THE STORIES ABOUT CULTURAL EXCHANGE BETWEEN FOREIGN COUNTRIES AND KYUSHU

A diplomat who was active on the world stage and brought peace and prosperity to Japan

Komura Jutaro was born in the Obi domain (today Nichinan City, Miyazaki), and after graduating from what is now the University of Tokyo, he went to study at Harvard University in the United States under the auspices of the Ministry of Education. He joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs upon his return, and became the foreign minister in 1901.
After the Russo-Japanese War, he attended the Portsmouth Peace Conference in the United States as the top ambassador plenipotentiary, negotiated with Russian Ambassador Plenipotentiary Sergei Witte and concluded a treaty, bringing peace to Japan.
Later, he set out to revise unequal treaties Japan had concluded in the end of Edo Period with the great powers of Europe and the United States. He dealt with revising treaties with the United States, the UK, Germany and France in an effort to recover tariff autonomy, and succeeded in solving these and other diplomatic problems with his amazing ability. Komura was a driving force in Japanese diplomacy during the Meiji era that led to Japan becoming a truly independent nation.

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