As Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal of Japan, Makino served as Emperor Hirohito's chief counselor on the monarch's position in Japanese society and policymaking.After victory in World War I, Makino was appointed to be one of Japan's ambassador plenipotentiaries to the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, headed by the elder statesman, Marquis Saionji.Over the course of his political career, he aligned his policies closely with Itō Hirobumi and later, with Saionji, and was considered one of the early leaders of the Liberalism movement in Japan.[4] After victory in World War I, Makino was appointed to be one of Japan's ambassador plenipotentiaries to the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, headed by the elder statesman, Marquis Saionji.Behind the scenes, he strove to improve Anglo-Japanese and Japanese-American relations, and he shared Saionji Kinmochi's efforts to shield the Emperor from direct involvement in political affairs.After the war, his reputation as an "old liberalist" gave him high credibility, and the politician Ichirō Hatoyama attempted to recruit him to the Liberal Party as its chairman.
Japan's delegation to the 1919 Paris Peace Conference consisting of former Foreign Minister Baron Makino (seated on the left), former Prime Minister Marquis
Saionji
(seated, center), and Japanese ambassador to Italy
Ijūin Hikokichi
(standing, left), among others.