Government of Meiji Japan
Encyclopedia
The Government of Meiji
Japan was the government which was formed by politicians of the Satsuma Domain, Chōshū Domain and Tenno. The Meiji government was the early government of the Empire of Japan
.
Politicians of the Meiji government were known as the Meiji oligarchy
, who overthrew the Tokugawa Shogunate
.
, the leaders of the samurai
who overthrew the Tokugawa Shogun
had no clear agenda or pre-developed plan on how to run Japan. They did have a number of things in common – most were in their mid-30s, and most were from the four tozama
domains of western Japan (Chōshū, Satsuma, Tosa
and Hizen). Although from lower-ranked samurai families, they had risen to military leadership roles in their respective domains, and came from a Confucian
-based educational background which stressed loyalty and service to society. Finally, most either had first-hand experience in travel overseas, or second-hand experience through contacts with foreign advisors in Japan
. As a result, they knew of the military superiority of the western nations and of the need for Japan to unify, and to strengthen itself to avoid the colonial fate of its neighbors on the Asian continent.
However, in 1867, the country was largely a collection of semi-independent feudal domains held together by the military strength of the Satchō Alliance
, and by the prestige of the Imperial Court.
In early March 1868, while the outcome of the Boshin War
was still uncertain, the new Meiji government summoned delegates from all of the domains to Kyoto
to establish a provisional consultative national assembly. In April 1868, the Charter Oath was promulgated, in which Emperor Meiji
set out the broad general outlines for Japan's development and modernization.
Two months later, in June 1868, the Seitaisho was promulgated to establish the new administrative basis for the Meiji government. This administrative code was drafted by Fukuoka Takachika
and Soejima Taneomi
(both of whom had studied abroad and who had a liberal political outlook), and was a strange mixture of western concepts such as division of powers, and a revival of ancient structures of bureaucracy dating back to Nara period Japan. A central governmental structure, or Daijōkan, was established.
The Daijōkan had seven departments:
A separate Justice Ministry was established to create a form of separation of powers in imitation of the western countries.
In the meantime, local administration consisted of territory confiscated from the Tokugawa, which was divided into prefectures (ken) and municipalities (fu) administered from the Department of Civil Affairs, and the 273 semi-independent domains. Agents from the central government were sent to each of the domains to work towards administrative uniformity and conformation to the directives of the central government.
In early 1869, the national capital was transferred from Kyoto
to Edo
, which was renamed Tokyo
(Eastern Capital).
of Satsuma felt strong enough to effect further centralization. After merging the armies of Satsuma and Chōshū into a combined force, Ōkubo and Kido Takayoshi
convinced the daimyō of Satsuma, Chōshū, Hizen and Tosa
to surrender their domains to the emperor. Other daimyō were forced to do the same, and all were reappointed as “governors” to their respective domains, which were now treated as sub-divisions of the central government.
In the spring of 1871, Ōkubo, Kido, Inoue Kaoru
, Yamagata Aritomo
, Saigō Takamori
, Ōyama Iwao
, Sanjō Sanetomi
and Iwakura held a secret meeting during which it was decided to proceed with abolition of the han domains entirely. Later that year, all of the ex-daimyō were summoned to the Emperor, and he issued a decree converting the domains to prefectures headed by a bureaucratic appointee from the central government. The daimyō were generously pensioned off into retirement, and their castles became the local administrative centers for the central government. This decree resulted in 305 units of local administration, which were reduced to 72 prefectures and 3 municipalities by the end of the year through various mergers, so that by the end of 1871, Japan had become a fully centralized state. The transition was made gradually, so that there was no disruption to the lives of the common people, and no outbreaks of resistance or violence. The central government absorbed all of the debts and obligations of the domains, and many former officials in the domains found new employment with the central government.
In 1871, the central government supported the creation of consultative assembles at the lowest levels of government, at the town, village and county level. The membership of the prefectural assemblies was drawn from these local assemblies. And as the local assemblies only had the power of debate, and not legislation, they provided an important safety valve, without the ability to challenge the authority of the central government.
See also Abolition of the han system
(which met only once), an appointive Council of Advisors (Sangi), and eight Ministries:
Decision-making in the government was restricted to a closed oligarchy
of perhaps 20 individuals (from Satsuma, Chōshū, Tosa, Hizen and from the Imperial Court). The Home Ministry, as it appointed all prefectural governors, and controlled police apparatus was the most powerful ministry in the government, and it is noteworthy that Ōkubo left the Ministry of Finance to head the Home Ministry when it was established.
A major proponent of representative government was Itagaki Taisuke
, a powerful leader of Tosa
forces who had resigned from his Council of State position over the Korean affair
in 1873. Itagaki sought peaceful rather than rebellious means to gain a voice in government. Such movements were called The Freedom and People's Rights Movement
. He started a movement aimed at establishing a constitutional monarchy
and a national assembly
. Itagaki and others wrote the Tosa Memorial in 1874 criticizing the unbridled power of the oligarchy and calling for the immediate establishment of representative government. Dissatisfied with the pace of reform after having rejoined the Council of State in 1875, Itagaki organized his followers and other democratic proponents into the nationwide Aikokusha
(Society of Patriots) to push for representative government in 1878. In 1881, in an action for which he is best known, Itagaki helped found the Jiyūtō (Liberal Party
), which favored French political doctrines. In 1882 Ōkuma Shigenobu
established the Rikken Kaishintō
(Constitutional Progressive Party), which called for a British-style constitutional democracy. In response, government bureaucrats, local government officials, and other conservatives established the Rikken Teiseitō
(Imperial Rule Party), a pro-government party, in 1882. Numerous political demonstrations followed, some of them violent, resulting in further government political restrictions. The restrictions hindered the political parties and led to divisiveness within and among them. The Jiyūtō, which had opposed the Kaishintō, was disbanded in 1884, and Ōkuma resigned as Kaishintō president.
resulted in the reorganization of government with an independent judiciary and an appointed Council of Elders
tasked with reviewing proposals for a constitution. The emperor declared that "constitutional government shall be established in gradual stages" as he ordered the Genrōin to draft a constitution. In 1880, delegates from twenty-four prefectures held a national convention to establish the Kokkai Kisei Dōmei (League for Establishing a National Assembly).
