(1878 – 1954) was a Japanese

Japanese people

The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...

 entrepreneur

Entrepreneur

An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...

 and the first person to manufacture the sugar cube

Sugar

Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...

 in Japan. He donated money from his successful business to his home town of Aizuwakamatsu

Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima

is a city located in the Aizu region of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan.As of May 2011, the city has an estimated population of 125,341. The total area is 383.03 km².-History:...

. A technical high school, Aizu Kōgyon kōkō (会津工業高校), was constructed using these funds.

Nanyo Kohatsu Kabushiki Kaisha

Matsue was trained in the United States at Louisiana State University

Louisiana State University

Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...

, well-known at the time for its work in sugar cultivation. He made his name and fortune in the sugar business in Taiwan

Taiwan

Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

 before moving to the Mariana Islands

Mariana Islands

The Mariana Islands are an arc-shaped archipelago made up by the summits of 15 volcanic mountains in the north-western Pacific Ocean between the 12th and 21st parallels north and along the 145th meridian east...

 to explore sugar-growing prospects on Saipan

Saipan

Saipan is the largest island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , a chain of 15 tropical islands belonging to the Marianas archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean with a total area of . The 2000 census population was 62,392...

.

Meanwhile, the first governor of Nanyo cho

South Pacific Mandate

The was the Japanese League of Nations mandate consisting of several groups of islands in the Pacific Ocean which came under the administration of Japan after the defeat of the German Empire in World War I.-Early history:Under the terms of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, after the start of World...

, Tezuka Toshiro, was turning to the Oriental Development Company

Oriental Development Company

Oriental Development Company , established by the Empire of Japan in 1908 is a national enterprise which was built as one of colonial exploitation policies towards the Korean Empire and other countries in East Asia...

 to revive the economy of Saipan and rescue the former employees of two failed companies, Nishimura Takushoku and Nan'yō Shokusan. With the capital from these companies and government approval, Matsue acquired the assets of the Nan'yō Shokusan. In 1921 he founded the Nanyo Kohatsu Kabushiki Kaisha

Nanyo Kohatsu Kabushiki Kaisha

The was a strategic development company which aimed to promote economic development and Japanese political interests in Micronesia and Southeast Asia. Founded in 1921 by Haruji Matsue to exploit the new mandated territory of Micronesia, Nanko received substantial support from the colonial...

 (South Seas Development Company). He trained Japanese laborers living on Saipan and others brought over from Okinawa

Okinawa Prefecture

is one of Japan's southern prefectures. It consists of hundreds of the Ryukyu Islands in a chain over long, which extends southwest from Kyūshū to Taiwan. Okinawa's capital, Naha, is located in the southern part of Okinawa Island...

 and the Tōhoku region

Tohoku region

The is a geographical area of Japan. The region occupies the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. The region consists of six prefectures : Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi and Yamagata....

to clear the land, cultivate and harvest sugar cane, and build his refineries.

By 1925 Matsue had built an alcohol factory and ice plant on Saipan, planted over 3000 hectares of sugar, and extended his operations to Saipan's neighboring islands. By the end of the decade, he had brought more than 5,000 workers to the Marianas.