| Ōura Kanetake 大浦兼武 |
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Ōura in 1898 |
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| Born | June 15, 1850 Kagoshima, Satsuma Domain, Japan |
| Died | September 30, 1918 (aged 68) |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Occupation | politician, cabinet minister |
| Known for | "Ōura scandal" |
Ōura Kanetake (大浦 兼武, June 15, 1850 – September 30 1918) was a politician and bureaucrat in late Meiji and early Taishō period Empire of Japan. In 1907, he was raised to the rank and title of danshaku (baron) under the kazoku peerage system.[1]
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The Ōura family were hereditary retainers to a branch of the Shimazu clan of Satsuma Domain. As a Satsuma samurai, Ōura Kanetaka participated in the Boshin War and the suppression of the Ōuetsu Reppan Dōmei during the Meiji Restoration. Under the new Meiji government, he joined the fledgling Japanese police force, working his way up through the ranks until he became Assistant Police Inspector of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. In this capacity, he was field commander of the police forces sent to assist the fledgling Imperial Japanese Army in suppressing his fellow Satsuma countrymen in the Satsuma Rebellion.
After serving as appointed governor of Shimane Prefecture (1893-1895), Yamaguchi Prefecture (1895-1896), Kumamoto Prefecture (1896-1898) and Miyazaki Prefecture (1898), Ōura was appointed Superintendent General of the Police, and was given a seat in the House of Peers of the Diet of Japan. In 1903, under the 1st Katsura administration, he became Minister of Communications. He then served as Minister of Agriculture and Commerce under the 2nd Katsura cabinet and was also chairman of the Japanese committee organizing the Japan–British Exhibition.[2] He subsequently served as Home Minister under the 3rd Katsura cabinet, and as both Minister of Agriculture and Trade and Home Minister under the 2nd Ōkuma administration.
While in the Ōkuma administration, he was accused of perpetrating voting fraud in the Diet by bribing minor political party and undecided members to influence passage of a military spending bill introduced by Ōkuma. This incident came to be known as the Ōura scandal; he was forced to retire, and eventually the Ōkuma administration itself was brought down.
In his final years, Ōura served as chairman of the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai.
Ōura died in 1918 at the age of 68.
| Preceded by Sone Arasuke |
Minister of Communications Sept 1903-Jan 1906 |
Succeeded by Yamagata Isaburo |
| Preceded by Matsuoka Yasuko |
Minister of Agriculture & Commerce Jul 1908-Aug 1911 |
Succeeded by Makino Nobuaki |
| Preceded by Hara Takashi |
Home Minister Dec 1912 - Feb 1913 |
Succeeded by Hara Takashi |
| Preceded by Yamamoto Tatsuo |
Minister of Agriculture & Commerce Apr 1914 - Jan 1915 |
Succeeded by Kōno Hironaka |
| Preceded by Ōkuma Shigenobu |
Home Minister Jan 1915 - Jul 1915 |
Succeeded by Ōkuma Shigenobu |