was a Japanese politician of liberal signature, born in modern-day Sagamihara, Kanagawa. Ozaki served in the House of Representatives of the Japanese Diet for 63 years (1890–1953). He is still revered in Japan as the "God of constitutional politics" and the "father of the Japanese Constitution". Biography Ozaki was one of three children of Ozaki Yukimasa and his wife Sadako, who lived in the village of Matano, in the county of Tsukui, in Kanagawa Prefecture, in the Sagami hills, 35 miles west of Edo (present-day Tokyo). The three Ozaki children were born there—Yukio in 1858, Yukitaka in 1865 and Yukitake in 1866—just as Japan was opening itself up to the western world. Ozaki began his career as a student at Keio Gijuku, before becoming chief editor of the Niigata Shimbun (Niigata Newspaper) at the age of 20. At 22 he returned to Tokyo and was given an appointment at the Bureau of Statistics. He was elected to the Tokyo Prefectural Assembly in 1885, before being expelled from Tokyo in 1887 for 3 years in accordance with the newly-passed Safety Preservation Law. Yukio and his brother Yukitaka went to the United States in 1888 but Ozaki could not endure the temperature extremes and could not sleep in the heat of New York City and Washington, D.C. He sailed back to Japan via England and was then elected to his first term in the Japanese Imperial Diet. He would serve in that position for more than 62 years, becoming one of history's longest-serving parliamentarians. In 1890, Ozaki was elected to the First Parliament as a member of the House of Representatives from Mie Prefecture; and he was re-elected 25 times. During these years, he was named to a number of cabinet posts. In 1898 he was Minister of Education 1898, a position which he had to resign due to a speech which conservative elements in the Diet considered to have promoted republicanism; his resignation did not end the crisis, which culminated with the fall of PM Ōkuma Shigenobu and a split in the ruling Kenseitō Party. Later on, in 1914, he was Minister of Justice. He is nicknamed "the god of constitutionalism" (kensei no kami) and "the father of parliamentary government". He married teacher and folklore author Yei Theodora Ozaki, who was not related to him despite sharing the same surname as her maiden name. For many years, her letters were frequently