In 1943, the city's independent institutions were eliminated altogether under the authoritarian Tōjō cabinet and the administration was absorbed by the appointed government of Tokyo prefecture.
As one of the "three capitals" (santo) of Japan, Tokyo city was initially not allowed to elect its mayor when (albeit limited) local autonomy for Japanese municipalities was introduced in the Meiji era, mostly following a Prussian model.
Tokyo's politics changed drastically during the 1950s when the U.S. completely reshaped the government of Japan, by transforming it into a democracy and reforming the entire education and administrative system.
He served until 1903 and was succeeded by Yukio Ozaki who is remembered in the United States for a gift of cherry trees that line the Potomac River in the District of Columbia.
Elected in August 1942, he oversaw the absorption of Tokyo city's independent institutions by the prefectural administration and in 1943 handed over to governor Shigeo Ōdachi who was now directly responsible to the central government.