Sone Arasuke

Viscount was a Japanese politician, diplomat, cabinet minister, and second Japanese Resident-General of Korea.

Biography

Sone was born in Nagato Province in Chōshū Domain (present-day Yamaguchi prefecture, his adopted father was a samurai of the Hagi Clan. He fought on the imperial side in the Boshin War.

After the Meiji Restoration, he was sent to France for studies, and on his return to Japan served in the War Ministry. Later, he served as director of the Cabinet Gazette Bureau, Secretary of the Cabinet Legislation Bureau and other posts, in 1890 he became the first Chief Secretary of the House of Representatives the Diet of Japan.

Sone was elected to the House of Representatives in the 1892 Japanese general election, and served as Vice-Speaker of the House in the same year. In 1893, he became Japanese ambassador to France and negotiated the revision of the unequal treaties between France and Japan.

He served successively in a number of cabinet posts: Minister of Justice in the third Itō administration, Agriculture and Commerce Minister in the second Yamagata administration, Finance Minister in the first Katsura administration and other posts.

During the Russo-Japanese War...
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