The Seiyūhontō (, lit. ''Orthodox Constitutional Friends Party'') 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 ...

. It was active from 1924 until 1927.

History

The party was established on 29 January 1924 following a split in the

Rikken Seiyūkai The was one of the main political parties in the pre-war Empire of Japan. It was also known simply as the ''Seiyūkai''. Founded on September 15, 1900, by Itō Hirobumi,David S. Spencer, "Some Thoughts on the Political Development of the Japane ...

over Prime Minister

Kiyoura Keigo Count was a Japanese politician. He was the Prime Minister of Japan in 1924, during the period which historians have called the " Taishō Democracy". Early life Kiyoura was born Ōkubo Fujaku in Kamoto, Higo Province (part of present-day ...

forming a government largely made up of members of the House of Peers. Of the 278 Diet members of Rikken Seiyūkai, 129 remained in the party, which opposed Kiyoura and 149 left to form the Seiyūhontō, which were happy to share power.Haruhiro Fukui (1985) ''Political parties of Asia and the Pacific'', Greenwood Press, pp614–615 Opposition to his government led Kiyoura to call elections in May 1924, in which the Rikken Seiyūkai was reduced to 103 seats. Although the Seiyūhontō won 111, the

Kenseikai The was a short-lived political party in the pre-war Empire of Japan. History The ''Kenseikai'' was founded on 10 October 1916, as a merger of the ''Rikken Dōshikai'' (led by Katō Takaaki), '' Chūseikai'' (led by Ozaki Yukio) and the '' K ...

emerged as the largest party, winning 151 seats; a coalition government was subsequently formed by the Kenseikai's

Katō Takaaki Count was a Japanese politician, diplomat, and Prime Minister of Japan from 1924 until his death on 28 January 1926, during the period which historians have called " Taishō Democracy". He was also known as Katō Kōmei. Early life Katō, w ...

together with Rikken Seiyūkai and the

Kakushin Club The Kakushin Club (, "Reformist Club") was a political party in Japan. History The party was established on 8 November 1922 as a merger of the Rikken Kokumintō (29 National Diet members), the Mushozoku Club (14 Diet members) and three indep ...

. After the Katō government fell in August 1925 following Rikken Seiyūkai pulling out of the coalition, Katō formed a new government with the Seiyūhontō. This led to a breakaway from the party by members opposed to its cooperation, who formed the Dōkōkai, reducing Seiyūhontō to 87 seats. The party joined the government of

Wakatsuki Reijirō Baron was a Japanese politician and Prime Minister of Japan. Early life Wakatsuki Reijirō was born on 21 March 1866, in Matsue, Izumo Province (present day Shimane Prefecture), the second son of samurai foot soldier (''ashigaru'') Okumura Se ...

when he succeeded Katō as Prime Minister in 1926, but the coalition collapsed due to a dispute over positions in the cabinet. In June 1927 the party merged with Kenseikei to form

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 ...

Election results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seiyuhonto Defunct political parties in Japan Political parties established in 1924 1924 establishments in Japan Political parties disestablished in 1927 1927 disestablishments in Japan