Tōru Hoshi

Tōru Hoshi moved between law, party politics, and diplomacy. Born in Tokyo in 1850, he studied English and worked in the early Meiji administration before going to Britain. He entered the Middle Temple in 1875 and qualified as a barrister in 1877, then returned to practice in Japan. ¹

Hoshi became active in the movement for representative government and the Liberal Party press. He was imprisoned in the 1880s under laws governing criticism of officials and publication, and his legal license was temporarily revoked. Elected to the House of Representatives in 1892, he became its speaker. He also worked as a legal adviser in Korea before receiving the Washington appointment. ¹

As minister to the United States, Hoshi protested organized labor boycotts that prevented Japanese workers from finding employment in western states and territories. Secretary of State John Sherman’s March 1897 reply stated that federal criminal law offered no remedy for the acts described and directed injured individuals toward possible private legal action. ²

After returning to Japan, Hoshi entered Tokyo municipal politics and briefly served as communications minister in Itō Hirobumi’s cabinet in 1900. He became chairman of the Tokyo city assembly in January 1901 and was stabbed to death that June. ¹