The was a cabinet-level government ministry of the Empire of Japan from 1929 to 1942.
History
The original Ministry of Colonial Affairs was the short-lived Hokkaidō Colonization Office, established in the early Meiji period by Prime Minister Kuroda Kiyotaka to protect Japan's sparely populated northern frontier against encroachment by the Russian Empire by encouraging the settlement of ex-soldiers as militia-farmers in Hokkaidō.
This was followed by the even shorter-lived Colonial Administration Department within the office of the Governor-General of Taiwan. Established on 2 April 1896 by General Takashima Tomonosuke, it was intended to encourage Japanese investment and settlement in Taiwan, after the acquisition of that island by Japan as a result of the First Sino-Japanese War. The office was abolished on 2 September 1897.
Japan acquired Korea, Karafuto (South Sakhalin), and the Kwantung Leased Territory as a result of the Russo-Japanese War, and a was established within the Japanese Home Ministry on 22 June 1910. The bureau came under much criticism for its ineffectiveness, and on 10 June 1929, it was elevated into a separate cabinet-level ministry under Prime Minister Giichi Tanaka.
The new ministry was intended to coordinate emigration and settlement in all exterior territories of Japan, and had supervisory responsibility for , , (or South Sakhalin), (or South Seas Mandate), and the .
However, the ministry did not actually sponsor emigration to those territories. It only provided advice and cooperated with private emigration sponsorship companies.
The ministry also oversaw operations of the South Manchuria Railway Company, but its authority did not extend to Manchuria due to strong resistance by the Ministry of War, who wanted to keep control over the future economic development of Manchuria to itself.
Likewise, the Governor-General of Korea, who was accustomed to virtual autonomy, rejected the new ministry's control and continued to administer Korea with little interference.
On 1 November 1942, the Ministry of Colonial Affairs was abolished, and its functions divided between the Japanese Foreign Ministry and the newly created Ministry of Greater East Asia.
List of ministers of colonial affairs Portrait Name Term of office Cabinet 1 Baron Tanaka Giichi田中 義一 10 June1929 2 July1929 Tanaka 2 Matsuda Genji松田 源治 2 July1929 14 April1931 Hamaguchi 3 Hara Shūjirō原 脩次郎 14 April1931 9 September1931 2nd Wakatsuki 4 Baron Wakatsuki Reijirō若槻 礼次郎 9 September1931 13 December1931 5 Hata Toyosuke秦 豊助 13 December1931 26 May1932 Inukai 6 Nagai Ryūtarō永井 柳太郎 26 May1932 8 July1934 Saitō 7 Okada Keisuke岡田 啓介 8 July1934 9 October1934 Okada 8 Count Kodama Hideo兒玉 秀雄 9 October1934 9 March1936 9 Nagata Hidejirō永田秀次郎 9 March1936 2 February1937 Hirota 10 Yūki Toyotarō結城 豊太郎 2 February1937 4 June1937 Hayashi 11 Ōtani Sonyu大谷 尊由 4 June1937 26 May1938 1st Konoe 12 Ugaki Kazushige宇垣 一成 26 May1938 30 September1938 13 Prince Konoe Fumimaro近衞 文麿 30 September1938 29 October1938 14 Hatta Yoshiaki八田 嘉明 29 October1938 7 April1939 15 Koiso Kuniaki小磯國昭 7 April1939 30 August1939 Hiranuma 16 Kanemitsu Tsuneo金光 庸夫 30 August1939 16 January1940 Abe 17 Koiso Kuniaki小磯國昭 16 January1940 22 July1940 Yonai 18 Matsuoka Yōsuke松岡 洋右 22 July1940 28 September1940 2nd Konoe 19 Akita Kiyoshi秋田 清 28 September1940 18 July1941 20 Toyoda Teijirō豊田 貞次郎 18 July1941 18 October1941 3rd Konoe 21 Tōgō Shigenori東郷茂徳 18 October1941 2 December1941 Tōjō 22 Ino Hiroya井野 碩哉 2 December1941 2 November1942
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