Although the government was not opposed to parliamentary rule, confronted with the drive for "people's rights," it continued to try to control the political situation. New laws in 1875 prohibited press
criticism of the government or discussion of national laws. The Public Assembly Law (1880) severely limited public gatherings by disallowing attendance by civil servants and requiring police permission for all meetings. Within the ruling circle, however, and despite the conservative approach of the leadership, Ōkuma continued as a lone advocate of British-style government, a government with political parties and a cabinet organized by the majority party, answerable to the national assembly. He called for elections to be held by 1882 and for a national assembly to be convened by 1883; in doing so, he precipitated a political crisis that ended with an 1881 imperial rescript declaring the establishment of a national assembly in 1890 and his dismissal from government.
Rejecting the British model, Iwakura Tomomi
and other conservatives borrowed heavily from the Prussia
n constitutional system. Itō Hirobumi
, one of the Meiji oligarchy and a Chōshū native long involved in government affairs, was charged with drafting Japan's constitution
. He led a Constitutional Study Mission abroad in 1882, spending most of his time in Germany. He rejected the United States Constitution
as "too liberal" and the British system as too unwieldy and having a parliament with too much control over the monarchy; the French and Spanish models were rejected as tending toward despotism
.
peerage system with new ranks for the nobility. Five hundred persons from the old court nobility, former daimyō, samurai and commoners who had provided valuable service to the government were organized in five ranks: prince, marquis, count, viscount, and baron.
Itō was put in charge of the new Bureau for Investigation of Constitutional Systems in 1884, and the Council of State was replaced in 1885 with a cabinet
headed by Itō as prime minister
. The positions of chancellor, minister of the left
, and minister of the right
, which had existed since the seventh century as advisory positions to the emperor, were all abolished. In their place, the Privy Council
was established in 1888 to evaluate the forthcoming constitution and to advise the emperor. To further strengthen the authority of the state, the Supreme War Council
was established under the leadership of Yamagata Aritomo
a Chōshū native who has been credited with the founding of the modern Imperial Japanese Army
and was to become the first constitutional Prime Minister. The Supreme War Council developed a German-style general staff system with a chief of staff who had direct access to the emperor and who could operate independently of the army minister and civilian officials.
) provided for the Imperial Diet
(Teikoku Gikai), composed of a House of Representatives
and a House of Peers
. The House of Representatives was popularly elected with a very limited franchise of male citizens who paid 15 yen in national taxes (about 1 percent of the population) being eligible candidates. The House of Peers was composed of nobility and imperial appointees. There was also the provision for the creation of a Cabinet
composed of ministers of State directly responsible to the Emperor and independent of the legislature. Functionally, the Diet was able to approve government legislation and initiate laws, make representations to the government, and submit petitions to the Emperor.
Nevertheless, in spite of these institutional changes, sovereignty still resided in the Emperor on the basis of his divine ancestry. The new constitution specified a form of government that was still authoritarian in character, with the Emperor holding the ultimate power and only minimal concessions made to popular rights and parliamentary mechanisms. Party participation was recognized as part of the political process. The Meiji Constitution was to last as the fundamental law until 1947.
was held in 1890, and 300 members were elected to the lower house. The Jiyūtō and Kaishintō parties had been revived in anticipation of the election and together won more than half of the seats. The House of Representatives soon became the arena for disputes between the politicians and the government bureaucracy
over large issues, such as the budget, the ambiguity of the constitution on the Diet's authority, and the desire of the Diet to interpret the "will of the Emperor" versus the oligarchy's position that the cabinet and administration should "transcend" all conflicting political forces. The main leverage the Diet had was in its approval or disapproval of the budget, and it successfully wielded its authority henceforth.
In the early years of constitutional government, the strengths and weaknesses of the Meiji Constitution were revealed. A small clique of Satsuma and Chōshū elite continued to rule Japan, becoming institutionalized as an extraconstitutional body of genrō
(elder statesmen). Collectively, the genrō made decisions reserved for the Emperor, and the genrō, not the Emperor, controlled the government politically. Throughout the period, however, political problems were usually solved through compromise, and political parties gradually increased their power over the government and held an ever larger role in the political process as a result.
