SakuzÅ Yoshino
Sakuzō Yoshino (Japanese吉野 作 造; born January 29, 1878 in Ōsaki, † March 18, 1933 ) was a Japanese political scientist, historian, and author, who as a political thinker of the Taishō period primarily for formulating the theory of Mimponshugi (民 本 主义) or " politics of the people " was known.
Yoshino graduated from the Tokyo Imperial University in 1904. In 1906 he went as a private tutor for the son of Yuan Shikai, the then most powerful Chinese politician, to China. In 1909 he returned and taught until 1924, first as an associate professor from 1914 as full professor at the Law Faculty of the Imperial University policy history and theory. In 1910 he went back for three years on a study trip to Germany, England and the United States. On his return to Japan, he started to write articles, dealt with the issues of introduction of a democratic government in Japan, corruption and general suffrage.
His most famous work, "On the importance of konstitionellen government " was written in response to the popular belief in the superiority of the Prussian pattern. In this work, Yoshino argues that democracy is also compatible with the concept of the sovereignty of Tennō.