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

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 ...

. It was also known as simply the Kaishintō. The Kaishintō was founded by Ōkuma Shigenobu on 16 April 1882, with the assistance of Yano Ryūsuke,

Inukai Tsuyoshi Inukai Tsuyoshi (, 4 June 1855 – 15 May 1932) was a Japanese statesman who was Prime Minister of Japan, prime minister of Japan from 1931 to his assassination in 1932. At the age of 76, Inukai was Japan's second oldest serving prime minister, ...

and Ozaki Yukio. It received financial backing by the

Mitsubishi The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries. Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group traces its origins to the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company that existed from 1870 to 194 ...

zaibatsu is a Japanese language, Japanese term referring to industrial and financial vertical integration, vertically integrated business conglomerate (company), conglomerates in the Empire of Japan, whose influence and size allowed control over signifi ...

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

constitutional monarchy Constitutional monarchy, also known as limited 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 making decisions. ...

within the framework of a

parliamentary democracy A parliamentary system, or parliamentary democracy, is a form of government where the head of government (chief executive) derives their democratic legitimacy from their ability to command the support ("confidence") of a majority of the legisl ...

. 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 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 ...

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. For example, while the political systems ...

(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 New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's la ...

.
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 Political parties in the Empire of Japan {{Japan-party-stub