, there followed five years of unity, unusual cooperation, and coalition cabinets. From 1900 to 1912, the Diet and the cabinet cooperated even more directly, with political parties playing larger roles. Throughout the entire period, the old Meiji oligarchy retained ultimate control but steadily yielded power to the opposition parties. The two major figures of the period were Yamagata Aritomo
, whose long tenure (1868–1922) as a military and civil leader, including two terms as prime minister, was characterized by his intimidation of rivals and resistance to democratic procedures, and Itō Hirobumi, who was a compromiser and, although overruled by the genrō, wanted to establish a government party to control the House during his first term. When Itō returned as prime minister in 1898, he again pushed for a government party, but when Yamagata and others refused, Itō resigned. With no willing successor among the genrō, the Kenseitō
(Constitutional Party) was invited to form a cabinet under the leadership of Ōkuma and Itagaki, a major achievement in the opposition parties' competition with the genrō. This success was short-lived: the Kenseitō split into two parties, the Kenseitō led by Itagaki and the Kensei Hontō (Real Constitutional Party) led by Ōkuma, and the cabinet ended after only four months. Yamagata then returned as prime minister with the backing of the military and the bureaucracy. Despite broad support of his views on limiting constitutional government, Yamagata formed an alliance with Kenseitō. Reforms of electoral laws, an expansion of the House to 369 members, and provisions for secret ballot
s won Diet support for Yamagata's budgets and tax increases. He continued to use imperial ordinances, however, to keep the parties from fully participating in the bureaucracy and to strengthen the already independent position of the military. When Yamagata failed to offer more compromises to the Kenseitō, the alliance ended in 1900, beginning a new phase of political development.
and Saionji . The alternating of political power was an indication of the two sides' ability to cooperate and share power and helped foster the continued development of party politics.
broke out in China. The Meiji period ended with the death of the Emperor Meiji
or the end of the Xinhai Revolution (both in 1912). The beginning of the Taishō period
(1912–1926) as Crown Prince Yoshito became the new emperor (Emperor Taishō
), and the foundation of the Republic of China
.
The end of the Meiji period was marked by huge government domestic and overseas investments and military programs, nearly exhausted credit, and a lack of foreign exchange to pay debts. But, the “Meiji regime” lasted until the end of the World War II
in 1945.
The beginning of the Taishō period was marked by a political crisis that interrupted the earlier politics of compromise. When Prime Minister Saionji attempted to cut the military budget, the army minister resigned, bringing down the Seiyūkai cabinet. Both Yamagata and Saionji refused to resume office, and the genrō
were unable to find a solution. Public outrage over the military manipulation of the cabinet and the recall of Katsura for a third term led to still more demands for an end to genrō politics. Despite old guard opposition, the conservative forces formed a party of their own in 1913, the Rikken Dōshikai
(Constitutional Association of Friends), a party that won a majority in the House over the Seiyūkai in late 1914.
Meiji period
The , also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from September 1868 through July 1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan.- Meiji Restoration and the emperor :...
Japan was the government which was formed by politicians of the Satsuma Domain, Chōshū Domain and Tenno. The Meiji government was the early government of the Empire of Japan
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
.
Politicians of the Meiji government were known as the Meiji oligarchy
Meiji oligarchy
The Meiji oligarchy was the name used to describe the new ruling class of Meiji period Japan. In Japanese, the Meiji oligarchy is called the ....
, who overthrew the Tokugawa Shogunate
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...
.
Early developments
After the Meiji restorationMeiji Restoration
The , also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868...
, the leaders of the samurai
Samurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
who overthrew the Tokugawa Shogun
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...
had no clear agenda or pre-developed plan on how to run Japan. They did have a number of things in common – most were in their mid-30s, and most were from the four tozama
Tozama
A ' was a daimyo who was considered an outsider by the rulers of Japan. The term came into use in the Kamakura period and continued until the end of the Edo period.-Edo period:...
domains of western Japan (Chōshū, Satsuma, Tosa
Tosa Domain
The was a feudal domain in Tosa Province of Japan during the Edo period. Its official name is . Some from the domain played important roles in events in the late Tokugawa shogunate...
and Hizen). Although from lower-ranked samurai families, they had risen to military leadership roles in their respective domains, and came from a Confucian
Confucianism
Confucianism is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system developed from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius . Confucianism originated as an "ethical-sociopolitical teaching" during the Spring and Autumn Period, but later developed metaphysical and cosmological elements in the Han...
-based educational background which stressed loyalty and service to society. Finally, most either had first-hand experience in travel overseas, or second-hand experience through contacts with foreign advisors in Japan
O-yatoi gaikokujin
The Foreign government advisors in Meiji Japan, known in Japanese as oyatoi gaikokujin , were those foreign advisors hired by the Japanese government for their specialized knowledge to assist in the modernization of Japan at the end of the Bakufu and during the Meiji era. The term is sometimes...
. As a result, they knew of the military superiority of the western nations and of the need for Japan to unify, and to strengthen itself to avoid the colonial fate of its neighbors on the Asian continent.
However, in 1867, the country was largely a collection of semi-independent feudal domains held together by the military strength of the Satchō Alliance
Satcho Alliance
The ', or Satchō Alliance was a military alliance between the feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū formed in 1866 to combine their efforts to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan....
, and by the prestige of the Imperial Court.
In early March 1868, while the outcome of the Boshin War
Boshin War
The was a civil war in Japan, fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and those seeking to return political power to the imperial court....
was still uncertain, the new Meiji government summoned delegates from all of the domains to Kyoto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
to establish a provisional consultative national assembly. In April 1868, the Charter Oath was promulgated, in which Emperor Meiji
Emperor Meiji
The or was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, reigning from 3 February 1867 until his death...
set out the broad general outlines for Japan's development and modernization.
