Ōkubo Toshimichi
After the Meiji Restoration, Inoue joined the Ministry of Justice, and was sent to Germany and France for studies. He became a protégé of Ōkubo Toshimichi, and accompanied him to Beijing (China) for negotiations with the Qing court following the Taiwan Expedition of 1874. After Ōkubo’s assassination, he worked closely with Itō Hirobumi and Iwakura Tomomi, and became a member of the "Genrōin."