Editing Terauchi Masatake (section)

==Governor-General of Korea (1910–1916)==
Following the assassination of former [[Prime Minister of Japan|Prime Minister]] [[Itō Hirobumi]] in [[Harbin]] by a Korean nationalist, [[An Jung-geun]] in October 1909, Terauchi was appointed to replace [[Sone Arasuke]] as the third and last [[Japanese Resident-General of Korea]] in May 1910. As Resident-General, he executed the [[Japan–Korea Annexation Treaty]] in August of the same year, and he thus became the first Japanese [[Governor-General of Korea]]. In this position, he reported directly to the Emperor and as [[proconsul]] had wide-ranging powers ranging from legislative, administrative, and judicial to effect changes and reforms. The annexation of Korea by Japan and subsequent policies introduced by the new government was highly unpopular with the majority of the Korean population, and Terauchi (who concurrently maintained his position as Army Minister) employed military force to maintain control. However, he preferred to use the deep historical and cultural ties between Korea and Japan as justification for the eventual goal of complete assimilation of Korea into the Japanese mainstream. To this end, thousands of schools were built across Korea. Although this contributed greatly to an increase in literacy and the educational standard, the curriculum was centered on [[Japanese language]] and [[Japanese history]], with the intent of assimilation of the populace into loyal subjects of the [[Empire of Japan]].

Other of Terauchi's policies also had noble goals but [[unforeseen consequence]]s. For example, [[land reform]] was desperately needed in Korea. The Korean land ownership system was a complex system of absentee landlords, partial owner-tenants, and cultivators with traditional but without legal proof of ownership. Terauchi's new Land Survey Bureau conducted [[cadastral survey]]s that reestablished ownership by basis of written proof (deeds, titles, and similar documents). Ownership was denied to those who could not provide such written documentation (mostly lower class and partial owners, who had only traditional verbal "cultivator rights"). Although the plan succeeded in reforming land ownership/taxation structures, it added tremendously to Korean hostility, bitterness, and resentment towards Japanese administration by enabling a huge amount of Korean land (roughly 2/3 of all privately owned lands by some estimates) to be seized by the government and sold to Japanese developers.

In recognition of his work in Korea, his title was raised to that of ''hakushaku'' ([[count]]) in 1911.

[[Isabel Anderson]], who visited Korea and met Count Terauchi in 1912, wrote as follows:<ref>[http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/41722 Isabel Anderson, "The Spell of Japan", Boston, 1914, p.15.]</ref>
 {{blockquote|The Japanese Governor-General, Count Terauchi, is a very strong and able man, and under his administration many improvements have been made in Korea. This has not always been done without friction between the natives and their conquerors, it must be confessed, but the results are certainly astonishing. The government has been reorganized, courts have been established, the laws have been revised, trade conditions have been improved and commerce has increased. Agriculture has been encouraged by the opening of experiment stations, railroads have been constructed from the interior to the sea-coast, and harbours have been dredged and lighthouses erected. Japanese expenditures in Korea have amounted to twelve million dollars yearly. |Isabel Anderson|The Spell of Japan, 1914}}''

For reference, the $12 million figure in Anderson's book is roughly equivalent to $373.1 million in 2023.<ref>CPI Inflation Calculator. https://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/1913?amount=12000000</ref>