Two months later, in June 1868, the Seitaisho was promulgated to establish the new administrative basis for the Meiji government. This administrative code was drafted by Fukuoka Takachika
Fukuoka Takachika
Viscount was a Japanese statesman of the Meiji period.- Early life :Fukuoka was born in Tosa District in present-day Kōchi Prefecture, and served the Yamauchi daimyō of Tosa as a domain official...
and Soejima Taneomi
Soejima Taneomi
was a diplomat and statesman during early Meiji period Japan.-Biography:Soejima was born into a samurai family in Saga, in Hizen province . His father was a teacher in the domain's school and a scholar of National Learning . In 1866, Soejima was sent to Nagasaki by the domain leaders to study the...
(both of whom had studied abroad and who had a liberal political outlook), and was a strange mixture of western concepts such as division of powers, and a revival of ancient structures of bureaucracy dating back to Nara period Japan. A central governmental structure, or Daijōkan, was established.
The Daijōkan had seven departments:
- Legislative (divided into an Upper Assembly of appointed bureaucrats, and a Lower Assembly of domain representatives)
- Executive
- Shinto
- Finance
- Military
- Foreign Affairs
- Civil Affairs
A separate Justice Ministry was established to create a form of separation of powers in imitation of the western countries.
In the meantime, local administration consisted of territory confiscated from the Tokugawa, which was divided into prefectures (ken) and municipalities (fu) administered from the Department of Civil Affairs, and the 273 semi-independent domains. Agents from the central government were sent to each of the domains to work towards administrative uniformity and conformation to the directives of the central government.
In early 1869, the national capital was transferred from Kyoto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
to Edo
Edo
, also romanized as Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868...
, which was renamed Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
(Eastern Capital).
Abolition of the domains
In March 1869, the central government led by Ōkubo ToshimichiOkubo Toshimichi
, was a Japanese statesman, a samurai of Satsuma, and one of the three great nobles who led the Meiji Restoration. He is regarded as one of the main founders of modern Japan.-Early life:...
of Satsuma felt strong enough to effect further centralization. After merging the armies of Satsuma and Chōshū into a combined force, Ōkubo and Kido Takayoshi
Kido Takayoshi
, also referred as Kido Kōin was a Japanese statesman during the Late Tokugawa shogunate and the Meiji Restoration. He used the alias when he worked against the Shogun.-Early life:...
convinced the daimyō of Satsuma, Chōshū, Hizen and Tosa
Tosa Domain
The was a feudal domain in Tosa Province of Japan during the Edo period. Its official name is . Some from the domain played important roles in events in the late Tokugawa shogunate...
to surrender their domains to the emperor. Other daimyō were forced to do the same, and all were reappointed as “governors” to their respective domains, which were now treated as sub-divisions of the central government.
In the spring of 1871, Ōkubo, Kido, Inoue Kaoru
Inoue Kaoru
Count , GCMG was a member of the Meiji oligarchy during the Meiji period Empire of Japan. As one of the senior statesman in Japan during that period, he had a tremendous influence on the selection of the nation's leaders and formation of its policies.-Early years:...
, Yamagata Aritomo
Yamagata Aritomo
Field Marshal Prince , also known as Yamagata Kyōsuke, was a field marshal in the Imperial Japanese Army and twice Prime Minister of Japan. He is considered one of the architects of the military and political foundations of early modern Japan. Yamagata Aritomo can be seen as the father of Japanese...
, Saigō Takamori
Saigo Takamori
was one of the most influential samurai in Japanese history, living during the late Edo Period and early Meiji Era. He has been dubbed the last true samurai.-Early life:...
, Ōyama Iwao
Oyama Iwao
|-...
, Sanjō Sanetomi
Sanjo Sanetomi
Prince was an Imperial court noble and statesman at the time of the Meiji Restoration. He held many high-ranking offices in the Meiji government.-Biography:Born in Kyoto, Sanjō was the son of Naidaijin Sanjō Sanetsumu...
and Iwakura held a secret meeting during which it was decided to proceed with abolition of the han domains entirely. Later that year, all of the ex-daimyō were summoned to the Emperor, and he issued a decree converting the domains to prefectures headed by a bureaucratic appointee from the central government. The daimyō were generously pensioned off into retirement, and their castles became the local administrative centers for the central government. This decree resulted in 305 units of local administration, which were reduced to 72 prefectures and 3 municipalities by the end of the year through various mergers, so that by the end of 1871, Japan had become a fully centralized state. The transition was made gradually, so that there was no disruption to the lives of the common people, and no outbreaks of resistance or violence. The central government absorbed all of the debts and obligations of the domains, and many former officials in the domains found new employment with the central government.
In 1871, the central government supported the creation of consultative assembles at the lowest levels of government, at the town, village and county level. The membership of the prefectural assemblies was drawn from these local assemblies. And as the local assemblies only had the power of debate, and not legislation, they provided an important safety valve, without the ability to challenge the authority of the central government.
See also Abolition of the han system
Abolition of the han system
The was an act, in 1871, of the new Meiji government of the Empire of Japan to replace the traditional feudal domain system and to introduce centralized government authority . This process marked the culmination of the Meiji Restoration in that all daimyo were required to return their authority...
Reorganization of the central government
While the domains were being abolished and local administrative boundaries were being moved around, in August 1869, the central government itself underwent some restructuring to reinforce centralized authority. The idea of division of powers was abandoned. The new government was based on a national assemblyNational Assembly
National Assembly is either a legislature, or the lower house of a bicameral legislature in some countries. The best known National Assembly, and the first legislature to be known by this title, was that established during the French Revolution in 1789, known as the Assemblée nationale...
