Kiichi Arita
{{short description|Japanese politician}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Kiichi Arita
| native_name = {{No bold|有田 喜一}}
| native_name_lang = ja
| image = Kiichi Arita.png
| caption =
| office = Director of the Economic Planning Agency
| primeminister = Kakuei Tanaka
| term_start = 12 July 1972
| term_end = 22 December 1972
| predecessor = Toshio Kimura
| successor = Zentarō Kosaka
| office2 = Director of the Defense Agency
| primeminister2 = Eisaku Satō
| term_start2 = 30 November 1968
| term_end2 = 14 January 1970
| predecessor2 = Kaneshichi Masuda
| successor2 = Yasuhiro Nakasone
| office3 = Minister of Education
| primeminister3 = Eisaku Satō
| term_start3 = 1 August 1966
| term_end3 = 3 December 1966
| predecessor3 = Umekichi Nakamura
| successor3 = Toshihiro Kennoki
| birth_date = 30 April 1901
| birth_place = Hikami, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan
| death_date = 9 February 1986
| death_place =
| party = Democratic
Liberal Democratic
| alma_mater = Tokyo Imperial University
}}
Kiichi Arita ({{langx|ja|有田 喜一}}; 30 April 1901 – 9 February 1986) was a Japanese politician. During his time in politics, he served as Director of the Economic Planning Agency, Director of the Defense Agency, and Minister of Education.
Career
As Chairman of the Research Commission on National Security, Arita participated in the debate over the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. The three pillars supporting the treaty were "non-proliferation, disarmament, and the right to peacefully use nuclear technology." Arita and his clique agreed with the first two, but did not like the third. However, Arita was willing to accept the treaty's pillars.{{sfn|Takeda|Kim|2021}}
Arita was skeptical of the Chinese nuclear program, perceiving it as a direct "threat" and stating so in 1969. He thus called on Japan to increase its preparedness for a "worst-case scenario". This was before the change in the Defense Agency's perception of China to an indirect threat in early 1970 under Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone.{{sfn|Oren|Brummer|2020|p=92-3}} Arita was also the writer of the first Defense white paper in Japan in 1970 - his original draft argued for increased defense capability if there was ever a "delay" in assistance from the US in case of an invasion, but the final draft saw Arita back down on this, as he called for "autonomous defence capability" only, a controversial move.{{sfn|Tan|1989|p=51}}
Arita was one of the two supporters of Takeo Fukuda who were chosen to have a ministerial position under Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka. Fukuda and his supporters were angered by the appointment of Tanaka as the successor of Satō, as Fukuda had previously been one of the top candidates for succeeding him. Upon his calling to the cabinet, then, Arita declined service in his position, citing the lack of representation for Fukuda supporters within the government. However, Tanaka convinced Fukuda to let his two supporters serve in their roles.{{sfn|Chapin|1972|p=170}}
References
=Citations=
{{Reflist}}
=Bibliography=
- {{cite journal |last=Chapin |first=Emerson |date=1972 |title=Men and Politics in Post-Sato Japan |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24356508 |journal=Journal of International Affairs |volume=26 |issue=2 |pages=167–178 |jstor=24356508 |access-date=15 June 2021}}
- {{cite journal |last1=Oren |first1=Eitan |last2=Brummer |first2=Matthew |date=Fall 2020 |title=Reexamining Threat Perception in Early Cold War Japan |url=https://direct.mit.edu/jcws/article/22/4/71/95294/Reexamining-Threat-Perception-in-Early-Cold-War |journal=Journal of Cold War Studies |volume=22 |issue=4 |pages=71–112 |doi=10.1162/jcws_a_00948 |access-date=14 May 2021|doi-access=free }}
- {{cite web |url=https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/japan-and-creation-npt-regime |title=Japan and the Creation of the NPT Regime |last1=Takeda |first1=Yu |last2=Kim |first2=Ju Hyung |date=17 March 2021 |website=Wilson Center |publisher= |access-date=14 May 2021 |quote=}}
- {{cite journal |last=Tan|first=Andrew T.H. |date=1989 |title=Japan's defence: Development Amidst Constraints |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09557578908400024 |journal=Cambridge Review of International Affairs |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=49–69 |doi=10.1080/09557578908400024 |access-date=15 June 2021}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arita, Kiichi}}
Category:Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) politicians