The Kokumin Kyōkai ( ja, 国民協会, lit. ''National Association'') was a political party in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

History

Led by

Saigō Jūdō Marshal-Admiral Marquis (1 June 1843 – 18 July 1902) was a Japanese politician and admiral in the Meiji period. Biography Early life Saigō was born in Shimokajiyachō, Kagoshima, the son of the ''samurai'' Saigō Kichibe of the Satsuma Domai ...

and Shinagawa Yajirō, nationalist supporters of

Matsukata Masayoshi Prince was a Japanese politician who was Prime Minister of Japan from 1891 to 1892 and 1896 to 1898. Early life Matsukata Masayoshi was born on 25 February 1835, in Arata, Kagoshima, Satsuma Province (present-day Shimoarata, Kagoshima, Kagoshi ...

and his government established the Kokumin Kyōkai in June 1892.Haruhiro Fukui (1985) ''Political parties of Asia and the Pacific'', Greenwood Press, pp575–576 The party supported the expansion of the military and industrialisation, and by early 1893 it had 68 members in the

National Diet The is the national legislature of Japan. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives (Japan), House of Representatives (, ''Shūgiin''), and an upper house, the House of Councillors (Japan), House of Councillors (, ...

. It was less supportive of the

Itō Hirobumi was a Japanese politician and statesman who served as the first Prime Minister of Japan. He was also a leading member of the ''genrō'', a group of senior statesmen that dictated Japanese policy during the Meiji era. A London-educated samur ...

government installed in August 1892, and gradually became an opposition party. The party won 35 seats in the National Diet during the March 1894 elections, but was reduced to 32 in the September 1894 elections. By 1897 defections saw it down to 23 representatives, and although it won 29 seats in the March 1898 elections, it only won 21 seats in the September 1898 elections. It was subsequently dissolved in 1899 and succeeded by the Teikokutō.

Election results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kokumin Kyokai Defunct political parties in Japan Political parties established in 1892 1892 establishments in Japan Political parties disestablished in 1899 1899 disestablishments in Japan