(which met only once), an appointive Council of Advisors (Sangi), and eight Ministries:
- Civil Affairs (Home MinistryHome Ministry (Japan)The ' was a Cabinet-level ministry established under the Meiji Constitution that managed the internal affairs of Empire of Japan from 1873-1947...
from 1873) - Foreign AffairsMinistry of Foreign Affairs (Japan)The is a cabinet level ministry of Japan responsible for the country's foreign relations.The ministry is due to the second term of the third article of the National Government Organization Act , and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Establishment Act establishes the ministry...
- FinanceMinistry of Finance (Japan)The ' is one of cabinet-level ministries of the Japanese government. The ministry was once named Ōkura-shō . The Ministry is headed by the Minister of Finance , who is a member of the Cabinet and is typically chosen from members of the Diet by the Prime Minister.The Ministry's origin was back in...
- Army
- NavyMinistry of the Navy of JapanThe was a cabinet-level ministry in the Empire of Japan charged with the administrative affairs of the Imperial Japanese Navy . It existed from 1872 to 1945.-History:...
- Imperial HouseholdImperial Household AgencyThe is a government agency of Japan in charge of the state matters concerning Japan's imperial family and also keeping the Privy Seal and the State Seal...
- JusticeMinistry of Justice (Japan)The is one of Ministries of the Japanese government.-Meiji Constitution:The Ministry of Justice was established under the Constitution of the Empire of Japan in 1871 as the .-Constitution of Japan:...
- Public WorksMinistry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (Japan)The , abbreviated MLIT, is a ministry of the Japanese government. It is responsible for one-third of all the laws and orders in Japan and the largest Japanese ministry in terms of employees, as well as the second-largest organ of the Japanese government after the Ministry of Defense...
- Education
Decision-making in the government was restricted to a closed oligarchy
Meiji oligarchy
The Meiji oligarchy was the name used to describe the new ruling class of Meiji period Japan. In Japanese, the Meiji oligarchy is called the ....
of perhaps 20 individuals (from Satsuma, Chōshū, Tosa, Hizen and from the Imperial Court). The Home Ministry, as it appointed all prefectural governors, and controlled police apparatus was the most powerful ministry in the government, and it is noteworthy that Ōkubo left the Ministry of Finance to head the Home Ministry when it was established.
Events leading to Okuma's resignation
One of the pressures on the early Meiji government was the division between those members of the oligarchy who favored some form of representative government, based on overseas models, and the more conservative faction who favored centralized, authoritarian rule.A major proponent of representative government was Itagaki Taisuke
Itagaki Taisuke
Count was a Japanese politician and leader of the , which evolved into Japan's first political party.- Early life :Itagaki Taisuke was born into a middle-ranking samurai family in Tosa Domain, , After studies in Kōchi and in Edo, he was appointed as sobayonin to Tosa daimyo Yamauchi Toyoshige,...
, a powerful leader of Tosa
Tosa Domain
The was a feudal domain in Tosa Province of Japan during the Edo period. Its official name is . Some from the domain played important roles in events in the late Tokugawa shogunate...
forces who had resigned from his Council of State position over the Korean affair
Seikanron
The Seikanron debate was a major political conflagration which occurred in Japan in 1873....
in 1873. Itagaki sought peaceful rather than rebellious means to gain a voice in government. Such movements were called The Freedom and People's Rights Movement
Freedom and People's Rights Movement
The was a Japanese political and social movement for democracy in 1880s....
. He started a movement aimed at establishing a constitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a constitution, whether it be a written, uncodified or blended constitution...
and a national assembly
National Assembly
National Assembly is either a legislature, or the lower house of a bicameral legislature in some countries. The best known National Assembly, and the first legislature to be known by this title, was that established during the French Revolution in 1789, known as the Assemblée nationale...
. Itagaki and others wrote the Tosa Memorial in 1874 criticizing the unbridled power of the oligarchy and calling for the immediate establishment of representative government. Dissatisfied with the pace of reform after having rejoined the Council of State in 1875, Itagaki organized his followers and other democratic proponents into the nationwide Aikokusha
Aikoku Koto
The ' was a political party in Meiji period Japan.The Aikoku Kōtō was formed in January 1874 by Itagaki Taisuke, Etō Shimpei, Gotō Shōjirō and others as part of the Freedom and People's Rights Movement. Its purpose was to petition the Meiji government to establish a national assembly...
(Society of Patriots) to push for representative government in 1878. In 1881, in an action for which he is best known, Itagaki helped found the Jiyūtō (Liberal Party
Liberal Party of Japan (1881)
The is the name of several liberal political parties in the history of Japan, two of which existed in the Empire of Japan prior to 1945.-Liberal Party of 1881:...
), which favored French political doctrines. In 1882 Ōkuma Shigenobu
Okuma Shigenobu
Marquis ; was a statesman in the Empire of Japan and the 8th and 17th Prime Minister of Japan...
established the Rikken Kaishintō
Rikken Kaishinto
The was a political party in Empire of Japan. It was also known as simply the ‘Kaishintō’.The Kaishintō was founded by Ōkuma Shigenobu on 16 April 1882, with the assistance of Yano Ryūsuke, Inukai Tsuyoshi and Ozaki Yukio. It received financial backing by the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, and had strong...
(Constitutional Progressive Party), which called for a British-style constitutional democracy. In response, government bureaucrats, local government officials, and other conservatives established the Rikken Teiseitō
Rikken Teiseito
The was a short-lived conservative political party in the Meiji period Empire of Japan. It was also known as simply the ‘Teiseitō’.The Teiseitō was founded in March 1882, by the editor of the Tokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbun, Fukuichi Gen'ichirō, and a number of bureaucrats and conservative journalists...
