After the war ended, he assumed the post of Sangi (councilor) and Kaigunkyo (Minister of the navy) and continued to modernize the navy, but he took a distance from the political circles unlike Aritomo YAMAGATA.
戦後、参議・海軍卿に就任し、海軍整備を継続したが、山縣有朋と異なり政治の世界とは一線を画した。