Motono Ichirō

Viscount Motono Ichirō (本野 一郎), born on March 23, 1862, in Saga, Hizen Province (modern-day Saga Prefecture), was a Japanese statesman and diplomat active during the Meiji period. His father was an entrepreneur and one of the founders of the modern Yomiuri Shimbun.

Motono pursued legal studies in France. In 1896, he translated the civil code of the Empire of Japan into French. Between 1898 and 1901, he served as Minister Plenipotentiary to the Kingdom of Belgium. During this period, he represented Japan at the 1899 Hague Peace Conference. In 1905, he served as a judge at the Permanent Court of Arbitration, where he expressed a dissenting opinion in the case concerning the Japanese Tax House.

From 1906 to 1916, Motono was appointed as the Japanese Ambassador to Russia. On June 14, 1907, he was granted the peerage title of baron (danshaku) under the kazoku system for his diplomatic service. He was also awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, 1st class. His peerage was elevated to viscount (shishaku) on July 14, 1916.

In the political sphere, Motono served as Japan’s Foreign Minister from October 9, 1916, until April 23, 1918, under the government of Prime Minister Terauchi Masatake. During his tenure, he adopted a tough stance against the Russian Revolution and supported the Siberian Intervention.

Motono died on September 17, 1918. Posthumously, he was awarded the Order of the Chrysanthemum.