In recent times, Japan has been in a state where prime ministers just go in one door and out the other. If you got our last newsletter, you’d know that there have been 5 new Japanese prime ministers in the last four years (to be fair, one of them had reeeaallly bad diarrhea). But did you know that back in the day there was one prime minister who was rock solid? So rock solid, in fact, that he was the prime minister of Japan four times. With all the drama and wishy-washiness of current Japanese prime ministers, we thought it’d be fun to harken back to the days of old and take a look back to where it all began. Introducing four time Japanese prime minister and samurai extraordinaire: Ito Hirobumi. Yeah, he’s pretty much Japan’s George Washington.
Hirobumi’s Rise to Power
Let us tell you a tale. It all really started with Ito Hirobumi’s visit to London in 1863. He studied at university there and the experience convinced him that in order to survive in the modern world, Japan must begin to adopt the ways of the West.
After the Meiji Restoration, Hirobumi was appointed governor of Hyogo Prefecture, junior councilor for Foreign Affairs, and was sent to the United States in 1870 to study the currency systems there. When he returned to Japan in 1871, he established a taxation system because as everyone knows, you need money to get things done.
In 1873 Hirobumi was made a full councilor, Minister of Public Works, and in 1875 he was made chairman of the first Assembly of Prefectural Governors. He then took over the post of Home Minister (minister of the Cabinet-level Home Ministry established under the Meiji Constitution), and secured a central position in the Meiji government so he could be in charge of everything forever.
Hirobumi then went to Europe in 1882 to study their constitutions. He hoped to improve Japan with the knowledge he gained there and lead his country into the modern world. In 1885, he negotiated the Convention of Tientsin with Li Hongzhang (a Chinese civilian official who ended several major rebellions and was a leading statesman of the late Qing Empire), normalizing Japan’s diplomatic relations with Qing Dynasty China. What can’t this man do? Grow a beard? Yeah, he was like the only Japanese man at the time who could do that. Manly.
Hirobumi Becomes the First Prime Minister of Japan
Hirobumi established a cabinet system of government based on those he observed in Europe. This new cabinet system replaced the old Daijo-kan (Japanese Department of State) as the decision-making state organization, and on December 22, 1885, Ito Hirobumi became the first prime minister of Japan like the boss that he is.
In 1888, however, Hirobumi resigned as prime minister (*ahem* so apparently this whole resigning as prime minister thing isn’t new), and instead decided to head the new Privy Council (an advisory council for the Emperor) to craftily maintain power behind the scenes. In 1889, he also became the first genro (an unofficial designation given to certain distinguished Japanese statesmen who were elderly and retired). Hirobumi continued to remain a powerful political force even though he was not actually the prime minister. Sneaky sneaky.
During Hirobumi’s second term as prime minister, he supported the First Sino-Japanese War and negotiated the Treaty of Shimonoseki which ended the war in March, 1895. In the Anglo-Japanese Treaty of Commerce and Navigation of 1894, he succeeded in removing many of the unequal treaty clauses with Britain that had plagued Japanese foreign relations since the Meiji period. Well done!
During Hirobumi’s third term as prime minister, he encountered problems with party politics. Both the Jiyuto (the liberal party) and the Shimpoto (the progressive party) were strongly against the new land taxes he’d proposed. As a result, Hirobumi did what any good leader would do and just straight up dissolved the Diet so new officials could be elected. Can we do that in America? Please?
Consequently, the two old parties merged into the Kenseito (the constitutional party), won a majority of the seats, and forced Hirobumi to resign. (Aw, bummer! All that work for nuthin’) This made Hirobumi realize that he needed a pro-government political party to survive, so he organized and created the Rikken Seiyukai in 1900. The Rikken Seiyukai continued to be the most powerful political party in Japan until 1921.
Hirobumi returned to office as prime minister one last time, but once again faced political opposition, this time from the House of Peers (the upper house of the Imperial Diet). Living in constant fear of political back-stabbing finally got to him, however, so he ultimately resigned (again? c’mon, man!), but still remained head of the Privy Council.
Resident General of Korea
Following the Russo-Japanese War, Hirobumi forced the Korean government to sign the Eulsa Treaty in 1905, which made Korea a Japanese protectorate. After the Eulsa Treaty had been signed, Hirobumi became the first Resident-General of Korea in the December of that same year. He urged Emperor Gojong to abdicate the throne in 1907 and forced the Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty of 1907 on the Koreans, giving Japan control over Korean internal affairs.
This new treaty gave Hirobumi (and subsequent Resident-Generals) the right to appoint and dismiss high-ranking officials in Korea. It also stated that all high-ranking officials appointed to the Korean government must be Japanese. This brought the internal government of Korea fully under the control of Japan. It also placed the Korean army under Japanese leadership, and handed over both judicial and policing powers.
Hirobumi was firmly against Korea falling into the hands of China and Russia, because it would result in a monstrous threat to Japan’s national security. However, he was also against the annexation of Korea, instead advocating that it remain a protectorate. So even though he forced these treaties on the Korean people, he did not actually want to annex the country outright.
When the Japanese cabinet eventually voted for the annexation of Korea, Hirobumi managed to force a delay in hopes that the decision of annexation could be reversed in the future. However, the influential leader of the Imperial Japanese Army, Yamagata Aritomo, strongly advocated the annexation of Korea and forced Hirobumi to resign (what!!? again!?) on June 14, 1909. Hirobumi’s assassination later that year is believed to have accelerated the actual realization of the Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty.
Ironically, his killer An Jung-geun (a Korean) strongly believed in the union of China, Korea, and Japan in order to counter and fight off the “White Peril” to restore peace in East Asia.
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Hirobumi arrived at the Harbin Railway Station on October 26, 1909 for a political meeting. When he arrived, An Jung-geun (nationalist and independence activist) fired six shots at him. Three shots hit him in the chest and Hirobumi died shortly thereafter.
There are differing opinions relating to Ito Hirobumi and Korea. While he was against the full annexation of Korea, he still wanted to have it as a protectorate. He wanted to unite and lead Asia against the barbarians of the West, but not everyone in Korea wanted to be a protectorate of Japan (for good reason) and no one wants to have treaties forced upon them. It seems that Hirobumi wanted to place Korea firmly in his pocket before China and/or Russia had the chance to take it for themselves. However, this was done through means of force and not through diplomacy. It’s a touchy subject to say the least and remains a hot button topic to this day.
Ito Hirobumi’s Legacy
A portrait of Ito Hirobumi was on the 1,000 yen note from 1963 to 1984 when a new series was introduced. His former house is preserved as a museum in Hagi city which is located in Yamaguchi prefecture. However, this was actually Hirobumi’s second home, formerly located in Shinagawa, Tokyo.
So, I guess it turns out even the first prime minister of Japan resigned as much as current Japanese prime ministers. Only difference is that he kept coming back again and again and again and again. Seriously, this guy never quit. He could also grow a beard. Pretty high-five worthy in my book.
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