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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]

The task of managing the election fell largely on prefecture governors, appointed by the Home Ministry. Subprefects, mayors, or ward administrators served as returning officers, with the polling stations themselves managed by the lowest local authority. Most constituencies established polling stations in the offices of the local wards, towns, and villages. Tokyo had 91 polling stations among its 12 constituencies; in rural areas of the metropolitan area, it used schools, temples, and charitable offices as polling stations.[10]

Qualifications

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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.[11]

Candidate qualifications were similar to voters, except with a minimum age of 35. Members of the clergy, Imperial Household Agency staff, police, judicial officer, and revenue officials were barred from running; additionally, local government officials were banned from running for seats under their own jurisdiction. Large numbers of petitions were submitted requesting clergy to be allowed to run, and some monks renounced their status in order to run. People with mental disorders, the bankrupt, active duty soldiers, the head of noble families, and those whose public rights were suspended were prevented from voting or running for office. Candidates were not subject to residency requirements, and did not need to pay an election deposit.[12]

A group of liberal politicians arrested under charges of subversion in 1887 and granted amnesty in 1889 were barred from running. Home Minister Saigō Jūdō ruled that amnesty only extended to their five year political sentence, and not their concurrent one month criminal sentence of harboring criminals; they would regain the right to vote in October 1890, several months after the election.[12]

Campaign

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In January 1889, a group of Buddhist priests and lay followers organized the Sonnō Hōbutsu Daidōdan ('Confederation for Honoring the Emperor and Revering the Buddha'), eventually incorporating 130,000 members. The society was strongly nationalist and anti-Christian. Some members, especially in areas with strong Shin presence, used violence to disrupt Christian services and prevent Christians from being elected to office. Fear of violence led to some candidates joining the society or purchasing butsudan altars to show support.[12][13]

The heads of towns and villages in Saitama Prefecture, tasked with administrating the election, actively campaigned for particular candidates. This practice was criticized by the pro-government Tokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbun.[14]

Parties and platforms

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The Rikken Kaishintō was the largest unified party. Liberals and conservatives were divided into a variety of smaller parties.

Progressives

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Liberals

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Conservatives

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During the election, the conservative movement was fractured by regional and ideological disputes, and no nationwide organization emerged. Inoue Kaoru organized the Jichi-tō ('Self-Government Party')[a] in 1888. It was mainly centered around Inoue in his political base of Yamaguchi, where he worked in coalition with Itō Hirobumi. The party never developed a fixed program; a brief attempt to assert itself in Tokyo as a spiritual successor to the Rikken Teiseitō failed, and outside of Yamaguchi it was largely used as a label for moderate conservative candidates. Other prominent regional conservative parties included the Kokken-tō ('National Rights Party') in Kumamoto and the Miyagi Seikai ('Miyagi Political Association') in Miyagi.[16]

Furthest to the right, reactionary parties saw little support among the voting base. General Tani Tateki led the Kokumin-ha ('Citizen's Faction'), an extremely very loosely organized coalition in Kōchi. General Torio Koyata organized the far-right Hoshu Chūsei Ha ('Moderate Conservative Party') in 1888, positioning itself as populist and liberal-leaning despite an ultraconservative ideology which liberalism and individualism. Both parties were promoted by the Nippon Shimbun.[17]

Independents

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Election and results

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A cartoon of various people in traditional Japanese clothing voting, under the suspicious gaze of uniformed officers
Caricature of the election by Georges Ferdinand Bigot

Polls were generally open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on 1 July. Elections were held between 15 and 30 June to allow for ballots to be transported and counted in a timely manner.[10] Boxes were placed under overnight guard and forwarded to their local government office. Votes were counted from 2 July to 3 July, with some constituencies taking until 6 July. Returning officers than reported the results to the prefectural governor, and then sent to the Minister of Home Affairs for review.[18]

About 1.13% of the general population voted in the elections.[19] The tax qualifications limited the urban vote; few residents of Tokyo owned immovable property or paid the required amount of income tax. As a result, five constituencies in Tokyo had under 300 voters, including the Tokyo Ninth Constituency, with only 182 voters. The average voter turnout per constituency for the election was 1,714. The voting population in general was heavily weighted towards rural voters.[20] Two candidates, Suzuki Jūen of Ehime Prefecture and Motoda Hajime of Ōita Prefecture were victorious in two different constituencies; they chose which constituency to represent, and the vacant seats held by-elections.[18]

The far-right parties, such as the Kokumin-ha and Hoshu Chūsei Ha, saw very little success.[21]

Aftermath

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A color illustration of the National Diet of Japan during a session.
Depiction of the first Diet by Toyohara Chikanobu

Notes

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  1. ^ Also known as the Jichi Kenkyū Kai ('Society for the Study of Self-Government')[15]

References

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  1. ^ Siniawer 2023, pp. 64–66, 69–70.
  2. ^ Kim 2007, pp. 64–65, 101–102, 115–119.
  3. ^ Mason 1969, pp. 20–21.
  4. ^ Siniawer 2023, pp. 70–71.
  5. ^ Kim 2007, pp. 116–118.
  6. ^ Kim 2007, 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. ^ a b Mason 1969, pp. 36–37, 40–41.
  11. ^ Mason 1969, p. 30.
  12. ^ a b c Mason 1969, pp. 30–35.
  13. ^ Victoria 1997, p. 18.
  14. ^ Mason 1969, pp. 36–37.
  15. ^ Mason 1969, pp. 110–112.
  16. ^ Mason 1969, p. 109.
  17. ^ Mason 1969, pp. 114–126.
  18. ^ a b Mason 1969, pp. 46–48.
  19. ^ Hayashida 1967, p. 21.
  20. ^ Mason 1969, pp. 30–31, 49.
  21. ^ Mason 1969, pp. 126–128.

Bibliography

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  • Akita, George (1962). "The Meiji Constitution in Practice: The First Diet". The Journal of Asian Studies. 22 (1): 31–46. doi:10.2307/2049907.
  • 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 (2007). 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 (2008). Ruffians, Yakuza, Nationalists: The Violent Politics of Modern Japan, 1860–1960. Cornell University Press. ISBN 9780801461859. JSTOR 10.7591/j.ctt7zhtx.
  • 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.
  • Victoria, Brian (1997). Zen at War. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9780742539273.
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