of Qing dynasty China at the Japanese legation in Beijing, then resident minister to Russia in St Petersburg, and finally resident minister to Great Britain. While serving in London from 1900, he worked to successfully conclude the Anglo-Japanese Alliance and signed on behalf of the government of Japan on 30 January 1902. He was elevated to the title of viscount (shishaku) in February 1902. On 2 December 1905 Hayashi became the first Japanese ambassador to the Court of St James's, as diplomatic relations were upgraded between the Empire of Japan and the British Empire. He was accompanied by his wife. At that time Sir Claude MacDonald was Hayashi's opposite number in Tokyo. On becoming Foreign Minister in the first Saionji cabinet in 1906, Hayashi concluded agreements with France (the Franco-Japanese Agreement of 1907) and Russia (the Russo-Japanese Agreement of 1907 and Russo-Japanese Agreement of 1910). He served as Minister of Communications in the second Saionji cabinet and as interim Foreign Minister (1911–12). He was elevated to the title of count (hakushaku) in 1907. On contracting diabetes, Hayashi retired in 1912, and in June 1913 he fractured his thigh in an accident, resulting in an amputation. Hayashi died a month later, and his grave is at Aoyama Cemetery in Tokyo. Honors Titles Baron (31 October 1895) Viscount (27 February 1902) Count (14 September 1907) Decorations Grand Cordon of the Order of the Sacred Treasure (31 October 1895) Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun (27 December 1899) Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun with Paulownia Flowers (1 April 1906) Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO) (4 July 1905) Honorary degrees LL.D. (honorary) University of Cambridge – May 1902 D.C.L. (honorary) University of Oxford – June 1902 Order of precedence Third rank (21 July 1901) Senior third rank (May 1910) See also Japan–United Kingdom relations Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne – who signed the Anglo-Japanese alliance of 30 January 1902 for Britain when Hayashi signed for Japan Japanese students in the United Kingdom Kikuchi Dairoku Imperial Rescript on Education References The Secret Memoirs of Count Hayashi Tadasu, edited by A.M. Pooley, 1915, reprinted 2002 External links Portrait of Hayashi Tadasu on the website of the National Diet Library, Tokyo Notes Ambassadors of Japan to the United Kingdom Japanese expatriates in the United Kingdom Foreign ministers of Japan Government ministers of Japan Governors of