Shigeru Sahashi

was a Japanese government official.

Early life and career Sahashi was born in Gifu in 1913 to a middle-class family (his father was a small businessman). He studied law at the University of Tokyo, graduating in 1937, and joined the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MCI) as a low-level bureaucrat. His work at the Ministry was interrupted by a stint in the military during the Second Sino-Japanese War, but he returned to the civil service in 1941 and rose through the ranks until by 1957 he was in a position of some influence.

Career at the MITI After the Second World War, the MCI became the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI). Within MITI, Sahashi led the "nationalist faction", which aimed at strengthening Japan's domestic economy.

Sahashi served as vice-minister of the MITI between 1964 and 1966. He was originally recommended for the position in 1963 by the retiring incumbent Matsuo Kinzō. However, Fukuda Hajime, then chief minister of MITI, overruled the decision, appointing Imai Yoshie instead. As vice-minister, Sahashi was regarded as a key influence on Japan's post-war economic boom. Three novels about this era feature him as the protagonist, casting him in a similar role to that of the heroic feudal samurai defending the people.

Later life Sahashi was a practitioner of aikido, and in 1972 wrote the book Shin no budō (The True Way of the Warrior), which was a diatribe against the increased emphasis on sport within the martial arts. He believed that the true purpose of martial arts was to achieve enlightenment (satori) through training.