Yukio Sakurauchi

Yukio Sakurauchi (櫻内 幸雄, Sakurauchi Yukio, 14 October 1888 – 9 October 1947) was an entrepreneur, politician and cabinet minister in the pre-war Empire of Japan. He was the father of prominent post-war politician Yoshio Sakurauchi, and grandfather of controversial politician Seiichi Ota.

Yukio Sakurauchi 櫻内 幸雄
Yukio Sakurauchi
Minister of Finance
In office 16 January 1940 – 22 July 1940
Prime Minister	Mitsumasa Yonai
Preceded by	Kazuo Aoki
Succeeded by	Isao Kawada
Minister of Agriculture and Forestry
In office 5 January 1939 – 30 August 1939
Prime Minister	Kiichirō Hiranuma
Preceded by	Yoriyasu Arima
Succeeded by	Takuo Godō
Minister of Commerce and Industry
In office 14 April 1931 – 13 December 1931
Prime Minister	Reijirō Wakatsuki
Preceded by	Magoichi Tawara
Succeeded by	Yonezō Maeda
Personal details
Born	(1888-10-14)October 14, 1888 Hirose, Shimane, Japan
Died	October 9, 1947(1947-10-09) (aged 58)
Nationality	Japanese

Sakurauchi was born in former Hirose Town Shimane Prefecture, in what is now part of the city of Yasugi, Shimane. The Sakurauchi family were former samurai in the service of Matsue Domain. His father relocated to Yonago in neighboring Tottori Prefecture in 1885, and started a company to produce and sell Water wheels. The venture did not succeed, and the family moved to Sakaiminato starting a business in commodity trading in 1886, followed by tofu production and retail sales in 1887. Sakurauchi left home in 1893 to work in a paper mill in Yokohama in 1893 for minimal wages. In 1895, he was in Tokyo, working as a typesetter and artisan for a newspaper, becoming a reporter for the Nippon Telegraph news agency in 1902, and executive director of the Ogura Racing Association by 1907. Making a fortune in speculating in horses by 1908, he was appointed president of Saitama Electric Light Company in 1909 and president of Okayama Hydroelectric Company in 1917.

Sakurauchi was elected to the Lower House of the Diet of Japan in the 1920 General Election, under the Rikken Seiyūkai banner, and was reelected for six terms. Sakurauchi became president of Ibiden company in 1925. He subsequently changed his political party affiliation to the Rikken Minseitō, and served as Secretary-General of the party in 1927.

In 1931, Prime Minister Wakatsuki Reijirō picked Sakurauchi as Minister of Commerce and Industry. He returned to the Cabinet under the Hirota administration as Minister of Agriculture and Forestry in 1939. In 1940, Sakurauchi was asked to serve as Treasury Minister under the Yonai administration. As with all other Japanese politicians, Sakurauchi was forced to join the Taisei Yokusankai created by Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe. From May 1945 to April 1946, Sakurauchi served as a member of the Privy Council.

After the surrender of Japan, Sakurauchi was purged from public office in 1946 along with all other members of the wartime administration. He died the following year.