Seiichirō Yasui
安井 誠一郎
Yasui in 1960
Member of the House of Representatives
In office 21 November 1960 – 19 January 1962
Constituency	Tokyo 1st
Governor of Tokyo
In office 3 May 1947 – 18 April 1959
Succeeded by	Ryotaro Azuma
In office 14 April 1947 – 3 May 1947
Preceded by	Kazumi Iinuma
In office 23 July 1946 – 13 March 1947
Preceded by	Haruo Matsui
Succeeded by	Kazumi Iinuma
Governor of Niigata Prefecture
In office 9 April 1940 – 7 January 1941
Preceded by	Seikichi Kimishima
Succeeded by	Shohei Doi
Personal details
Born	(1891-03-11)11 March 1891 Mitsu District, Okayama Prefecture, Japan
Died	19 January 1962(1962-01-19) (aged 70) Tokyo, Japan
Political party	Liberal Democratic Party
Alma mater	Tokyo Imperial University
Occupation	Politician

Seiichirō Yasui ( Japanese: 安井誠一郎, 11 March 1891 – 19 January 1962) was a Japanese politician and bureaucrat who held a variety of positions in Japanese government.

He served as appointed Governor of Niigata Prefecture from 1940 to 1941, then as appointed Governor of Tokyo from 1946 to 1947, then as elected Governor of Tokyo from 1947 to 1959. ^[1] He also served as one of the members of the House of Representatives from 1960 to his death in 1962. ^[2]

Early life and career

Yasui was born in Ishima Village [ ja], Mitsu District, Okayama Prefecture. After graduating from the Faculty of Law in Tokyo Imperial University, Yasui joined the Home Ministry, where he served as superintendent for Ibaraki and Kanagawa police. He later was promoted to the police chief of Toyama and Hyogo Prefectures. ^[3]

In 1931, Yasui became a secretary to the Governor-General of Korea, Kazushige Ugaki, and served in colonial management, including the head of the Monopoly Bureau (朝鮮総督府専売局). In addition, in 1936, he was the Governor of Keiki Province. Yasui returned to Japan and was appointed Governor of Niigata Prefecture from 1940 to 1941. ^[4]

Governor of Tokyo

Yasui was first appointed as the Governor of Tokyo, serving the position from 1946 to 1947. In 1947, he was elected Governor of Tokyo in the first direct elections. ^{[5] [6]}

During his 12-year tenure as governor, Yasui helped push for laws for beginning post-World War II reconstruction of Tokyo and turning Tokyo into a modernized metropolis. One was the Metropolitan Area Development Law [ ja] (首都圏整備法制定), a law enacted in 1956 to plan for the development of the Tokyo metropolitan area. ^{[7] [8]} Yasui also decreased food shortages in the capital.

In 1954, Yasui supported a bid for Tokyo to host the 1960 Summer Olympics. Tokyo lost the bid to Rome, but it would later host the 1964 Summer Olympics. ^[6]

Yasui was re-elected in 1951 and 1955. ^[9]

Later life and death

In 1960, after retiring from his post as Governor, Yasui ran for election in the House of Representatives for Tokyo 1st District as a member of the Liberal Democratic Party in the 1960 Japanese general election, and was elected with 27.4% of the vote. He served alongside Keiko Asanuma, Eiichi Tanaka, and Hyō Hara. ^[2]

On 9 January 1962, he was made an honorary citizen of Tokyo due to his contributions to the city. ^[10] Yasui died 10 days later, on 19 January. He is buried at Tama Cemetery. ^[11]

Personal life

Yasui's older brother, Ken Yasui [ ja] (安井謙) was also an accomplished politician, being the former President of the House of Councilors (1977–1980) and Minister of Home Affairs (1960–1962). ^[12]

References