Tarō Yukimura

Tarō Yukimura
Prime Minister of Akashi
In office 8 May 1972 – 15 May 1974
President	Yurika Ehara
Preceded by	Masaki Ōshiro
Succeeded by	Kasumi Kuroki
Minister of Labour
In office 1 September 1970 – 8 May 1972
Prime Minister	Masaki Ōshiro
Personal details
Born	14 September 1904 Kagi, Akashi
Died	6 March 1998(1998-03-06) (aged 93) Eikō, Matō, Akashi
Nationality	Akashian
Political party	Socialist Party
Occupation	Trade unionist

Tarō Yukimura (Miranian: 太郎 行村; Gothic: 𐍄𐌰𐍂𐍉 𐌾𐌿ᚴ𐌹𐌼𐌿𐍂𐌰; 14 September 1904 – 6 March 1998), was an Akashian trade unionist and politician. He served as Prime Minister of Akashi from 1972 to 1974, and was Akashi's first socialist prime minister.

Early life

Tarō was born on 14 September 1904 in a small village in Kagi. He grew up in a working class family, and took up an apprenticeship after completing secondary school, eventually becoming a typographic worker.

He joined the printers' trade union and became active in left-wing circles. In 1925, he was arrested for taking part in a leftist rally broken up by the police. This incident radicalised him, and he became an anarcho-syndicalist.

During the Akashian Civil War, he joined the United Red Army. He was wounded in battle, and during his recovery, the city he was in was conquered by the National Renewal Movement.

Political career

After the war, Tarō joined the Socialist Party. He now had strong communist sympathies, but he resented the Communist Party and blamed them for the URA's loss. These beliefs caused him difficulties in climbing up the party ranks.

He managed to be elected to the National Assembly in 1950. He was a particularly vocal backbencher, clashing with the party leadership on several occasions.

He came to public attention for his frequent attacks on the Zenrōkyō, lambasting them as "craven sell-outs" who cared little for the actual needs of workers.

He criticised the United Opposition electoral alliance formed for the 1962 election, predicting it would fail. His prediction was accurate, as the alliance only secured 32,5% of votes and 66 seats, which had to be divided among 6 parties, causing much acrimony.

Socialist leader

The fiasco of the United Opposition caused a leadership election in the SP, which Tarō entered and won. As party leader, he took a harder line against the Yurika Ehara government, opposing it at every turn. He also continued his attacks on the Zenrōkyō, alienating its leadership but gaining him credibility among the rank and file.

His first general election, in 1966, was a disappointment: the SP managed to rebound as the largest opposition party, but its 10% of the vote and 22 seats simply returned it to its previous standing. He was briefly deposed as party leader in 1967.

The Summer of Freedom took the SP by surprise and exposed the split between its "revolutionary" and "reformist" factions. At the tumultuous 1968 convention, the "revolutionary" faction triumphed, and Tarō was re-elected party leader. He supported the protesters, but later condemned the Váli's Blot riots and destructive impact of the "Lunatic" faction. He served in Yurikara's national unity government which introduced reforms to resolve the crisis.

Although the 1970 general election was another disappointment for the SP, it joined the coalition government led by Masaki Ōshiro. Tarō was appointed Minister of Labour, a task where he sought to build a good relationship with the new, radicalised Sōhyō.

Prime Minister of Akashi

Masaki's government fell in 1972 after losing a budget vote. Tarō led the SP to victory in the resulting snap election, although he was disappointed by their relatively small plurality. He formed a coalition with the National Cooperative Party, National Union, and Agrarian Party, while relying on outside support from the Communist Party and Social Credit Party.

His government took advantage of the "siege economy" and industrial unrest to push through leftist policies, and transition from Yurikarist dirigisme towards socialist economic planning. The large companies created by Yurikara's national champions policy were broken up. Changes to labour law strengthened trade unions and promoted workplace democracy. The tax code was reformed to redistribute income and wealth.

Tarō managed some successes in office. The economy experienced growth rates of 2,7% in 1973 and 3,1% in 1974 — the latter being the highest it would reach during the decade. Although inflation remained somewhat high, in the 8–10% range, the government managed to keep unemployment low and expand social services, education, healthcare, and welfare.

He carried out decentralisation and strengthened local government — aided his predecessor Masaki as Minister of Local Governance —, and reduced the presidency's powers in favour of the National Assembly and cabinet, consolidating a semi-presidential system.

Tarō's government had a majority of 2 seats in the National Assembly, and he sought to work closely with the crimson bloc to shore up his government. However, his pragmatic instincts as Prime Minister clashed with the CP's maximalist line. Continued wildcat and sympathy strikes alienated voters who hoped that the SP in power could reduce industrial unrest.

Tarō came to be seen as a tenuous Prime Minister, and discontent with his leadership increased after the 1973 prefectural elections, where the SP lost ground to the CP. With a general election looming in 1974, he was confronted by senior party figures that feared he would lead them to defeat, and agreed to resign in favour of Kasumi Kuroki.

Later life

Tarō continued as MNA, winning reelection in 1974 and 1978, before being defeated in 1980. He did not hold any other cabinet posts, and decided to retire from politics entirely after losing his seat, concentrating instead on writing.

Death

He died of emphysema on 6 March 1998, aged 93.