Itō Miyoji

Itō Miyoji

Itō Miyoji ( Japanese 伊 東 巳 代 治 ; born May 7, 1857 in Nagasaki ; died February 19, 1934 ) was a Japanese politician during the Meiji and Taishō periods .

life and work

Itō Miyoji was born the son of a city dweller in Nagasaki. After the Meiji Restoration in 1868 he studied languages ​​and in 1877 got a job in the Japanese bureaucracy. He was sponsored by Itō Hirobumi and accompanied him on his trip to Europe in 1882. After his return in 1883 he became private secretary at Hirobumi and supported him in drafting the cabinet system and in drafting the constitution. In 1889 he became chief secretary of the Secret Council and in 1890 a member of the House of Lords. From 1892 to 1896 he held the office of chief cabinet secretary .

After Itō Miyoji had been in the Itō III cabinet from January to April 1898 to Minister of Agriculture and Trade, he no longer appeared publicly in politics, but as a member of the Secret State Council he became leader of the "bureaucratic" conservative faction and designated himself as "Guardian of the Constitution". Although he was not particularly popular with his views, he still exerted a powerful influence on Japanese politics until his death.

Itō repeatedly criticized both the National Assembly and the Cabinet. He was partly responsible for the overthrow of the 1st Wakatsuki Cabinet during the financial crisis of 1927 and criticized Hamaguchi Osachi for accepting the London Naval Treaty . From 1891 to 1904 he owned and directed the newspaper "Tōkyō Nichi-Nichi Shimbun".

Itō was promoted to baron in 1895, vice count in 1907 and count in 1922.

Remarks

1. ↑ The Shōwa financial crisis (昭和 金融 恐慌, Shōwa Kin'yū Kyōkō) came about through excessive investments, which on the one hand led to company bankruptcies, on the other hand to strengthen the Zaibatsu .
2. ↑ "Tōkyō Nichi-Nichi Shimbun" (東京 日 日 新聞), literally "Tōkyō daily news", was a newspaper that existed from 1872 to 1943. The Mainichi Shimbun newspaper can be seen as its successor.

literature

• S. Noma (Ed.): Itō Miyoji . In: Japan. An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Kodansha, 1993, ISBN 4-06-205938-X
• Janet Hunter: Itō Miyoji . In: Concise Dictionary of Modern Japanese History. Kodansha International, 1984. ISBN 4-7700-1193-8 .

Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . Thus Itō is the family name, Miyoji the first name.