The was a cabinet-level ministry

Cabinet (government)

A Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :...

 in the final days of the Empire of Japan

Empire of Japan

The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...

, charged with the procurement

Procurement

Procurement is the acquisition of goods or services. It is favourable that the goods/services are appropriate and that they are procured at the best possible cost to meet the needs of the purchaser in terms of quality and quantity, time, and location...

 and manufacture of armaments, spare part

Spare part

Spare Parts may also refer to:* Spare Parts , by Status Quo* Spare Parts is a Doctor Who audio drama.* Spare Parts , by Servotron* "Spare Parts" , by Bruce Springsteen* "Spare Parts"...

s and munitions to support the Japanese war effort in World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

History

The Ministry of Munitions was created on 1 November 1943 out of the Board of Planning of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry

Ministry of Commerce and Industry

The was a cabinet-level ministry in the government of the Empire of Japan from 1925-1947. It was created from the , and was briefly merged with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to reestablish that Ministry during World War II.-History:...

, which was subsequently abolished. With an increasing portion of Japan's industrial base and infrastructure

Infrastructure

Infrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function...

 damaged by Allied air raids

Air raids on Japan

During World War II the Allied forces conducted many air raids on Japan which caused extensive destruction to the country's cities and killed over 300,000 people. These attacks began with the Doolittle Raid in mid-April 1942, but did not resume until June 1944 when United States Army Air Forces ...

, the Japanese government felt it necessary to unify the administration of munitions production to improve efficiency and to increase production levels, particularly that of military aircraft

Military aircraft

A military aircraft is any fixed-wing or rotary-wing aircraft that is operated by a legal or insurrectionary armed service of any type. Military aircraft can be either combat or non-combat:...

. The concept was inspired by the German Ministry of Armaments and Munitions under Fritz Todt

Fritz Todt

Fritz Todt was a German engineer and senior Nazi figure, the founder of Organisation Todt. He died in a plane crash during World War II.- Life :Todt was born in Pforzheim to a father who owned a small factory...

 and Albert Speer

Albert Speer

Albert Speer, born Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer, was a German architect who was, for a part of World War II, Minister of Armaments and War Production for the Third Reich. Speer was Adolf Hitler's chief architect before assuming ministerial office...

, which had successfully increased Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...

's industrial production under similar adverse conditions, and was also an unsuccessful political move by the military to impose more control over the zaibatsu

Zaibatsu

is a Japanese term referring to industrial and financial business conglomerates in the Empire of Japan, whose influence and size allowed for control over significant parts of the Japanese economy from the Meiji period until the end of World War II.-Terminology:...

.

Although Prime Minister

Prime Minister of Japan

The is the head of government of Japan. He is appointed by the Emperor of Japan after being designated by the Diet from among its members, and must enjoy the confidence of the House of Representatives to remain in office...

 Tōjō

Hideki Tōjō

Hideki Tōjō was a general of the Imperial Japanese Army , the leader of the Taisei Yokusankai, and the 40th Prime Minister of Japan during most of World War II, from 17 October 1941 to 22 July 1944...

 concurrently was first Minister of Munitions, the actual day-to-day running of the Ministry devolved to his deputy, Nobusuke Kishi

Nobusuke Kishi

was a Japanese politician and the 56th and 57th Prime Minister of Japan from February 25, 1957 to June 12, 1958 and from then to July 19, 1960. He was often called Shōwa no yōkai .- Early life :...

.

Key firms were designated as components of the nationalized Munitions Companies System, and managers were given positions as government officials. Production staff was regarded as conscript labor and was not allowed to quit, or go on strike

Strike action

Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...

. State-controlled financial institutions provided working capital

Working capital

Working capital is a financial metric which represents operating liquidity available to a business, organization or other entity, including governmental entity. Along with fixed assets such as plant and equipment, working capital is considered a part of operating capital. Net working capital is...

 and subsidized the firms for any losses.

The Ministry of Munitions was abolished in 1945, by the American occupation authorities

Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers

Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers was the title held by General Douglas MacArthur during the Occupation of Japan following World War II...

, and its functions were absorbed into the modern Ministry of International Trade and Industry

Ministry of International Trade and Industry

The Ministry of International Trade and Industry was one of the most powerful agencies of the Government of Japan. At the height of its influence, it effectively ran much of Japanese industrial policy, funding research and directing investment...

 (MITI).

Organization

Munitions Minister

• Secretariat
  • General Operations Bureau
  • Aircraft Production Bureau
  • Mechanical Bureau
  • Iron & Steel Bureau
  • Light Metals Bureau
  • Non-Metallic Materials Bureau
  • Chemical Bureau
  • Fuels Bureau
  • Electricity Bureau

List of Ministers

	Name	Cabinet	From	To
1	Hideki Tōjō	Tōjō Hideki Tōjō Hideki Tōjō was a general of the Imperial Japanese Army , the leader of the Taisei Yokusankai, and the 40th Prime Minister of Japan during most of World War II, from 17 October 1941 to 22 July 1944...	1 November 1943	22 July 1944
2	Ginjirō Fujiwara	Koiso Kuniaki Koiso - Notes :...	22 July 1944	19 December 1944
3	Shigeru Yoshida Shigeru Yoshida (bureaucrat) , was bureaucrat and politician in the Empire of Japan, serving as a member of the Upper House of the Diet of Japan, Chief Cabinet Secretary, governor of Fukuoka Prefecture and twice as a cabinet minister.- Biography :...	Koiso Kuniaki Koiso - Notes :...	19 December 1944	7 April 1945
4	Teijirō Toyoda Teijiro Toyoda , was a career naval officer who served as Minister for Foreign Affairs in 1941, and admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II.- Early life :...	Suzuki Kantaro Suzuki Baron was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy, member and final leader of the Taisei Yokusankai and 42nd Prime Minister of Japan from 7 April-17 August 1945.-Early life:...	7 April 1945	17 August 1945
5	Chikuhei Nakajima	Higashikuni	17 August 1945	26 August 1945