Reijiro Wakatsuki
Reijiro Wakatsuki (1866 - 1949) was twice Prime Minister of Japan, and a government official and civil servant specializing in finance.
He was born to a samurai family, and graduated from the Law Faculty of Tokyo University in 1892. After service as tax bureau director and vice-minister in the ministry and became a member of the lower house of the Diet in 1911.
In addition, he served as finance minister in the third Katsura cabinet and second Okuma cabinet. In 1924, he assumed the office of Home Ministerin the cabinet of Takaaki Kato and worked to enact the Universal Manhood Suffrage Law.
In 1926, he became prime minister. After serving as chief delegate plenipotentiary to the 1930 London Naval Conference, he resumed his post as prime minister in 1931; his predecessor, Kiichi Hiranuma, was dying of gunshot wounds suffered in the March 1931 Incident. He opposed the war against the United States, and after the outbreak of the war, he sided with a group seeking peace.[1]
He did participate in a February 1945 conference, with other former Prime Minister, after the Battle of Saipan and just before the start of the Battle of Iwo Jima and six weeks before the Battle of Okinawa, which they recommended continuing the war. [2]