官僚達に重工業化に踏み切らせたのは、戦争の遺産ともいうべき大量の技術者の存在だった。
What made the bureaucracy choose the way of industrialization was a large number of engineers who worked in munitions factories during the war, and whom we might call “a heritage of the war”.
日本は戦時中、技術者の養成に力を注ぎ、軍の教育機関や大学の工学部では、多くの若者が学んでいた。
During WW2, the government was heavily geared toward training engineers and a large number of young people were learning at Educational Institutions of the Army and Universities of Engineering.
The Imperial University of Tokyo
戦時中最高のエリートを集め、技術者教育を施した東京帝国大学第二工学部(昭 和17~26年の わずか9年間だけ存在した学部)。
戦争遂行のために作られたこの学部は、戦後間もなく廃止され幻の ”戦犯学部” と も呼ばれた。
The Imperial University of Tokyo, the second faculty of engineering which existed for only 9 years from 1942 to 1951 (Now, it is the University of Tokyo).
This faculty gathered the most elite students and provided the best education of engineering.
This was for the accomplishment of winning the war, but was abolished right after the end of the war and was called “a war crime faculty in a vision”.
教壇には、戦闘機の設計者や船舶のエンジニアなどが立ち、学生たちは実践的な知識を叩きこまれた。
東大だけでなく、他の大学もエンジニアの育成に積極的だった。
また彼らは戦地に赴かず、武器の兵器開発等に国内にとどまり生き残った(→ のちのパイオニアになる)。
In this class, teachers were those who designed weapons and vessels. Therefore, students were able to get applied knowledge and very practical experience.
In addition, not only this
Most importantly, these students did not join the battle in the fields but stayed in Japan to produce weapons. At the end of the day, they all survived and became pioneers in many industries.
Alumni
卒業生の例/ 黒田精工最高顧問 黒田彰一氏
戦時中に家業を継ぎ、今では海外に9つの拠点を持つ世界的な精密機械メーカー に育て上げた。
「ゼロ戦のゲージ(精密測定機器)はみんなうちが作りました」
大学での専攻は兵器の製造を学ぶ造兵学科。魚雷や大砲など兵器に使われる機械を精密に作る理論を学んだ。
戦争中はゼロ戦のゲージを一手に引き受けていた。戦後も高い精度を誇るその技術は、自動車作りに必要な特殊な金型や精密工作機械の開発に生かされた。
”学校の戦車の運転も出来た”
「兵器というのが一番精密だということを学んだ。そしてそれらの技術、工学は兵器や医学のどちらにも使えることがわかった。使うのは人間だから。」
An example of alumni of this faculty: Shoichi Kuroda.
During the war, he took over a family business and he has made his company grow to be a global precision machine maker having 9 offices around the world.
His major in the faculty was the one where he was able to learn the theory for precisely making machines used for torpedoes and cannons.
During WW2, this company took full responsibility for the production of the gauge used for the bomber. After the end of the war, the high-precision technology was fully made use of the development of unique metal molds and precision machine tools needed for the production of cars.
“I learned that the most precise stuff was weapons and the technology for them was able to be applied for both weapons and medical science because the technology was used by us “humans.”
Shoichi Kuroda
Alumni
Pioneers
卒業生達
・ダイキン工業社長
・三菱商事社長
・日本製鋼所社長
・三井造船社長
・マツダ社長
・ソニー副社長
・日産自動車社長
・富士通社長
・デンソー社長
・昭和電工社長
・日立製作所社長
・鹿島建設社長
・日本電信電話公社社長
最高峰の技術者教育は自動車・家電・造船など、後の高度成長を牽引する人材を 数多く育てていた。
通産省の官僚達は、戦争が図らずも育てていたこの技術者達を生かすことで、重工業化という困難な道を切り開こうとした。
Alumni of the second engineering faculty of the Imperial University of Tokyo
・Daikin Industries, Ltd., President (Chemicals)
・Mitsubishi Corporation, President (Trade)
・The Japan Steel Works, Ltd., President (Steel)
・Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, President (Shipbuilding)
・MAZDA Motor Corporation, President (Car)
・Sony, Vice-President (Electronics)
・Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., President (Car)
・Fujitsu Ltd., President (Electronics)
・Denso Corporation, President (Electronics)
・Showa Denko K.K., President (Chemicals)
・Hitachi, Ltd., President (Electronics)
・Kashima Corporation, President (Construction)
The highest pinnacle of engineering education trained students who later became capable people leading the economic growth in all kinds of industries including automobiles, electronics, shipbuilding, and so on.
The bureaucracy was aiming to accomplish heavy industrialization regarded as the most difficult task while making the most of the engineers’ great abilities who unexpectedly trained by the war.