Hendrik Verwoerd vs Saionji Kinmochi

Verwoerd was appointed Minister of Native Affairs in the National Party government. He oversaw the implementation of the Group Areas Act and other laws that enforced racial segregation and laid the groundwork for the apartheid system.

Verwoerd succeeded J.G. Strijdom as Prime Minister. His premiership saw the intensification of apartheid policies, including the Sharpeville massacre and the banning of the ANC and PAC, and the declaration of South Africa as a republic.

Verwoerd introduced the Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Act, which established the Bantustan system. This policy created ethnically based homelands for Black South Africans, stripping them of citizenship and political rights in the rest of South Africa.

Following the Sharpeville massacre where police killed 69 anti-pass protesters, Verwoerd's government declared a state of emergency, banned the African National Congress and Pan Africanist Congress, and arrested thousands of activists. He defended the police actions.

Verwoerd was stabbed to death by Dimitri Tsafendas, a parliamentary messenger, during a session of the House of Assembly in Cape Town. His assassination removed the chief architect of apartheid, but the system continued under his successors.

Saionji Kinmochi opposed the military's desire to continue the Russo-Japanese War beyond the Treaty of Portsmouth. He advocated for peace, arguing that Japan lacked resources for further conflict, and supported the treaty's acceptance.

Saionji Kinmochi served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1906 to 1908 and again from 1911 to 1912. He pursued moderate policies, including fiscal restraint and diplomatic cooperation with Western powers.

Saionji Kinmochi became the last surviving genro (elder statesman) after the deaths of other Meiji leaders. He advised successive emperors and tried to restrain the military's political influence, though with limited success.

Saionji Kinmochi, as the last genro, tried to prevent the military from taking control of the government during the Manchurian Incident and subsequent crises. He recommended moderate politicians as prime ministers, but his influence waned as militarism grew.