 He worked as a bureaucrat at various cabinet ministries in the Meiji government, and was appointed to a seat in the Upper House of the Diet of Japan in 1908.He served as Director-General of the Cabinet Legislation Bureau under the 1st and 2nd Saionji administration (1906–1908; 1911–1912), and the 1st Yamamoto administration (1913).From 1913 to 1922, Okano served as Secretary to the Administrative Court.