ABSTRACT
Sato graduated from university on April 30, 1924. His graduation was later in the year than normal due to the Great Kanto Earthquake, and his entrance into the Ministry of Railways was similarly postponed until May 1. Of the 206 people who passed the higher civil service examination, 26 joined the Ministry of Railways. While the ministry was not as difficult to enter as the home or finance ministries, Sato had still made it through a very select process. After undergoing a brief training period at the home ministry in Tokyo, Sato and the other incoming officials were sent to railway bureaus across the country. When Personnel Section Chief Niwa Taketomo asked them where they wished to be placed, they almost all said Tokyo. Sato was appointed a registrar for the General Affairs Section of the Moji Railway Bureau on June 3, 1924, and was dispatched to Moji Station as an assistant station master.
