Ito Miyoji

A bureaucrat and politician from the Meiji to Showa eras. Born in Nagasaki on May 7, 1858. He studied English and moved to Tokyo in 1871 (Meiji 4) to enroll in the technical training course at the Ministry of Public Works' Telegraph Bureau. After working at the Nagasaki Telegraph Office and as a translator for Hyogo Prefecture, he returned to Tokyo in 1876. He became acquainted with Ito Hirobumi and was employed by the Ministry of Public Works, where he demonstrated his abilities under Ito. In 1882, he accompanied Ito on his constitutional research trip to Europe, and after returning to Japan, he was involved in drafting the Constitution of the Empire of Japan. From 1889 onwards, he served as Chief Secretary of the Privy Council, Chief Secretary in the second Ito cabinet, and Minister of Agriculture and Commerce in the third Ito cabinet, and was active in political party maneuvering. He was president of the Tokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbun newspaper company from 1891 to 1904 (Meiji 37). After becoming a Privy Councilor in 1899, he operated behind the scenes in politics as a bureaucrat-politician affiliated with Yamagata Aritomo. In 1917 (Taisho 6), he became a member of the Provisional Council for the Investigation of Foreign Affairs, where he advocated a unilateral Siberian dispatch. He also took a pro-Seiyukai stance, attacking and toppling the Wakatsuki Reijiro cabinet during the financial panic of 1927 (Showa 2), and in 1930 he supported a hard-line diplomacy in the issue of the London Naval Treaty, fiercely attacking the Hamaguchi Osachi cabinet. He passed away on February 19, 1934. The "Ito Miyoji documents" are currently held by the National Diet Library.

[Sumio Ohirakata]

"Count Ito Shioji," edited and published by the Senteikakai, 2 volumes (1938)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

明治から昭和時代の官僚、政治家。安政(あんせい)4年5月7日、長崎に生まれる。英語を学び、1871年（明治4）上京して工部省電信寮の修技教場に入学した。長崎電信局、兵庫県訳官を経て1876年ふたたび上京。伊藤博文(いとうひろぶみ)の知遇を得て工部省に採用され、以後、伊藤のもとでその能力を発揮していった。1882年伊藤の憲法調査に随行して渡欧し、帰国後、大日本帝国憲法の起草に従事。1889年以降、枢密院書記官長、第二次伊藤内閣の書記官長、第三次伊藤内閣の農商務大臣を歴任し、政党工作に活躍した。1891年から1904年（明治37）にかけて東京日日新聞社社長。1899年枢密顧問官となって以後は、山県有朋(やまがたありとも)系の官僚政治家として政界の裏面で暗躍した。1917年（大正6）臨時外交調査会委員となり、単独シベリア出兵論を主張。また、親政友会的立場にたって、1927年（昭和2）の金融恐慌の際に若槻礼次郎(わかつきれいじろう)内閣を攻撃して倒壊させ、1930年のロンドン海軍軍縮条約問題でも強硬外交を支持して、浜口雄幸(はまぐちおさち)内閣を激しく攻撃した。昭和9年2月19日死去。「伊東巳代治文書」は、現在国立国会図書館が所蔵している。

［大日方純夫］

『晨亭会編・刊『伯爵伊東巳代治』2巻（1938）』

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例