Itō, Hirobumi (1841-1909)

Japanese politician, prime minister 1885-88, 1892-96, 1898, and 1900-01. He was a key figure in the modernization of Japan and was involved in the Meiji restoration of 1868 and in official missions to study forms of government in the USA and Europe in the 1870s and 1880s. He played a major role in drafting the Meiji constitution of 1889.

Itō was a samurai from Chōshū, a feudal domain that rebelled against the shogunate in the 1850s-60s. In 1863 he became one of the first Japanese to study in the UK, and in 1871-73 he was a member of the Iwakura mission to Europe and the USA. Given responsibility for drafting the constitution, he went abroad again 1882-83 to study European models. Following a spell as resident-general in Korea from 1906-09, he was assassinated by a Korean nationalist - an event that led to Japan's annexation of that country. Politically Itō was a moderate, favouring negotiation and compromise.