The was a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

Empire of Japan The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of Japan, 1947 constitu ...

. It was also known as simply the Kaishintō. The Kaishintō was founded by

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 ...

on 16 April 1882, with the assistance of Yano Ryūsuke,

Inukai Tsuyoshi Inukai Tsuyoshi ( ja, 犬養毅, 4 June 1855 – 15 May 1932) was a Japanese politician, cabinet minister, and Prime Minister of Japan from 1931 to his assassination in 1932. Inukai was Japan's second oldest prime minister while serving, as he ...

and Ozaki Yukio. It received financial backing by the Mitsubishi ''

zaibatsu is a Japanese term referring to industrial and financial vertically integrated business conglomerates in the Empire of Japan, whose influence and size allowed control over significant parts of the Japanese economy from the Meiji period unt ...

,'' and had strong support from the Japanese press, and urban intellectuals. The ''Kaishintō'' pursued a moderate approach, calling for a British-style

constitutional monarchy A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...

within the framework of a

parliamentary democracy A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...

. In a speech Ōkuma gave at the inauguration of the party, he emphasized the symbolic role of the monarch in the type of government he envisioned. He also argued that those extremists who supported having the emperor directly involved in political decision-making were in fact endangering the very existence of the Imperial institution.Keene, ''Emperor Of Japan: Meiji And His World, 1852–1912'', pp. 365 In the first General Election of 1890, the ''Kaishintō'' won 46 seats to the Lower House of the Diet of Japan thus becoming the second largest party after 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 li ...

(Jiyūtō). Afterwards, the ''Kaishintō'' adopted an increasingly nationalistic foreign policy, and in March 1896 merged with several smaller nationalist parties to form the '' Shimpotō.''

Election results

Notes

References

* Jansen, Marius B. (2000). ''The Making of Modern Japan.'' Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
OCLC 44090600
* Keene, Donald. (2002). ''Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World, 1852–1912.'' New York:

Columbia University Press Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City, and affiliated with Columbia University. It is currently directed by Jennifer Crewe (2014–present) and publishes titles in the humanities and sciences, including the fiel ...

.
OCLC 46731178
* Sims, Richard L. (2001). ''Japanese Political History Since the Meiji Renovation 1868–2000''. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. ;
OCLC 45172740
Defunct political parties in Japan Political parties established in 1882 Political parties disestablished in 1896 1882 establishments in Japan 1896 disestablishments in Japan Politics of the Empire of Japan {{Japan-party-stub