In 1891, he took over Tokyo Nichinichi Shinbun (present Mainichi Shinbun) which was having management difficulties, and of which he became the third president while still being in politics; and he argued in defense of the government on the Japanese political and diplomatic fronts from the Sino-Japanese War through the Russo-Japanese war.
また、1891年（明治24年）には、経営が傾いた東京日日新聞（現在の毎日新聞）を買収、在官のまま第3代社長を勤め、日清戦争から日露戦争にいたるまでの日本の政治・外交において、政府擁護の論陣を張った。