Shūji Masutani

Shūji Masutani (益谷秀次; 17 January 1888–18 August 1973) was a Japanese jurist and politician who was a member of the Liberal Democratic Party. He served at the House of Representatives for a long time.

Biography
Masutani was born in Ushitsu Town, Ishikawa Prefecture, on 17 January 1888. He was a graduate of both the University of Tokyo and Kyoto University.

Masutani joined the Liberal Democratic Party in the 1920s. He was part of the factions led by Shigeru Yoshida and then by Hayato Ikeda. Masutani served as the chairman of the executive board of the party between 1950 and 1952. He was elected to the House of Representatives many times.

Masutani held various posts, including secretary to the president of the board of census, parliamentary vice minister of foreign affairs and construction minister under Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida. In 1951 he was appointed state minister to the cabinet led by Shigeru Yoshida, but he was soon dropped from the office. Between 1955 and 1958 he served as speaker of the House of Representatives. In the period between 1959 and 1960 he was the deputy prime minister, minister of state and director of the administrative management agency in the cabinet led by Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi. In 1961 he was appointed chairman of the investigative commission on security. He was in office until 1967 when Naka Funada became the chairman of the commission.

In October 1972 Masutani retired from politics and died of heart attack in Noto, Ishikawa Prefecture, on 18 August 1983.

Masutani was the recipient of the Order of the Rising Sun, First Class Grand Cordon, which was awarded to him 1961.