Kaneko Kentarō
Count Kaneko Kentarō (金子 堅太郎, February 4, 1853 – May 16, 1942) was a genrō, statesman, diplomat, and legal scholar in Meiji period Japan.
Count Kaneko Kentarō 金子 堅太郎 | |
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Kaneko Kentarō, photographed circa 1905 by Maruki Riyō | |
Born | |
Died | May 16, 1942 89) Tokyo, Japan | (aged
Nationality | Japanese |
Other names | Naotsugu (childhood name) |
Education | Fukuoka Domain Shuyukan |
Alma mater | Harvard University (LLB) |
Occupation(s) | Diplomat, Cabinet Minister |
A graduate of Harvard Law School, he drew on his connections in the American legal community over the course of his long career in Japanese government, particularly in his role helping to draft the new Meiji Constitution (Imperial Japanese Constitution). During the Russo-Japanese War, he engaged in promotion activities in the United States and contributed to Japan's victory.
Kaneko was one of the most influential proponent of the U.S.-Japan Alliance in Imperial Japan. In his later years, he opposed and worked to avoid the Pacific War, but his attempts failed.
He was the first person to translate Edmund Burke into Japanese and is considered the first Burkean conservative in Japan.