(Imperial Rule Party), a pro-government party, in 1882. Numerous political demonstrations followed, some of them violent, resulting in further government political restrictions. The restrictions hindered the political parties and led to divisiveness within and among them. The Jiyūtō, which had opposed the Kaishintō, was disbanded in 1884, and Ōkuma resigned as Kaishintō president.
Establishment of a national assembly
Government leaders, long preoccupied with violent threats to stability and the serious leadership split over the Korean affair, generally agreed that constitutional government should someday be established. Kido Takayoshi had favored a constitutional form of government since before 1874, and several proposals that provided for constitutional guarantees had been drafted. The oligarchy, however, while acknowledging the realities of political pressure, was determined to keep control. The Osaka Conference of 1875Osaka Conference of 1875
The was a meeting held by the major leaders of the Meiji Restoration in Osaka, Japan from January-February 1873 to address the issue of forming a representative assembly....
resulted in the reorganization of government with an independent judiciary and an appointed Council of Elders
Genroin
' was a national assembly in early Meiji Japan, established after the Osaka Conference of 1875. It is also referred to as the Senate of Japan, Genrōin being the word used to describe the Roman Senate, and other western legislatures named after it....
tasked with reviewing proposals for a constitution. The emperor declared that "constitutional government shall be established in gradual stages" as he ordered the Genrōin to draft a constitution. In 1880, delegates from twenty-four prefectures held a national convention to establish the Kokkai Kisei Dōmei (League for Establishing a National Assembly).
Although the government was not opposed to parliamentary rule, confronted with the drive for "people's rights," it continued to try to control the political situation. New laws in 1875 prohibited press
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
criticism of the government or discussion of national laws. The Public Assembly Law (1880) severely limited public gatherings by disallowing attendance by civil servants and requiring police permission for all meetings. Within the ruling circle, however, and despite the conservative approach of the leadership, Ōkuma continued as a lone advocate of British-style government, a government with political parties and a cabinet organized by the majority party, answerable to the national assembly. He called for elections to be held by 1882 and for a national assembly to be convened by 1883; in doing so, he precipitated a political crisis that ended with an 1881 imperial rescript declaring the establishment of a national assembly in 1890 and his dismissal from government.
Rejecting the British model, Iwakura Tomomi
Iwakura Tomomi
was a Japanese statesman in the Meiji period. The former 500 Yen banknote issued by the Bank of Japan carried his portrait.-Early life:Iwakura was born in Kyoto as the second son of a low-ranking courtier and nobleman . In 1836 he was adopted by another nobleman, , from whom he received his family...
and other conservatives borrowed heavily from the Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n constitutional system. Itō Hirobumi
Ito Hirobumi
Prince was a samurai of Chōshū domain, Japanese statesman, four time Prime Minister of Japan , genrō and Resident-General of Korea. Itō was assassinated by An Jung-geun, a Korean nationalist who was against the annexation of Korea by the Japanese Empire...
, one of the Meiji oligarchy and a Chōshū native long involved in government affairs, was charged with drafting Japan's constitution
Meiji Constitution
The ', known informally as the ', was the organic law of the Japanese empire, in force from November 29, 1890 until May 2, 1947.-Outline:...
. He led a Constitutional Study Mission abroad in 1882, spending most of his time in Germany. He rejected the United States Constitution
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
as "too liberal" and the British system as too unwieldy and having a parliament with too much control over the monarchy; the French and Spanish models were rejected as tending toward despotism
Despotism
Despotism is a form of government in which a single entity rules with absolute power. That entity may be an individual, as in an autocracy, or it may be a group, as in an oligarchy...
.
Strengthening of state authority
On Itō's return, one of the first acts of the government was to establish the kazokuKazoku
The was the hereditary peerage of the Empire of Japan that existed between 1869 and 1947.-Origins:Following the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the ancient court nobility of Kyoto regained some of its lost status...
peerage system with new ranks for the nobility. Five hundred persons from the old court nobility, former daimyō, samurai and commoners who had provided valuable service to the government were organized in five ranks: prince, marquis, count, viscount, and baron.
Itō was put in charge of the new Bureau for Investigation of Constitutional Systems in 1884, and the Council of State was replaced in 1885 with a cabinet
Cabinet of Japan
The of Japan is the executive branch of the government of Japan. It consists of the Prime Minister and up to fourteen other members, called Ministers of State. The Prime Minister is designated by the Diet, and the remaining ministers are appointed and dismissed by the Prime Minister...
headed by Itō as prime minister
Prime Minister of Japan
The is the head of government of Japan. He is appointed by the Emperor of Japan after being designated by the Diet from among its members, and must enjoy the confidence of the House of Representatives to remain in office...
. The positions of chancellor, minister of the left
Sadaijin
, most commonly translated as "Minister of the Left", was a government position in Japan in the late Nara and Heian periods. The position was consolidated in the Taihō Code of 702. The Asuka Kiyomihara Code of 689 marks the initial appearance of the Sadaijin in the context of a central...
, and minister of the right
Udaijin
Udaijin , most commonly translated as the "Minister of the Right", was a government position in Japan in the late Nara and Heian periods. The position was consolidated in the Taihō Code of 702. The Asuka Kiyomihara Code of 689 marks the initial appearance of the Udaijin in the context of a central...
