Terauchi Masatake

Terauchi Masatake was a Japanese military officer and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Japan from 1916 to 1918. He was a Gensui (or Marshal) in the Imperial Japanese Army and the first Governor-General of Korea. He was also the Army Minister for several terms and played a key role in the Russo-Japanese War and the annexation of Korea. He was known for his authoritarian and conservative views, and his cabinet was dominated by the military and the bureaucracy. He supported Japan's entry into World War I on the side of the Allies, and pursued an expansionist policy in China and Southeast Asia. He also promoted the Nishihara Loans to China, which were intended to increase Japan's influence and economic interests in the region. He resigned his office in September 1918, due to the rice riots that had spread throughout Japan due to postwar inflation. He died the following year in Tokyo. He was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun (1st class), the Order of the Golden Kite (1st Class), and the Order of the Bath (Honorary Knight Grand Cross). He was the father of Hisaichi Terauchi, who was also a Gensui and a commander of the Japanese forces in Southeast Asia during World War II.