Azusa Ono

A specialist in international law, Ono advocated the establishment of a parliamentary system based on respect for the rights of the people, inspired by the British model.

Ono was born in Sukumo, a small fishing village in Shikoku, into a family of well-to-do merchants who became samurai associate in the Tosa Domain.

His knowledge of international law earned him a rapid ascent in the hierarchy so that he quickly rubbed shoulders with various leaders of the Meiji era, including Ōkuma Shigenobu, minister of finance.

[9] In the 1870s and 1880s, there were many debates in Japan over the form of government the country was to adopt after the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate and the Meiji restoration strongly influenced by his stays abroad.

He also upheld the importance of a unified ministerial cabinet and from political parties, replacing the territorial administration derived from feudal clans who ruled Japan for many centuries.

[13] In this sense, he strongly opposed the defenders of an oligarchic government linked to the big clans and repeatedly criticized the feudal practices which he judged evil for the liberties of the people.

[citation needed] However, he also brought forth the dangers of forced westernization and rather favored reforms that kept the Japanese spirit, notably the central role of the emperor.

[15] Ōkuma Shigenobu remains known among other things for his memoir given to the emperor in 1881, his advocacy for the rapid establishment of a national assembly, the drafting of a constitution, and his campaign for the importance of political parties.