板垣退助
After the Meiji Restoration, Gotō was appointed to a number of posts, including that of Governor of Osaka, and "sangi" (councillor), but later left the Meiji government in 1873 over disagreement with the government's policy of restraint toward Korea (i.e. the "Seikanron" debate) and, more generally, in opposition to the Chōshū-Satsuma domination of the new government. Jointly with Itagaki Taisuke, he submitted a memorandum calling for the establishment of a popularly elected parliament. In 1874, together with Itagaki Taisuke, and Etō Shinpei and Soejima Taneomi of Hizen Province, he formed the "Aikoku Kōtō" (Public Party of Patriots), declaring, "We, the thirty millions of people in Japan are all equally endowed with certain definite rights, among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring and possessing property, and obtaining a livelihood and pursuing happiness. These rights are by Nature bestowed upon all men, and, therefore, cannot be taken away by the power of any man." This anti-government stance appealed to the discontented remnants of the "samurai" class and the rural aristocracy (who resented centralized taxation) and peasants (who were discontented with high prices and low wages).