Keijirō Nabeshima

Keijirō Nabeshima was born in Nagasaki in 1860. His Foreign Ministry career included legation service in the United States, Germany, and Britain. He was acting head of the Washington legation in 1900. ^{1, 2}

That spring Nabeshima challenged discriminatory measures introduced during the San Francisco plague crisis. After receiving reports from Consul Hirokichi Mutsu, he protested to Secretary of State John Hay that restrictions imposed on Japanese travelers violated the new commercial treaty’s protections for residence and travel. He renewed his objections when the initial response was inadequate and also raised discrimination in Colorado. In June the State Department reaffirmed its intention to observe the treaty and expressed regret over the inconvenience caused by the San Francisco quarantine. ²

Nabeshima later served in the Japanese residency-general in Korea and became minister to Belgium in 1909. His work included international maritime law conferences. He entered the House of Peers by imperial appointment in 1916 and died in 1933. ¹