Political Career
Nomura was appointed governor of Saitama Prefecture in 1873 and appointed Kiyoura to a junior-grade civil service position there.
In 1876, at the age of twenty-seven, Kiyoura joined the Ministry of Justice, and served as a prosecutor and helping draft Japan’s first modern Criminal procedures laws. In 1884 he caught the attention of Yamagata Aritomo who appointed him head of the police forces in Japan, despite his relative youth of 34. Kiyoura went on to serve as Vice Minister of Justice, and Minister of Justice and while at the Ministry of Justice, he helped draft the Peace Preservation Law of 1887.
In 1891, he was selected as a member of the House of Peers by Imperial nomination. A close ally of Yamagata Aritomo, he was rewarded with numerous cabinet positions, including that of Justice Minister in the second Matsukata and second Yamagata administrations, and Justice, Agriculture and Commerce ministers in the first Katsura administration.
In 1902, Kiyoura was elevated to the title of baron (danshaku) in the kazoku peerage system. He received the 1st class of the Order of the Sacred Treasures the following year, and in 1906 was awarded with the 1st class of the Order of the Rising Sun. In September 1907, his title was elevated to viscount (shishaku).
In 1914, while he was Chairman of the Privy Council, Kiyoura received an imperial order appointing him Prime Minister of Japan following Yamamoto Gonnohyōe. However, Kiyoura declined the post because of the controversy involving the ongoing Siemens scandal and Ōkuma Shigenobu was chosen to become prime minister instead.
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