On April 24, 1866 (Keio 2), Japanese diplomat and cabinet minister Kikujiro Ishii (石井菊次郎, 1866–1945) was born in Mobara (茂原市), Chiba Prefecture.
Ishii graduated from the Law Department of Tokyo Imperial University and joined the Foreign Ministry. He was ambassador to France (1912–14), foreign minister (1915–16), ambassador to the United States (1918–19), and a member of the Privy Council (枢密院, 1925–45), an advisory council to the Japanese emperor. Ishii took part in the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 (Taisho 8), and served as president of the Council and the Assembly of the League of Nations in 1923 (Taisho 12) and 1926 (Showa 1).
Ishii championed cooperation with the West and played a major role in the normalization of relations between Japan and Russia, as well as efforts to improve relations between Japan and the United States.
In 1907–8, Ishi helped negotiate a gentlemen’s agreement with the United States to prevent Japanese immigration to that country after anti-Japanese sentiment there rose dramatically.
Ishii also negotiated the short-lived Ishii-Lansing Agreement of 1917 (Taisho 6) with US Secretary of State Robert Lansing (1864–1928). This agreement aimed to prevent conflict between the United States and Japan over China. The US acknowledged that Manchuria was under Japanese control, while Japan agreed not to limit U.S. commercial endeavors in the rest of China. It was cancelled in 1922 (Taisho 11).
He completely vanished during the firebombing of Tokyo on May 25, 1945 (Showa 20) and was presumed killed.