Born in Ōita Prefecture, Gotō was a graduate of the Law School of Tokyo Imperial University in 1909.

During his early career in the 1920s, he worked in the Home Ministry, and was Director of Administration within the office of the Governor-General of Taiwan.

He was chairman of the Taisei Yokusankai from 1941–1943, and under the administration of Hideki Tōjō, he served as a Minister of State.

Arrested by the American occupation authorities after the surrender of Japan, he was held in Sugamo Prison in Tokyo awaiting prosecution for war crimes, but was released in 1948 without trial.

From April 1953 to June 1959, he served as a member of House of Councillors in the post-war Diet of Japan.