, which had existed since the seventh century as advisory positions to the emperor, were all abolished. In their place, the Privy Council
Privy council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...
was established in 1888 to evaluate the forthcoming constitution and to advise the emperor. To further strengthen the authority of the state, the Supreme War Council
Supreme War Council (Japan)
The Supreme War Council was established during the development of representative government in Meiji period Japan to further strengthen the authority of the state. Its first leader was Yamagata Aritomo , a Chōshū native who has been credited with the founding of the modern Japanese army and was to...
was established under the leadership of Yamagata Aritomo
Yamagata Aritomo
Field Marshal Prince , also known as Yamagata Kyōsuke, was a field marshal in the Imperial Japanese Army and twice Prime Minister of Japan. He is considered one of the architects of the military and political foundations of early modern Japan. Yamagata Aritomo can be seen as the father of Japanese...
a Chōshū native who has been credited with the founding of the modern Imperial Japanese Army
Imperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
and was to become the first constitutional Prime Minister. The Supreme War Council developed a German-style general staff system with a chief of staff who had direct access to the emperor and who could operate independently of the army minister and civilian officials.
The Meiji Constitution
When finally granted by the Emperor as a sign of his sharing his authority and giving rights and liberties to his subjects, the 1889 Constitution of the Empire of Japan (the Meiji ConstitutionMeiji Constitution
The ', known informally as the ', was the organic law of the Japanese empire, in force from November 29, 1890 until May 2, 1947.-Outline:...
) provided for the Imperial Diet
Diet of Japan
The is Japan's bicameral legislature. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives, and an upper house, called the House of Councillors. Both houses of the Diet are directly elected under a parallel voting system. In addition to passing laws, the Diet is formally...
(Teikoku Gikai), composed of a House of Representatives
House of Representatives of Japan
The is the lower house of the Diet of Japan. The House of Councillors of Japan is the upper house.The House of Representatives has 480 members, elected for a four-year term. Of these, 180 members are elected from 11 multi-member constituencies by a party-list system of proportional representation,...
and a House of Peers
House of Peers (Japan)
The ' was the upper house of the Imperial Diet as mandated under the Constitution of the Empire of Japan ....
. The House of Representatives was popularly elected with a very limited franchise of male citizens who paid 15 yen in national taxes (about 1 percent of the population) being eligible candidates. The House of Peers was composed of nobility and imperial appointees. There was also the provision for the creation of a Cabinet
Cabinet (government)
A Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :...
composed of ministers of State directly responsible to the Emperor and independent of the legislature. Functionally, the Diet was able to approve government legislation and initiate laws, make representations to the government, and submit petitions to the Emperor.
Nevertheless, in spite of these institutional changes, sovereignty still resided in the Emperor on the basis of his divine ancestry. The new constitution specified a form of government that was still authoritarian in character, with the Emperor holding the ultimate power and only minimal concessions made to popular rights and parliamentary mechanisms. Party participation was recognized as part of the political process. The Meiji Constitution was to last as the fundamental law until 1947.
Elections and Political Power
The first national electionElections in Japan
The Japanese political system has three types of elections: general elections to the House of Representatives held every four years , elections to the House of Councillors held every three years to choose one-half of its members, and local elections held every four years for offices in prefectures,...
was held in 1890, and 300 members were elected to the lower house. The Jiyūtō and Kaishintō parties had been revived in anticipation of the election and together won more than half of the seats. The House of Representatives soon became the arena for disputes between the politicians and the government bureaucracy
Bureaucracy
A bureaucracy is an organization of non-elected officials of a governmental or organization who implement the rules, laws, and functions of their institution, and are occasionally characterized by officialism and red tape.-Weberian bureaucracy:...
over large issues, such as the budget, the ambiguity of the constitution on the Diet's authority, and the desire of the Diet to interpret the "will of the Emperor" versus the oligarchy's position that the cabinet and administration should "transcend" all conflicting political forces. The main leverage the Diet had was in its approval or disapproval of the budget, and it successfully wielded its authority henceforth.
In the early years of constitutional government, the strengths and weaknesses of the Meiji Constitution were revealed. A small clique of Satsuma and Chōshū elite continued to rule Japan, becoming institutionalized as an extraconstitutional body of genrō
Genro
was an unofficial designation given to certain retired elder Japanese statesmen, considered the "founding fathers" of modern Japan, who served as informal extraconstitutional advisors to the emperor, during the Meiji, Taishō and early Shōwa periods in Japanese history.The institution of genrō...
(elder statesmen). Collectively, the genrō made decisions reserved for the Emperor, and the genrō, not the Emperor, controlled the government politically. Throughout the period, however, political problems were usually solved through compromise, and political parties gradually increased their power over the government and held an ever larger role in the political process as a result.
Political struggles
After the bitter political rivalries between the inception of the Diet in 1890 and 1894, when the nation was unified for the war effort against ChinaFirst Sino-Japanese War
The First Sino-Japanese War was fought between Qing Dynasty China and Meiji Japan, primarily over control of Korea...
, there followed five years of unity, unusual cooperation, and coalition cabinets. From 1900 to 1912, the Diet and the cabinet cooperated even more directly, with political parties playing larger roles. Throughout the entire period, the old Meiji oligarchy retained ultimate control but steadily yielded power to the opposition parties. The two major figures of the period were Yamagata Aritomo
Yamagata Aritomo
Field Marshal Prince , also known as Yamagata Kyōsuke, was a field marshal in the Imperial Japanese Army and twice Prime Minister of Japan. He is considered one of the architects of the military and political foundations of early modern Japan. Yamagata Aritomo can be seen as the father of Japanese...
