Junior First Rank Count Yoshikawa Akimasa
芳川 顕正
Vice President of the Privy Council
In office 9 January 1912 – 20 March 1917
Monarchs	Meiji Taishō
President	Yamagata Aritomo
Preceded by	Higashikuze Michitomi
Succeeded by	Kiyoura Keigo
Ministerial offices Minister of Home Affairs In office 20 February 1904 – 16 September 1905 Prime Minister Katsura Tarō Preceded by Katsura Tarō Succeeded by Kiyoura Keigo In office 12 January 1898 – 30 June 1898 Prime Minister Itō Hirobumi Preceded by Kabayama Sukenori Succeeded by Itagaki Taisuke In office 3 February 1896 – 14 April 1896 Prime Minister Itō Hirobumi Preceded by Yasushi Nomura Succeeded by Itagaki Taisuke Minister of Communications In office 2 June 1901 – 17 July 1903 Prime Minister Katsura Tarō Preceded by Hara Takashi Succeeded by Sone Arasuke In office 8 November 1898 – 19 October 1900 Prime Minister Yamagata Aritomo Preceded by Hayashi Yūzō Succeeded by Hoshi Tōru Minister of Justice In office 16 March 1893 – 26 September 1896 Prime Minister Itō Hirobumi Matsukata Masayoshi Preceded by Yamagata Aritomo Itō Hirobumi (acting) Succeeded by Kiyoura Keigo ActingMinister of Education In office 29 August 1894 – 3 October 1894 Prime Minister Itō Hirobumi Preceded by Inoue Kowashi Succeeded by Saionji Kinmochi Minister of Education In office 17 May 1890 – 1 June 1891 Prime Minister Yamagata Aritomo Matsukata Masayoshi Preceded by Enomoto Takeaki Succeeded by Ōki Takatō
Member of thePrivy Council
In office 13 March 1919 – 10 January 1920
Monarch	Taishō
In office 3 February 1910 – 9 January 1912
Monarch	Meiji
Member of theHouse of Peers
In office 28 November 1900 – 21 September 1907
Governor of Tokyo
In office 19 July 1882 – 13 June 1885
Monarch	Meiji
Preceded by	Matsuda Michiyuki
Succeeded by	Hiromoto Watanabe
Personal details
Born	(1842-01-21)21 January 1842 Yamakawa, Awa,Japan
Died	10 January 1920(1920-01-10) (aged 77) Moto-Azabu, Tokyo,Japan
Resting place	Aoyama Cemetery

CountYoshikawa Akimasa (芳川 顕正; 21 January 1842 – 10 January 1920) was a Japanese bureaucrat, statesman and cabinet minister, active inMeiji andTaishō periodJapan.

Yoshikawa was born inYamakawa,Awa Province (currentlyYoshinogawa, Tokushima) as the son of a localsamurai. After theMeiji Restoration, he went toTokyo and entered into service of the newMeiji government, rising to become head of theNational Printing Bureau under theMinistry of Finance in 1872.

Yoshikawa was a close protégé ofYamagata Aritomo and at Yamagata's urging, served asGovernor of Tokyo from July 1882 to June 1885. As Governor, Yoshikawa submitted a plan for the complete redevelopment of Tokyo based on the redevelopment ofParis underNapoleon III. Yoshikawa's plan called for a system of wide boulevards and canals radiating out from theTokyo Imperial Palace.^[1] He also called for an expansion of the train system to aterminus in an expandedTokyo Station. Although some elements of the “Yoshikawa Plan” were eventually implemented, most remained on paper due to completing plans raised by other politicians, notablyInoue Kaoru.^[2]

Yoshikawa then worked as Deputy Director of theHome Ministry from March 1886 to May 1890. When Yamagata becamePrime Minister, Yoshikawa was appointed to his cabinet asMinister of Education, a post which he held from May 1890 to June 1891.Emperor Meiji expressed reservations over the appointment, but was convinced by Yamagata that the choice of the conservative Yoshikawa was suitable.^[3] During this period, he played an important role in writing theImperial Rescript on Education, which articulated government policy on the guiding principles of education in the Empire of Japan, and which had to be memorized by all students.

In 1893, under theSecond Itō Cabinet, Yoshikawa was appointedMinister of Justice. He continued in the same position through theSecond Matsukata Cabinet. In February 1896, while still holding the position of Minister of Justice, he was concurrently appointed Home Minister. He also served as achamberlain in theImperial Household.

In 1898, under theFirst Ōkuma Cabinet, he was reappointed as Home Minister, and under theSecond Yamagata Cabinet in November 1898, was madeMinister of Communications. That same year, he was elevated to thekazoku peerage with the title ofshishaku (viscount).

In 1901, under theFirst Katsura Cabinet, he was reappointed as Minister of Communications. After his term ended in July 1903, he announced that he would be leaving public service; however, he accepted the post of Home Minister again in February 1904, serving until September 1905.

In 1907, Yoshikawa became the 1st chairman of the Japan Society for Prevention of Sexually-transmitted Disease. He was subsequently elevated tohakushaku (count).

In 1912, he became deputy secretary of thePrivy Council. However, in 1917, he was forced to resign his positions and retire from public life over a major scandal caused by his 4th daughter Kamako.

Yoshikawa had four daughters but no sons, he adopted a younger son ofSone Arasuke, who married his Yoshikawa's 4th daughter Kamako. The son, Hiroharu, became a prominent businessman. However, Kamako had an affair with her chauffeur, with whom she attempted a double suicide by throwing themselves in front of a train. The chauffeur died instantly, but Kamako survived with serious injuries. The revelation of her adultery across class lines brought vehement condemnation from the press and Yoshikawa's peers, and forced his retirement from public life.^[4]

Yoshikawa's birthplace inYoshinogawa, Tokushima is preserved as a house museum. His grave is located atAoyama Cemetery in Tokyo.

• Keene, Donald.Emperor Of Japan: Meiji And His World, 1852–1912. Columbia University Press (2005).ISBN 0-231-12341-8
• Franser, Benjamin.Trains, Culture, and Mobility: Riding the Rails. Lexington Books (2001).ISBN 0739167499
• Fujitani, Takashi. (1998).Splendid Monarchy: Power and Pageantry in Modern Japan.. Berkeley:University of California Press.ISBN 978-0-520-20237-5;OCLC 246558189—Reprint edition, 1998.ISBN 0-520-21371-8|page 74–75
• Sims, Richard.Japanese Political History Since the Meiji Renovation 1868–2000. Palgrave Macmillan.ISBN 0-312-23915-7
• Sato, Barbara.The New Japanese Woman: Modernity, Media, and Women in Interwar Japan. Duke University Press (2003).ISBN 082233044X.

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