was a Japanese lawyer and politician who rose to serve as Minister of Education and later Speaker of the House of Representatives in the National Diet. As a lawyer, he rose to fame in Japan as one of the defense attorneys for the perpetrators of the May 15 Incident in 1932, and then later became famous internationally when he defended former prime minister Hideki Tōjō during the Tokyo War Crimes Trials after World War II. In 1960, as Speaker of the House of Representatives, he presided over the ramming through the Diet of the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty that cemented in place the U.S.-Japan alliance and allows the United States to maintain military bases on Japanese soil. Early life Kiyose was born in Yumesaki village, Shikama District, Hyōgo (present-day Himeiji city) on July 5, 1884. After graduating from Kyoto Imperial University with a degree in law, he became a lawyer who specialized in tenancy disputes and patent law. Political career In 1920, Kiyose was elected to the National Diet as a member of the House of Representatives representing Hyōgo Prefecture's fourth district. Originally a liberal, Kiyose supported the 1925 Universal Manhood Suffrage Law but opposed the draconian Peace Preservation Law that accompanied it for allowing too much judicial discretion and thereby creating the possibility for abuse. However, by the 1930s, Kiyose evidenced a pronounced turn toward nationalism, conservatism, and militarism, as evidenced by his volunteering for the defense of the perpetrators of the May 15 Incident in 1932. After Japan's defeat in World War II, Kiyose was purged by the U.S. Occupation and expelled from parliament for his pro-military stance during the war. In the late 1940s, he became internationally famous as the lead defense attorney former prime minister Hideki Tōjō during the Tokyo War Crimes Trials. Having been rendered homeless by American air raids, Kiyose conducted the trial while living in a homeless shelter and had to go door to door begging for donations to fund the costs of mounting Tōjō's defense. In 1952, Kiyose was depurged and immediately won reelection to the Diet. However, rather than return to his liberal ways of the 1920s, he retained his image as an arch-conservative by vocally advocating revision of Japan's postwar constitution to restore aspects of the prewar system. Kiyose served as Minister of Education in the cabinet of Prime Minister Ichirō Hatoyama from 1955 to 1956. As Minister, Kiyose lamented that