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the latter usually refers them to the special machinery under him.
The Foreign Office is called in Japanese Gwai-mu-sho, and is divided into three sections, namely, the General Section, the Political Section, and the Commercial Section. The General Section is again divided into seven subsections for personnel, telegrams, comptabilité, correspondence, records, translation, and legal questions, and its chief takes the place of the former Vice-Minister, which office does not exist in the present organization. The change of the Minister of Foreign Affairs generally carries with it the change of the chief of the General Section, but not necessarily the chiefs of the other sections. All the chiefs are special High Commissioners, though sometimes Ministers Resident are nominated to the post. Secretaries and councillors, all ordinary commissioners, make up the staff of each section, together with a varying number of ‘élève-diplomats’ as attachés. Besides the three sections, and co-ordinate with them, is the Cabinet of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, with a chief and the Minister’s confidential secretaries, who take charge of the confidential correspondence of the Minister, and such special affairs as the latter might choose to confide in them from time to time.
The appropriation for the Foreign Office has to be voted by the Diet, as also those of all the Ministerial departments; but the system of forcing the Foreign Secretary to state his policy regarding pending diplomatic questions, as in England and other countries on the occasion of Budget deliberations, has not yet begun, or cannot begin in Japan, on account of the article of the Constitution cited above. There is another article in the same Constitution which prevents either House to strike out or decrease, without the consent of the Government, fixed expenses—i.e., expenses once voted in the last Budget for the exercise of the Imperial prerogatives.
Japan has only three classes of diplomatic agents at present, namely, Ministers Plenipotentiary, Ministers Resident, and Chargés d’Affaires. No Ambassadors exist permanently, though on rare occasions Ambassadors are sent out on special missions. Likewise there are at present no foreign Ambassadors sent to Japan for permanent representation. A Chargé d’Affaires was formerly envoyed to Corea, but now the post has been raised to that of a Minister Resident. Ministers Resident are also accredited to Siam and the Republics of South America, but to all other States of Europe and America Ministers Plenipotentiary are sent. They are both special High Commissioners, and though theoretically the post is open to anybody, yet of late years the custom has grown up that only those that have gone through a regular diplomatic career either at home or in the Legations abroad, can aspire