, whose long tenure (1868–1922) as a military and civil leader, including two terms as prime minister, was characterized by his intimidation of rivals and resistance to democratic procedures, and Itō Hirobumi, who was a compromiser and, although overruled by the genrō, wanted to establish a government party to control the House during his first term. When Itō returned as prime minister in 1898, he again pushed for a government party, but when Yamagata and others refused, Itō resigned. With no willing successor among the genrō, the Kenseitō
Kenseito
The was a political party in the Meiji period Empire of Japan.The Kenseitō was founded in June 1898, as a merger of the Shimpotō headed by Ōkuma Shigenobu and the Jiyūtō led by Itagaki Taisuke, with Ōkuma as party president. The merger gave the new party an overwhelming majority in the Lower House...
(Constitutional Party) was invited to form a cabinet under the leadership of Ōkuma and Itagaki, a major achievement in the opposition parties' competition with the genrō. This success was short-lived: the Kenseitō split into two parties, the Kenseitō led by Itagaki and the Kensei Hontō (Real Constitutional Party) led by Ōkuma, and the cabinet ended after only four months. Yamagata then returned as prime minister with the backing of the military and the bureaucracy. Despite broad support of his views on limiting constitutional government, Yamagata formed an alliance with Kenseitō. Reforms of electoral laws, an expansion of the House to 369 members, and provisions for secret ballot
Secret ballot
The secret ballot is a voting method in which a voter's choices in an election or a referendum are anonymous. The key aim is to ensure the voter records a sincere choice by forestalling attempts to influence the voter by intimidation or bribery. The system is one means of achieving the goal of...
s won Diet support for Yamagata's budgets and tax increases. He continued to use imperial ordinances, however, to keep the parties from fully participating in the bureaucracy and to strengthen the already independent position of the military. When Yamagata failed to offer more compromises to the Kenseitō, the alliance ended in 1900, beginning a new phase of political development.
Itō becomes Prime Minister
Itō and his protégé, Saionji Kimmochi finally succeeded in forming a progovernment party—the Kensei Seiyūkai (Association of Friends of Constitutional Government) —in September 1900, and a month later Itō became prime minister of the first Seiyūkai cabinet. The Seiyūkai held the majority of seats in the House, but Yamagata's conservative allies had the greatest influence in the House of Peers, forcing Itō to seek imperial intervention. Tiring of political infighting, Itō resigned in 1901. Thereafter, the prime ministership alternated between Yamagata's protégé, Katsura TarōKatsura Taro
Prince , was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army, politician and three-time Prime Minister of Japan.-Early life:Katsura was born into a samurai family from Hagi, Chōshū Domain...
and Saionji . The alternating of political power was an indication of the two sides' ability to cooperate and share power and helped foster the continued development of party politics.
End of the Meiji period
In 1911, Japan cleared all unequal treaties by Jutarō Komura, and the Xinhai RevolutionXinhai Revolution
The Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, also known as Revolution of 1911 or the Chinese Revolution, was a revolution that overthrew China's last imperial dynasty, the Qing , and established the Republic of China...
broke out in China. The Meiji period ended with the death of the Emperor Meiji
Emperor Meiji
The or was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, reigning from 3 February 1867 until his death...
or the end of the Xinhai Revolution (both in 1912). The beginning of the Taishō period
Taisho period
The , or Taishō era, is a period in the history of Japan dating from July 30, 1912 to December 25, 1926, coinciding with the reign of the Taishō Emperor. The health of the new emperor was weak, which prompted the shift in political power from the old oligarchic group of elder statesmen to the Diet...
(1912–1926) as Crown Prince Yoshito became the new emperor (Emperor Taishō
Emperor Taishō
The was the 123rd emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession, reigning from 30 July 1912, until his death in 1926.The Emperor’s personal name was . According to Japanese customs, the emperor has no name during his reign and is only called the Emperor...
), and the foundation of the Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
.
The end of the Meiji period was marked by huge government domestic and overseas investments and military programs, nearly exhausted credit, and a lack of foreign exchange to pay debts. But, the “Meiji regime” lasted until the end of the World War II
Surrender of Japan
The surrender of Japan in 1945 brought hostilities of World War II to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy was incapable of conducting operations and an Allied invasion of Japan was imminent...
in 1945.
The beginning of the Taishō period was marked by a political crisis that interrupted the earlier politics of compromise. When Prime Minister Saionji attempted to cut the military budget, the army minister resigned, bringing down the Seiyūkai cabinet. Both Yamagata and Saionji refused to resume office, and the genrō
Genro
was an unofficial designation given to certain retired elder Japanese statesmen, considered the "founding fathers" of modern Japan, who served as informal extraconstitutional advisors to the emperor, during the Meiji, Taishō and early Shōwa periods in Japanese history.The institution of genrō...
were unable to find a solution. Public outrage over the military manipulation of the cabinet and the recall of Katsura for a third term led to still more demands for an end to genrō politics. Despite old guard opposition, the conservative forces formed a party of their own in 1913, the Rikken Dōshikai
Rikken Doshikai
The was a political party active in the Empire of Japan in the early years of the 20th century. It was also known as simply the Dōshikai.Founded by Prime Minister Katsura Tarō on February 7, 1913, the Rikken Dōshikai largely served to support his cabinet against criticism by the Rikken Seiyūkai...
(Constitutional Association of Friends), a party that won a majority in the House over the Seiyūkai in late 1914.