Akashi Motojiro noble title baron
As Governor-General of Taiwan
In 1918, Akashi was promoted to general and appointed by Prime Minister Terauchi as the Governor-General of Taiwan. He also received the title of danshaku (baron) under the kazoku peerage system. During his brief tenure, Akashi devoted significant efforts to improving the infrastructure and economy of Taiwan, and is especially remembered for his electrification projects and the creation of the Taiwan Power Company, and for planning the Sun Moon Lake hydroelectric power plant. The "lake" was originally a swamp. Akashi built concrete pipes to introduce water from the nearby Muddy Water River, and built a huge dam with water siphoned from the river. Akashi's greatest contribution to Taiwan, however, was the construction of "Ka-Nan Irrigation System," which totals 16,000 miles (26,000 km) long. It cost the Taiwan government at that time more than one year's budget. The Japanese Imperial Diet, had to pass a special law for the extra appropriation of 26 million yen in 1918, equivalent to roughly 2 billion today's U.S. dollars, which was a big burden on Japan's finance at that time, although it would be impossible to build such a dam today with the relatively paltry 2 billion U.S. dollars.
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