Naoto Suzuki

Naoto Suzuki (born May 19, 1900 – died September 20, 1957) was a Japanese civil servant in the Home Ministry and a politician. He served as the Governor of Kumamoto Prefecture (the 35th appointed governor), a member of the House of Councillors (one term), and a member of the House of Representatives (two terms).

He was born in Isobe Village, Soma District, Fukushima Prefecture (currently Kamegawa, Soma City), as the second son of Yoshie Suzuki. His educational background includes attending the former Soma Middle School and Mito High School, then studying at the Faculty of Law at Tokyo Imperial University (now the University of Tokyo), where he graduated from the Political Science Department in 1926. During his time at the university, he also passed the higher examination for administrative research.

His career began at Tokyo City Hall before transferring to the Home Ministry. While serving in the Home Ministry, he held positions such as police inspector for the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, head of the Special Higher Police in Okinawa Prefecture, and chief of the Special Higher Police in Yamanashi and Hiroshima Prefectures. Later, he worked as the head of the Economic Division in Saitama Prefecture and Tokyo Prefecture, and in 1939 (Showa 14), he was appointed Director of the Economic Department in Ishikawa Prefecture. Subsequently, he served as the Director of the Economic Departments and the Director of the Internal Affairs Department in Hiroshima and Yamaguchi Prefectures, respectively. From the prewar period through the end of World War II, he worked as the Economic Department Director and End-of-War Processing Bureau Director in Aichi Prefecture.

After the war, in 1946 (Showa 21), he was appointed Director of the Kumamoto Prefectural Internal Affairs Department. When Governor Saburo Sakurai resigned to run as an elected governor, Suzuki served as the acting governor from March 12 to March 25, 1947, during the transitional period from appointed to elected governors—one of a series of brief-lived governors (notably including Naoto Endo).

In his political career, he ran in the first regular House of Councillors election in 1947 (Showa 22), representing the national district, and was elected with a six-year term. During his tenure as a councillor, he served as Vice Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, Secretary-General of the Ryuho-kai (a political group), and Chairman of the Rules of Procedure Committee in both houses. He also participated as a representative of the Diet at the San Francisco Peace Conference in 1951.

Later, in the general election of October 1952 (Showa 27), he ran as a Liberal Party candidate in the 3rd District of Fukushima Prefecture, securing approximately 56,000 votes and winning the top spot. He did not run in the 1953 election but was re-elected in the 1955 (Showa 30) general election.

He died of illness while in office on September 20, 1957, at the age of 57. Following his death, he was posthumously awarded the Second Class Order of the Sacred Treasure (previously Fourth Class) and promoted from the rank of Senior Second Rank (Shōi) to Senior First Rank (Shōzen). His political support base was succeeded by his successor, Kuniyoshi Saito.

In terms of family relations, his third son, Naoki Tanaka, is the husband of Makiko Tanaka and a former member of the House of Councillors.

Details about his family genealogy are not provided.