Kantaro Suzuki was born in Japan on 24th December 1867. He joined the Japanese Navy and retired after 40 years of military service in 1927.

In 1929 he was appointed as Grand Chamberlain and member of the Privy Council. On February 1936 he was shot in the chest during an attempted military coup.

Suzuki retired from public life but in August 1944 he was recalled and appointed president of the Privy Council. The following year he accepted when Emperor Hirohito asked him to head the surrender government. On 14th August 1945 Suzuki announced the acceptance of the Allied terms. He then resigned and Naruhiko Higashikuni became the new prime minister.

Soon afterwards he escaped an assassination attempt by Japanese nationalists and was forced into hiding. Kantaro Suzuki died in 1948.