Aiichiro Fujiyama

Who was Aiichiro Fujiyama?

Aiichiro Fujiyama was a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party and business executive.

A business executive who symbolized "big business" in Japan as president of Dai Nippon Sugar Manufacturing Co. and executive officer of Nitto Chemical Industry Co., he used his influence to bring about the fall of Prime Minister Hideki Tōjō in 1944.

After Japan's World War II surrender, Fujiyama was imprisoned without a trial for three years as a suspected war criminal. After his release he represented Japan at the 1951 UNESCO meeting in Paris.

Fujiyama was elected to Parliament in 1957 and was reelected five times. As Japan's foreign minister he headed Japan's first delegation to the United Nations, helped revise the U.S.–Japan Security Treaty, and promoted the restoration of diplomatic relations between Japan and China. He also served as director of Japan's Economic Planning Agency.