Korekiyo Takahashi
Korekiyo Takahashi (高橋 是清) was minister of finance and prime minister of Imperial Japan.
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History
Takahashi rose to prominence by representing the interests of Imperial Japan with foreign financiers, such as Jacob Schiff, during the Russo-Japanese War. He was awarded a seat in the House of Peers in 1905. He served as governor of the Yokohama Specie Bank and the Bank of Japan.
Takahashi was appointed minister of finance by prime minister Yamamoto in 1913. He would continue to serve in this post under prime minister Hara. After Hara's assassination, he rose to leader of the Rikken Seiyuukai party and prime minister. His term only lasted 7 months, but he would return to the cabinet as minister of finance under prime ministers Tanaka, Inukai, Saitou, and Okada.
Takahashi was assassinated during the February 26 Incident in 1936.
Policies
To mitigate the Great Depression's impact on the economy, Takahashi abandoned the gold standard and applied expansionary monetary and fiscal policies.
Legacy
Takahashi is recognized for fiscal and monetary policies that rapidly recovered the Japanese economy. Notably his policies predated Keynes' publication by several years.