Ito Hirobumi
From Conservapedia
Hirobumi Itō (family name: 伊藤 given name: 博文 Itō Hirobumi) (16 October, 1841 – 26 October, 1909) was a Japanese politician, who served four terms as the country's Prime Minister, during the Meiji Restoration, as well as the first Resident-General of Korea.
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Japan
Itō was a member of a minor Samurai clan, opposed to the rule of the Shōgunate and was actively involved in the hostilities which broke out following the signing of the treaty with Commodore Matthew Perry in 1854. As a result of this conflict, during which Itō advised his warlords to switch from traditional weapons to firearms, Ito became interested in Western systems. He felt that to obtain a thorough knowledge of the foreigners, he would have to travel to Europe to find it - something that was still a capital offense in Japan at that time. He left Japan's shores in 1863.
After his return, he was appointed the governor of Hyōgo Prefecture, in 1868, and in 1869 was appointed Deputy-Minister of Finance. In 1871 he was part of a mission to Europe, which, though diplomatically a failure, resulted in Japan obtaining the services of various European authorities to assist in the development of military, naval and educational systems.
Itō returned to Japan and served in several cabinets. In 1885, he established the first cabinet system of government and accepted the office of the first Prime Minister of Japan on 22 December 1885. In all, he held the post on four occasions (22 December 1885 – 30 April 1888; 8 August 1892 – 31 August 1896; 12 January 1898 – 30 June 1898; 19 October 1900 – 10 May 1901), before finally resigning in 1901.
As part of his duties, he was sent on a mission to Europe,in 1888, in order to study the various forms of constitutional government and upon his return, he drafted the constitution of Japan, which was promulgated in February 1889. Nine years later, at the height of the Restoration, Itō witnessed the revoking of the old, unequal treaties with the Western powers and the emergence of Japan as an economic and military power in her own right.
Korea
In 1905, following the Russo-Japanese War, Itō forced the Korean authorities into signing the Eulsa Treaty, which made Korea a virtual protectorate of Japan. In 1906, he was appointed the first Resident General of Korea.
He was assassinated by a Korean nationalist, An Jung-geun, at Harbin train station, Manchuria on 26 October 1909. The Japanese used his death as a pretext for the full annexation of Korea, as set out in the Japan Korea Annexation Treaty.
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References
- The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed; Columbia University Press; Copyright © 2007
