Kaneko Kentarō

Kaneko Kentarō
金子 堅太郎
Kaneko Kentarō, photographed circa 1905 by Maruki Riyō
Minister of Justice
In office
19 October 1900 – 2 June 1901
Prime MinisterItō Hirobumi
Preceded byKiyoura Keigo
Succeeded byKiyoura Keigo
Minister of Agriculture and Commerce
In office
26 April 1898 – 30 June 1898
Prime MinisterItō Hirobumi
Preceded byItō Miyoji
Succeeded byŌishi Masami
Member of the Privy Council
In office
9 January 1906 – 16 May 1942
MonarchsMeiji
Taishō
Hirohito
Member of the House of Peers
In office
18 April 1894 – 23 January 1906
Nominated by the Emperor
In office
29 September 1890 – 17 November 1891
Nominated by the Emperor
Personal details
Born(1853-02-04)4 February 1853
Died16 May 1942(1942-05-16) (aged 89)
PartyIndependent
RelativesDan Takuma (brother-in-law)
EducationFukuoka Domain Shuyukan
Alma materHarvard University (LLB)
NicknameNaotsugu (childhood name)
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Count Kaneko Kentarō (金子 堅太郎; 4 February 1853 – 16 May 1942) was a statesman, diplomat, and legal scholar in Meiji period Japan.

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 proponents of a Japanese-American 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.