Introduction Okuma Shigenobu is a renowned figure in Japan’s political history and is famous for introducing the politics of modern democracy in his country. Shigenobu was born in 1838 and died in 1922, having served as the prime minister of Japan on two separate occasions, the first instance coming in 1898, and the second one in 1914. Other than being a politician with pioneering political views, Shigenobu was also actively involved in scholarship matters and he was the founder of Waseda University. Shigenobu is also one of the founders of Rikken Kaishinto or the Progressive Party. During his final years, Okuma took a break from politics and briefly became marquees. It is hard to separate Shigenobu’s biographical information from his involvement in the Meiji government and his subsequent fallout with this regime. The renowned statesman was also an ardent supporter of the Western sciences and other outlying cultures. This paper is a biography of Okuma Shigenobu, the Japanese statesman, democracy advocate, and champion of academic freedom. Early Life Okuma hailed from Saga, a city that lies in the southwestern region of Japan and he was the first-born son of a Samurai father. As a child, Okuma received basic formal education but he later developed an unusual interest in Western studies. The would-be politician was mainly educated on a repertoire of Confucian literature and other Japanese works but the change for him came when he enrolled in an institution that focused on Dutch studies. Consequently, he learned how to speak English, a language that had not yet gained prominence in Japan at the time. After learning English, he was able to read two major works that had a major impact on his future thinking, the Bible, and the American Declaration of Independence. When he was part of the loyalist party in Hizen, Okuma “supported the policy of union between court and shogunate” (Idditti and Prifti 43). As a scholar in the Dutch institution, he concentrated on a wide range of subjects including English, International law, and other cultural subjects. Okuma’s chance to engage in politics on the national level resulted from the Meiji regime’s efforts to recruit politicians from remote areas of Japan. Therefore, Okuma and other representatives from Saga became part of the Meiji Restoration. The newly elected official’s main claim to fame was his vast wealth of knowledge of Western interests. His forceful personality also worked to his advantage because he was known for getting things done. Throughout his induction into the Meiji Restoration, Okuma’s agenda for speedy Westernization remained intact. Under Meiji Restoration, he served as a finance minister and also started mentoring youth and inducting them into leadership. Okuma became the most influential figure in the government after the senior-most politician in the Meiji regime (Toshimichi Okubo) died. Nevertheless, the politician’s newly found fortunes were short-lived because he competed with Ito, another influential figure in the government. Furthermore, his controversial agitation for the adoption of Western-style democracy soon led to his dismissal from the government in 1881. Political Life The former prime minister’s political life bega