The following table shows the Cabinet changes that have taken place since constitutional government was instituted:
| Premier. | Term of Office. | Yrs. | Mos. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yamagata | Dec. ’89-Apr. ’91 | 1 | 4 |
| Matsukata | May ’91-July ’92 | 1 | 2 |
| Itō | Aug. ’92-Aug. ’96 | 4 | 0 |
| Matsukata | Sept. ’96-Dec. ’97 | 1 | 3 |
| Ito | Jan. ’98-June ’98 | 0 | 5 |
| Okuma-Itagaki | June ’98-Oct. ’98 | 0 | 4 |
| Yamagata | Nov. ’98-Sept. ’00 | 1 | 10 |
| Itō | Oct. ’00-May ’01 | 0 | 7 |
| Katsura | June ’01-Dec. ’05 | 4 | 6 |
| Saionji | Jan. ’06-July ’08 | 2 | 6 |
| Katsura | July ’08-Aug. ’11 | 3 | 2 |
| Saionji | Sept. ’11-Dec. ’12 | 1 | 3 |
| Katsura | Dec. ’12-Feb. ’13 | 0 | 2 |
| Yamamoto | Feb. ’13- |
In connection with this table, we wish to call attention to the fact that the average duration of eleven Ministries is less than two years; and that the average was considerably raised by the unusual length of the two Ministries which covered the periods of the wars with China and Russia, when political rivalries were buried. It is quite probable that, if foreign wars had not occurred to unify the nation, those Ministries would not have had a duration so greatly in excess of the average, especially as, at the outbreak of the wars, party feeling was running very high. In that case the general average would have been reduced by an increase in the number of cabinets. It should also be noticed that three of these Ministries (both Matsukata and the second Itō) came to an end on account of collision with the Diet, and that four Ministries (the Kuroda, the first and third Itō, and the first party Cabinet of Ōkuma and Itagaki) were broken up by internal dissensions; and the last Katsura (February, 1913) was forced out by popular revolt.
Japan’s House of Peers
Among its 373 members only 57 sit by hereditary right; namely, 14 Princes of the Blood, 13 Princes, and 30 Marquises. Among the remaining members, 150 are elected by the Counts, Viscounts, and Barons, 121 are Imperial nominees,—that is to say, men who have earned distinction by eminent services or attainments,—and 45 represent the highest tax-payers in the prefectures.
The Political Parties of Japan[216]
The idea of popular representation in the government of Japan may be said to have had its birth with the Restoration, although some thoughtful men had been turning their minds in that direction at an earlier date. His Imperial Majesty the present Emperor, in his oath on the occasion of his succession to the throne, made known his enlightened desire that men should meet in council from all parts of the country and all affairs of state be determined in accordance with public opinion. This pronouncement may be regarded as the starting-point of the movement for parliamentary representation. The germ of the present House of Peers and House of Representatives is found in the Gi-sei, a department of the government which was organized as early as June, 1868. The Kō-gi-jō, which was opened in the following year, was representative, not of the people, but of the governing authorities in the various localities. The members of the Sa-In, which replaced the Kō-gi-jō (or Shūgi-in) in September, 1871, were nominated by the Emperor and the council of state.
The history of political parties in Japan may conveniently be divided into four periods: (1) From the Restoration up to 1882, while as yet they were in embryo; (2) from the year 1882, when they for the first time took actual shape, until 1888; (3) from the organization of the Daidō-Danketsu in 1887 until 1898; (4) the period since the amalgamation of the two strongest parties to form the constitutional party in 1898.
During the early seventies discussion went on regarding the advisability of the formation of a popular assembly. In 1874 was formed the first political society, the Aikoku-tō, or patriotic society, from which later sprang the Liberal Party (Jiyu-tō). In the previous year a division had taken place in the ranks of the higher officials of the government. The one party was composed of those who desired rapid progress in domestic matters and a vigorous foreign policy; the other desired steady progress at home and conciliation abroad. The latter party retained control of the government, and the former went into opposition. Among the most important of the radical party was Itagaki of Kōchi Prefecture. He organized the first local society, and devoted himself constantly to the attainment of his end of bringing about parliamentary institutions in the country. We thus have Kōchi, and later on Hizen, working for the extension of the power of the people, while the government was in the main conducted by Satsuma and Chōshū men.
The agitation for popular representation, although checked for a time by the Satsuma Rebellion, gained strength in 1879 and 1880, and the government became convinced that the question could not longer be postponed. On the 12th of October, 1881, the Emperor promulgated the famous ordinance in which the promise was given that a parliament should actually be established in 1890. As a preparatory measure, Itō, in company with a number of junior officials, was despatched to Europe early in 1882 to study the political systems of the West. The promise of a parliament served to give a more definite purpose to the various political associations, and the year 1882 saw the formal organization of the three parties which, under various names, have continued almost uninterruptedly to occupy the field until the present time. The Jiyu-tō was the first organized, although not the first to be properly registered as a political association.