Liberalism, imperialism, and the development of a consumer society.
The death of Emperor Meiji in 1912 also marked the beginning of a new era in Japanese history, when Japan had abolished its unequal treaties with the Western powers and entered into a consumer society. Politics remained conservative, as only 1 per cent of Japanese were eligible to vote and most were shut out of politics. Traditional values persisted in the modern era, one example being the junshi (ritual suicide) of General Nogi Maresuke and wife following emperor Meiji. (316-7) (any one interested in the contradictions of values can read Natsuma Soseki's novel Kokoro, where he actually discussed Nogi's death.) The old confrontations between the conservative Satcho clique and the liberal elements continued, but there was greater tendency of compromise. Society continued to be marked by the juxtaposition of the old and the new, but compared with the 19th century, there was more popular support for Western values in politics and society.
Constitutional government and party politics:
In the area of politics, the weight of power gradually shifted from the genro's domination of policies to a coalition of genro and the Lower House of the Diet.
Structure of the Japanese government: Diet and cabinet directly accountable to the emperor.
The genro: advisers to the emperor, who took turns becoming the premier and forming the cabinet.
March, 1891, 171 Lower House seats were filled by party members from Kaishinto (Okuma) and Rikken Jiyuto (Itagaki). Debates in parliament over treaty revision, "relief for the people" and proposed tax increases by the genro cabinets. (McClain, 319-20)
Antiparty bias of genro, PM Kuroda in 1889 pledged support for transcendental cabinets. But a majority of party members returned after elections.
Q: Did the drafters of the constitution such as Ito expect political parties to play an important role in politics, why or why not?
Q: Do you think the ultimate sanction of political parties by the genro themselves had something to do with the structure of the Japanese government?
From anti-party to pro-party politics:
1896, Ito hired Itagaki Taisuki, the Rikken Jiyuto president, to be his home minister.
1896, Matsukata, appointed Okuma, head of the Shinpoto party, as foreign minister.
1898 Itagaki and Okuma merged into Kenseito, the constitutional party. Anticipating it to win a decisive victory in the lower house, the genro named Okuma PM. (323)
The genro's formation of parties:
1900 Ito and 111 members of the Kenseito formed the Rikken Seiyukai. Ito was initially its president, and then 1903 Saionji Kinmochi, (324) assisted by politician Hara Takashi.
In face of Ito's party, Yamagata supported Katsura Taro as his candidate for PM (1901-06) and won support of the House of Peers. (McClain, 324-5)
Seiyukai and Katsura had to compromise. and Katsura and Saionji alternated as PM till 1913.
1913 Katsura formed the rikken Doshikai (later Kenseikai 1916, and Rikken Minseito, 1927) (325)
Hara Takashi, president of Seiyukai and professional politician, now prime minister (1918) (McClain, 328).
In 1924, the Kenseikai and the Seiyukai captured almost all seats in lower house.the genro had to acquisce to the appointment of Kato Takaaki, head of the majority Kenseikai, as pm. (329)
1924-32, six men alternated as pm: each president of the Seiyukai or Kenseikai-Minseito. and party members usually held most important ministerial posts. (330)
Q: Comment on Veblen and Dewey's comments on Japanese politics (McClain, 328), with reference to the agendas of the major congressional parties (330-332).
Reinterpretation of the role of the emperor: Organ theory.
Despite its conservative reinstatement of the emperor as the seat of sovereignty, the influential organ theory of the 1920s did grant various branches of government legitimate power on their own.
Minobe Tatsukichi, professor at Tokyo University. In 1923 he argued that the state was a legal person composed of separate institutions or organs, the emperor, cabinet, Diet, bureaucracy, etc. Emperor: bearer in his person of the state's sovereignty, and the Diet: expressed the highest will of the state. (332)
International relations: peace and cooperation:
The Japanese government dominated by political parties sought to make itself a member and friend of the European countries. Despite its request for the former German colony of Shangdong Province in China (334), it abided by the decision of the Paris Peace Conference (1919) to return it to China. Japan's representative to the Washington Naval Conference (1921) and Nine power Treaty (1922) was Shidehara Kijuro, from the Kenseikai-Minseito coalition, who was bent on peace and cooperation with the West. (335)
Note that Shidehara represented the moderates. Or, one can say, diplomatically, the Kenseikai-Minseito coalition represented the moderate, pro-Western wing in Japanese politics. For now, they were in control.
Japanese imperialism (336-44):
Taiwan, south Seas Islands, Manchuria, Korea. Note how they justified colonizing Korea: bringing civilization to it.
Developing a consumer society:
In the Taisho era, Japan entered into a consumer society, which included not only the consumption of material goods, but also culture, including that propagated by journals, and the entertainment world.
Q: How do stories of Hani Motoko (347-8), and Matsui Sumako (353-6) expand our views of the lives of Japanese women in the Taisho era (1912-26)?
Q: To what extent did the Japanese society and politics change despite the initial intentions of the leaders of the Meiji Restoration? What were the limitations of change, if any?