Eikichi Araki

Eikichi Araki came to diplomacy from central banking. Born in Ishikawa in 1891, he graduated from Tokyo Imperial University and joined the Bank of Japan, eventually directing foreign exchange and banking operations. He became governor in October 1945 but left office in June 1946 during the occupation purge. After the ban was lifted, he chaired Tokyo Electric Power before becoming ambassador to the United States in 1952. ^{1, 2}

In Washington, Araki handled the territorial and defense questions left by the peace settlement. In August 1953, he asked Secretary of State John Foster Dulles to clarify which islands would be included in the promised return of the Amami group. He also expressed the hope that Okinawa and the Bonin Islands would eventually follow. When Dulles criticized Japan's limited defense effort, Araki pointed to war weariness and Prime Minister Yoshida's concern about the economy's capacity to bear the cost. ³

Araki left the embassy in 1954 and returned to the Bank of Japan as governor that December. His second term lasted until November 1956. He died in 1959. ^{1, 2}