The was a political party coalition in the

lower house A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...

of the

Diet of Japan The is the national legislature of Japan. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives (, ''Shūgiin''), and an upper house, the House of Councillors (, '' Sangiin''). Both houses are directly elected under a paralle ...

formed on March 25, 1940, with the backing of the

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...

as a reaction against a speech made by Saitō Takao, of the ''

Rikken Minseitō was one of the main political parties in pre-war Empire of Japan. It was commonly known as the ''Minseitō''. History The ''Minseitō'' was founded on 1 June 1927, by a merger of the ''Kenseikai'' and the ''Seiyu Hontō'' political parties. I ...

'' critical of the government’s aggressive policies in the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...

. page 139-150 The official establishment took measures, including setting up this group, and attempted to censor public "doubting". The speaker was censured in Parliament, and expelled from the chamber (and from his own party), to make an example. Its membership comprised a total of 250 active members in the lower house, which represented all political parties of the period. This grouping pushed for its members to be considered as "loyal" politicians in the

militarists Militarism is the belief or the desire of a government or a people that a state should maintain a strong military capability and to use it aggressively to expand national interests and/or values. It may also imply the glorification of the mili ...

cause, differing from Saitō, who was accused of being a traitor to nation and the real values of the country. The grouping published an open declaration: "We welcome the four years of sacred campaigning, in which the gallant actions of our soldiers, with the zeal and support of the people on the home front, have aimed to deliver a fatal blow to the corrupt

Chiang Kai-shek Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng and Jiang Jieshi, was a Chinese Nationalist politician, revolutionary, and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 ...

regime, and have created within the Chinese masses a sentiment in favour of Japan and desires of peace." This temporary grouping played into the hands of

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Fumimaro Konoe, whose efforts to create a

one-party state A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system, or single-party system is a type of sovereign state in which only one political party has the right to form the government, usually based on the existing constitution. All other parties ...

were buoyed by a willingness of senior leaders of the traditional political parties to dissolve their own parties into a new organization headed by Konoe, provided that he would be able to moderate the extremism of the radicals, but still satisfy the demands of the military. The League was formally disbanded on June 11, 1940.

References

Political organizations based in Japan Politics of the Empire of Japan Japanese militarism Japan in World War II Political parties established in 1940 1940 establishments in Japan {{Japan-org-stub

See also

References