Toshiro Tezuka

Toshiro Tezuka was a Japanese prosecutor and Head of Civil Affairs Bureau and 1st Governor of the South Seas Mandate. He was from Miyazaki Prefecture. He was a graduate of the University of Tokyo.

Biography

He was born in Takanabe Town, Koyu District, Miyazaki Prefecture. In 1901, he graduated from Tokyo Imperial University Law School and became an assistant judicial officer. In 1903, he became a public prosecutor and served at the Hakodate Ward Court, the Hakodate District Court, the Sapporo District Court, and the Numazu Ward Court. In 1908, he was transferred to the Ministry of Home Affairs, and successively served as Fukui Prefectural Clerk and Police Chief, Nagasaki Prefectural Clerk and Police Chief, and Shimane Prefectural Home Affairs Director.
In 1918, he was appointed Chief of Naval Affairs and Chief of the Temporary Civil Affairs Department of the Defense Force of the South Sea Islands, and took charge of the administration of the South Sea Islands.
In 1922, when the Temporary South Seas Archipelago Defense Corps was abolished and the Nan'yō Government was established, he was appointed as the first director.