The Kensei Hontō ( ja, 憲政本党) was a political party in Japan.

History

The party was established on 3 November 1898 following a split in the Kenseitō. Kenseitō had been formed earlier in the year by a merger of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a l ...

and Shimpotō, and it was former members of the latter that founded Kensei Hontō.Haruhiro Fukui (1985) ''Political parties of Asia and the Pacific'', Greenwood Press, pp547–548 However, 34 party members defected in 1901 over party leader

Ōkuma Shigenobu Marquess was a Japanese statesman and a prominent member of the Meiji oligarchy. He served as Prime Minister of the Empire of Japan in 1898 and from 1914 to 1916. Ōkuma was also an early advocate of Western science and culture in Japan, and ...

's support for the 4th Itō government's efforts to raise taxes to pay for expenses incurred in the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, b ...

. In the

1902 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1902. * 1902 Brazilian presidential election * 1902 Danish Landsting election * 1902 French legislative election Europe United Kingdom * 1902 Bury by-election * 1902 Cleveland by-election * 1902 Leeds ...

it won 95 of the 376 seats, finishing second to Rikken Seiyūkai, which had been formed by a merger of the remainder of the Kenseitō, several independent National Diet members, some

Teikokutō The Teikokutō (, lit. ''Empire Party'') was a political party in Japan. It was active from 1899 until 1905. History The party was established on 5 July 1899 as a successor to the Kokumin Kyōkai The Kokumin Kyōkai ( ja, 国民協会, lit. ''N ...

members, and nine members of Kensei Hontō, including Yukio Ozaki. It was reduced to 85 seats in the 1903 elections, at which point it allied with Rikken Seiyūkai to oppose the first

Katsura Tarō Prince was a Japanese politician and general of the Imperial Japanese Army who served as the Prime Minister of Japan from 1901 to 1906, from 1908 to 1911, and from 1912 to 1913. Katsura was a distinguished general of the First Sino-Japanese ...

government. It gained five seats in the 1904 elections. In 1907, Ōkuma resigned as president, and in the 1908 general elections, the party was reduced to 70 seats. In March 1910 it merged with the Mumeikei, seven National Diet members from the Boshin Club and half of the Yūshinkai to form Rikken Kokumintō.Fukui, p471

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kensei Honto Defunct political parties in Japan Political parties established in 1898 1898 establishments in Japan Political parties disestablished in 1910 1910 disestablishments in Japan