The was a

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

in the

Meiji period The was an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonizatio ...

Empire of Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...

History

The ''Kenseitō'' was founded in June 1898, as a merger of the

Shimpotō was a short-lived political party in Meiji period Japan. History The Shimpotō was founded by Ōkuma Shigenobu in March 1896, as a merger of the Rikken Kaishintō and minor political parties to offset a temporary alliance between Ōkuma's riva ...

headed by

Ōkuma Shigenobu Marquess was a Japanese politician who served as the prime minister of Japan in 1898, and from 1914 to 1916. Born in the Saga Domain, Ōkuma was appointed minister of finance soon after the Meiji Restoration of 1868, aided by his friendship w ...

and 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. For example, while the political systems ...

(Jiyūtō) led by

Itagaki Taisuke Kazoku, Count Itagaki Taisuke (板垣退助, 21 May 1837 – 16 July 1919) was a Japanese samurai, politician, and leader of the Freedom and People's Rights Movement (自由民権運動, ''Jiyū Minken Undō''), which evolved into Japan's firs ...

, with Ōkuma as party president. The merger gave the new party an overwhelming majority in the

Lower House A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...

of the

Diet of Japan , transcription_name = ''Kokkai'' , legislature = 215th Session of the National Diet , coa_pic = Flag of Japan.svg , house_type = Bicameral , houses = , foundation=29 November 1890(), leader1_type ...

; the two parties had won 208 seats in the March 1898 elections. After the collapse of the Itō administration, Ōkuma became

Prime Minister of Japan The is the head of government of Japan. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Japan and has the ability to select and dismiss its ministers of state. The prime minister also serves as the commander-in-chief of the Japan Self-Defense Force ...

, despite concerns by

Yamagata Aritomo Prince was a Japanese politician and general who served as prime minister of Japan from 1889 to 1891, and from 1898 to 1900. He was also a leading member of the '' genrō'', a group of senior courtiers and statesmen who dominated the politics ...

and other members of the

Meiji oligarchy The Meiji oligarchy was the new ruling class of Meiji period Japan. In Japanese, the Meiji oligarchy is called the . The members of this class were adherents of '' kokugaku'' and believed they were the creators of a new order as grand as that e ...

and ''

genrō was an unofficial designation given to a generation of elder Japanese statesmen, all born in the 1830s and 1840s, who served as informal extraconstitutional advisors to the emperor during the Meiji, Taishō, and early Shōwa eras of Japan ...

'' that this would result in a dilution of their authority.Sims. ''Japanese Political History Since the Meiji Renovation''. page 81 One of Ōkuma's first acts as prime minister was to pass much-needed fiscal retrenchment legislation, trimming the number of bureaucrats on the government payroll. However, he was unable to curtail spending for the post-

First Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 189417 April 1895), or the First China–Japan War, was a conflict between the Qing dynasty of China and the Empire of Japan primarily over influence in Joseon, Korea. In Chinese it is commonly known as th ...

military expansion program he inherited from the Itō administration. During the August 1898 general election, the ''Kenseitō'' won 260 out of 300 seats contested; however, the party soon collapsed. Members of the former ''Jiyūtō'' felt that Ōkuma did not distribute the cabinet seats in fair proportion to their party, and joined with Yamagata Aritomo and other conservative elements in the Diet to criticize

Minister of Education An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...

Ozaki Yukio was a Japanese politician of liberal signature, born in modern-day Sagamihara, Kanagawa. Ozaki served in the House of Representatives of the Japanese Diet for 63 years (1890–1953). He is still revered in Japan as the "God of constitutional ...

for a speech which they felt promoted

republicanism Republicanism is a political ideology that encompasses a range of ideas from civic virtue, political participation, harms of corruption, positives of mixed constitution, rule of law, and others. Historically, it emphasizes the idea of self ...

. Following Ozaki's resignation, the former ''Jiyūtō'' faction continued to attack the government until Ōkuma's cabinet disintegrated. The former ''Jiyūtō'' faction reorganized itself into the New Kenseitō in November 1898 with Itagaki as its president, whilst the former Shimpotō members formed

Kensei Hontō Kensei Hontō () 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 and Shimpotō, and it was f ...

. The reformed party allied itself with the new government led by Yamagata, and pushed for land tax reform and expansion of

suffrage Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

. The New Kenseitō joined Itō Hirobumi's ''

Rikken Seiyūkai The was one of the main political party, 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 Devel ...

'' in 1900.

Election results

References

*Banno, Junji, ''The Establishment of The Japanese Constitutional System''. Routledge (1995) *

Notes

{{Authority control Defunct political parties in Japan Political parties established in 1898 1898 establishments in Japan Political parties in the Empire of Japan Political parties disestablished in 1900 1900 disestablishments in Japan