Takejirō Tokonami was a Japanese statesman, politician and cabinet minister in Taishō and early Shōwa periodJapan. Tokonami was involved in several government agencies throughout his career, and served in the leadership of different political parties. He was regarded by his contemporaries as a rather opportunistic politician eager for an opportunity to become prime minister.
Tokonami officially joined the Rikken Seiyūkaipolitical party in 1913, although he had been active in party affairs prior to this time. He was elected to the House of Representatives of Japan from the Kagoshima No.1 electoral district in the Japanese General Election, 1915, and subsequently held the same seat through eight elections until his death in 1935. Tokonami became Home Minister in the Hara administration from 1918, while concurrently retaining the post of Railway Minister He supported the Kyōchōkai, which took a Neo-Confucianist and reformist-conservative view towards social reform. His response to the Rice Riots of 1918 was to issue directives to all prefectural governors to encourage thrift and frugality among the general public, blaming the riots on the public’s infatuation with luxury. During this time, he also presided over electoral district reforms. After Hara’s assassination in 1921, Tokonami continued in the same post under the Takahashi administration. However, in 1924, when Kiyoura Keigo became Prime Minister, Takahashi and many other Seiyūkai members rebelled against his non-party cabinet. Tokonami and Yamamoto Tatsuo organized the Seiyu Hontō party supporting Kiyoura. Tokonami continued to serve in a leadership role when the Seiyu Hontō and Kenseikai merged to form the Rikken Minseitō in 1927. However, in August 1928, he formed the Shintō Kurabu, with some 30 former Minseitō members, which cooperated with the Seiyūkai on a variety of issues, including the strengthening of the Peace Preservation Laws. He also cooperated with the Seiyūkai on a gerrymandering scheme to replace the existing large electoral districts with single-seat districts in rural areas and smaller two-three seat urban districts. The plan was derided by the Minseitō as “Tokomandering”. Tokonami was accused of taking a bribe of 500,000 yuan from Warlord of ManchuriaZhang Xueliang in 1928. Tokonami re-joined the Rikken Seiyūkai party in July 1929. He was selected to become Railway Minister under the Inukai administration in December 1931. After Inukai’s assassination in the May 15 Incident, he unsuccessfully campaigned for head of the party, but was persuaded by party elders to drop out and allow Suzuki Kisaburō to remain party head. Tokonami returned to the cabinet as Communications Minister in the Okada administration in July 1934, over considerable internal opposition within the party, as Tokonami belonged to a group of politicians had had previously opposed him. Tokonami suffered from a heart attack while in office, and died on 8 September 1935 at his home in Tokyo. His grave is at the Tama Cemetery in Fuchū, Tokyo. He was posthumously awarded the Order of the Paulownia Flowers.
