Katsura Tarō
After his service in the Sino-Japanese War (1894–95), Kodama became Governor-General of Taiwan. During his tenure, he did much to improve on the infrastructure of Taiwan and to alleviate the living conditions of the inhabitants. He was promoted to lieutenant general on 14 October 1896. Having proved himself an excellent administrator, Kodama spent the following decade serving as Minister of the Army under Prime Minister Itō Hirobumi, retaining the post and taking on the concurrent roles of Minister of Home Affairs and Education under the following Prime Minister Katsura Tarō.