Imperial Japanese Army to cover the 1877 Satsuma Rebellion. In 1882, he helped Shigenobu Okuma in forming the Rikken Kaishinto party, which led to him joining politics as a liberal. From 1890 to 1932, he was reelected 17 times in the Diet of Japan, and he was elected as Prime Minister of Japan on 13 December 1931 after Wakatsuki Reijiro failed to keep control of the military. Under Tsuyoshi, Japan tried to abolish the gold standard, devaluating the yen and causing an economic crisis. He also failed to keep the Imperial Japanese Army under control, with radical generals planning wars with China and ultranationalist plots. On 15 May 1932, Inukai was shot dead by eleven Imperial Japanese Navy officers who were also planning on shooting film star Charlie Chaplin to draw the United States into war with Japan; his death was one of the signs of Japan's transition to fascism.

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