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User:Generalissima/1890 Japanese general election

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Background

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Further information: Government of Meiji Japan
 
Emperor Meiji in 1873

Following the Meiji Restoration in 1868, Japan entered a period of social and political reform. Emperor Meiji swore the Charter Oath in May 1868, pledging to abolish the Edo class system and decide matters of state through popular assemblies. The following month, the Seitaisho, Japan's first written constitution, was instituted. The state founded the Kōgisho ('Office of Public Deliberation') to discuss political issues and submit bill for the emperor's approval. This body proved ineffective, and it was demoted to a consultative body named the Shūgiin ('Deliberative Council') in 1869. Two years later, the executive Daijō-kan was divided into left, right, and middle chambers, with the responsibilities of the Shūgiin merged into the Left Chamber. In 1873 and 1874, the left chamber formed the consultative Chihōkan Kaigi ('Assembly of Local Governors'). Some proposals were made to expand the Chihōkan Kaigi into an assembly, although these did not materialize.[1][2][3]

In 1874, politicians Itagaki Taisuke and Gotō Shōjirō formed the Aikoku Kōtō party and submitted a proposal for an elected national assembly. This led to significant public debate over the role and structure of such an institution. Elected institutions developed on a local level in some regions; local assemblies had already formed in 7 prefectures by late 1874, although most prefecture assemblies were appointed by their governors.[4][5] In 1875, a council of major political leaders, including Itagaki, held the Osaka Conference. They agreed to form a senate (the Genrōin) and a supreme court. They supported the Chihōkan Kaigi, seeing its a prototype for the future national assembly. However, these reforms did not lead to significant change; the senate was soon stripped of most of its power and placed under the control of the executive.[6]

Following scandal over the sale of Hokkaidō Colonization Office assets in 1881, the liberal-leaning statesman Ōkuma Shigenobu was removed from office. Likely seeking to dampen outrage from the growing democratic movement, the Meiji government promised the creation of a national constitution and parliament within ten years. Ōkuma formed the Rikken Kaishintō ('Constitutional Progressive Party') and begun to agitate for further democratic reforms. Protests, public disturbances, riots, and insurrections gained steam throughout the 1880s.[7]

Electoral and parliamentary system

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1926 depiction of the drafting of the Meiji Constitution

The reform movement led to the Meiji Constitution, which was promulgated on 11 February 1889. A compromise between liberal reformists and conservative elements of the bureaucracy, the constitution outlined a government rooted in imperial authority, although it allowed for the creation of a bicameral National Diet to control the state government and create laws.[7][8] The House of Peers (Kizoku-in), the upper house, was divided between the 41 noble life peers, 104 elected members from the ranks of the hereditary peers (one fifth of the total number), 61 imperial appointees, and 45 elected "high taxpayers". The House of Representatives (Shūgiin), the lower house, consisted of 300 elected members. Both houses had to approve budgets and bills for them to become law.[8]

On the same day of the promulgation of the Meiji Constitution, the emperor approved the Law of Election of the Members of the House of Representatives after consultation with the Privy Council and Genrōin. The law established 257 electoral constituencies throughout the country; the majority elected one representative to the Diet, while 43 elected two. Most constituencies exceeded the theoretically equal distribution of 120,000 residents, with an average population of 131,274. Some island constituencies had especially low populations, such as Tsushima (32,000 residents) and Oki (34,000 residents). Districts were generally drawn to follow the borders of existing subprefectures in rural areas and wards in cities. Hokkaido, Okinawa, and the Bonin Islands were not represented within the diet.[9]

Suffrage was limited to a small set of wealthy voters. Only men over 25 years of age who had resided in their prefecture for at least one year and paid at least ￥15 per year of national tax while living in the area were allowed to vote. The tax requirements barred the vast majority of men from voting; about 500,000 paid at least ￥15 per year in land tax, and about 14,000 in income tax.[10]

Campaign

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Parties

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The Rikken Kaishintō and Liberal Party were collectively termed the mintō ('people's parties') in contrast to the ritō ('government parties').[11]

Results

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About 1.13% of the general population voted in the elections.[12]


References

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  1. ^ Siniawer 2023, pp. 64–66, 69–70.
  2. ^ Kim 2008, pp. 64–65, 101–102, 115–119.
  3. ^ Mason 1969, pp. 20–21.
  4. ^ Siniawer 2023, pp. 70–71.
  5. ^ Kim 2008, pp. 116–118.
  6. ^ Kim 2008, pp. 120–125.
  7. ^ a b Siniawer 2023, pp. 76–79.
  8. ^ a b Mason 1969, pp. 1–3.
  9. ^ Mason 1969, pp. 27–28.
  10. ^ Mason 1969, pp. 28–29.
  11. ^ Siniawer 2023, p. 81.
  12. ^ Hayashida 1967, p. 21.

Bibliography

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  • Akita, George (1967). Foundations of Constitutional Government in Modern Japan, 1868-1900. Harvard University Press. doi:10.4159/harvard.9780674729391. ISBN 9780674729346.
  • Fraser, Andrew (1995). "The House of Peers (1890–1905): Structure, Groups and Role". Japan's Early Parliaments, 1890-1905: Structure, Issues and Trends. Routledge. ISBN 9781134970308.
  • Hayashida, Kazuhiro (1967). "Development of Election Law in Japan". Journal of Law and Politics. 34 (1): 51–104. doi:10.15017/1546.
  • Keene, Donald (2005). Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World, 1852–1912. Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231518116.
  • Kim, Kyu Hyun (2008). The Age of Visions and Arguments: Parliamentarianism and the National Public Sphere in Early Meiji Japan. Harvard University Asia Center. ISBN 9780674017764.
  • Mason, R. H. P. (1969). Japan's First General Election, 1890. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521071475.
  • Siniawer, Eiko Maruko (2023). "The Transformative Politics of the Meiji Revolutions". In Hein, Laura (ed.). The New Cambridge History of Japan. Vol. 3. Cambridge University Press. pp. 61–86. doi:10.1017/9781108164535.005. ISBN 9781108164535.
  • Smethurst, Richard J. (1995). "Japan's First Experiment with Democracy, 1868-1940". In Andrews, George Reid (ed.). The Social Construction of Democracy, 1870-1990. New York University Press. pp. 71–89. doi:10.1007/978-1-349-13685-8. ISBN 9781349136872.
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