Yamamoto Gonnohyōe , also called Gonnohyōe , was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy and the 16th ( 20 February 1913 – 16 April 1914 ) and 22nd ( 2 September 1923 – 7 January 1924 ) Prime Minister of Japan . Early life . Yamamoto was born in Kagoshima in Satsuma Province ( now Kagoshima Prefecture ) as the son of " samurai " who served the Shimazu clan . As a youth , he took part in the Anglo - Satsuma War . He later joined Satsuma ' s Eighth Rifle Troop ; in the Boshin War that ended the Tokugawa shogunate , fighting at the Battle of Toba - Fushimi and other locations ; he was also aboard one of the ships that pursued Enomoto Takeaki and the remnants of the Tokugawa fleet to Hokkaidō in 1869 . Naval career . After the success of the Meiji Restoration , Yamamoto attended preparatory schools in Tokyo , entering the 2nd class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy in 1870 . After graduation in 1874 , he went on a training cruise to Europe and South America aboard Imperial German Navy vessels from 1877 – 78 , and as junior officer acquired much sea experience . He wrote a gunnery manual that became the standard for the Imperial Japanese Navy and served as executive officer of the cruiser on its shakedown voyage from Elswick to Japan ( 1885 – 86 ) . Afterwards , he accompanied Navy Minister Kabayama Sukenori on a trip to the United States and Europe ( 1887 – 88 ) . As commander of the cruiser , undertook a confidential mission to meet Qing General Yuan Shikai in Seoul , Korea ( 1890 ) . Afterwards , he assumed command of the . Working under his patron , Navy Minister Saigō Tsugumichi from 1893 , Yamamoto became the real leader of the navy ; initiating numerous reforms , attempting to end favoritism toward officers of his own Satsuma province , attempting to end officers from profiteering from military office , and attempting to attain roughly equal status with the army in the Supreme War Council . He also pushed for an aggressive strategy toward China in the First Sino - Japanese War ( 1894 – 95 ) . Yamamoto ' s subsequent rise through the ranks was rapid : rear admiral ( 1895 ) ; vice admiral and Navy Minister ( 1898 ) . He was raised to the rank of " danshaku " ( baron ) under the " kazoku " peerage system in 1902 ; and he was promoted to the rank of admiral in 1904 . As Minister of the Navy during the Russo - Japanese War , Yamamoto showed strong leadership and was responsible for appointing Tōgō Heihachirō as commander - in - chief of the Combined Fleet . He gave voice to Tōgō ' s reports when he read his aloud his reports from the war to the assembled Diet . Yamamoto was elevated to " hakushaku " ( count ) in 1907 . Count Yamamoto served as Prime Minister in 1913 – 14 . As Prime Minister . During Yamamoto ' s first term as the prime minister , he abolished the rule that both the Navy Minister and Army Minister had to be active duty officers , and he had a reputation for being a liberal and a supporter of public claims for democracy and constitutional government . However , his administration was plagued by charges of corruption and he was forced to resign with his entire cabinet to take responsibility for the Siemens - Vickers Naval Armaments scandal , even though it was never proved that he was personally involved . Yamamoto was transferred to naval reserve in 1914 . Yamamoto was recalled to government as Prime Minister again in the emergency crisis " earthquake cabinet " ( 1923 – 24 ) following the Great Kantō Earthquake . He showed leadership in the restoration of Tokyo which had been heavily damaged by the earthquake . He also attempted to reform the electoral system to permit universal male suffrage . However , he and his cabinet resigned again in January 1924 , this time over the attempt by Namba Daisuke to assassinate Prince Regent Hirohito on 27 December 1923 ( the Toranomon Incident ) . Subsequently , Yamamoto withdrew from political life completely . He died in 1933 and his grave is at the Aoyama Cemetery in Tokyo . Honors . " From the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia " < / div >