15 Facts About Ryokichi Minobe

Ryokichi Minobe was a Japanese economist, educator, and socialist politician who served as Governor of Tokyo from 1967 to 1979.

Ryokichi Minobe's father, Tatsukichi Minobe, was a noted constitutional scholar at Tokyo Imperial University, while his mother Tamiko was the eldest daughter of mathematician, educator, and politician Dairoku Kikuchi, who served as the president of UTokyo.

Ryokichi Minobe was the great-great-grandson of Edo Period samurai Mitsukuri Genpo through Kikuchi.

Ryokichi Minobe graduated from the Faculty of Economics at UTokyo and lectured in the agriculture faculty at his alma mater from 1929 to 1932.

Ryokichi Minobe found a position at Hosei University and taught there for more than a decade.

In 1945, Ryokichi Minobe became an editorial writer for the newspaper Mainichi Shimbun.

Ryokichi Minobe was chosen to head the Cabinet Statistics Office in 1946.

Ryokichi Minobe entered the national spotlight in 1960 as the host of a program on NHK where he explained economics for general audiences.

In 1967, incumbent conservative governor Ryotaro Azuma declined to run for re-election, and Ryokichi Minobe ran as the Communist and Socialist candidate for Governor of Tokyo.

Ryokichi Minobe defeated his two rivals, Rikkyo University president Masatoshi Matsushita and Shibusawa Shipping head Ken'ichi Abe.

In 1971, Ryokichi Minobe won re-election, defeating LDP candidate Akira Hatano.

Ryokichi Minobe was re-elected for a third term in 1975, with the backing of the Socialists, Communists, and Komeito.

Ryokichi Minobe was narrowly re-elected in 1975, but his coalition lost control of the Tokyo metropolitan assembly in 1977.

Ryokichi Minobe ran for the House of Councillors in 1980 and won a seat.

Ryokichi Minobe remained a member of the Diet until his death of a heart attack in 1984.