Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce

[1] It was briefly recreated as the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce (農商省, Nōshō-shō) during World War II.

It combined the Bureaus of Agriculture, Forestry, Natural History and post station maintenance which were formerly directly under the Prime Minister with the Bureau of Commerce formerly under the control of the Ministry of Finance.

The new Ministry was tasked by the Meiji oligarchy with improving production of natural resources and promoting the rapid industrialization of Japan.

Although nominally its duties included the protection of workers, in reality it served the needs of industry by guaranteeing a stable labor supply.

The Ministry was abolished on August 26, 1945, after the surrender of Japan by order of the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers.