Kenseikai
| Kenseikai | |||
| 憲政 会 | |||
| Constitutional Association | |||
| Party presidency ( sōsai) |
Katō Takaaki Wakatsuki Reijirō |
||
| founding | October 10, 1916 | ||
| resolution | June 27, 1927 | ||
| Headquarters | Tokyo | ||
The Kenseikai ( Japanese 憲政 会 English Constitutional Association ) was a political party in Japan in the period before the Second World War .
The Kenseikai was founded on October 10, 1916 as a merger of the Rikken Dōshikai (under Katō Takaaki ), Chūseikai (under Ozaki Yukio ) and the Kōyū Club (a small opposition group). Under the leadership of Katō Takaaki, the new party came to an agreement by opposing the policies of the ruling Rikken Seiyūkai under Prime Minister Ōkuma Shigenobu . The party was financially supported by Mitsubishi Zaibatsu , due to family ties with Katō Takaaki. The party leaders included Hamaguchi Osachi and Adachi Kenzō . The merger brought the Kenseikai a total of 198 seats in the House of Representatives of the Japanese Parliament and thus a majority, and it was expected that Katō Takaaki would become the next Prime Minister.
However, the position of Prime Minister was a direct appointment by the Japanese Emperor on the recommendation of the Genrō . Unexpectedly, however, the Genrō recommended General Terauchi Masatake instead . In protest, the Kenseikai initiated a vote of no confidence , whereupon the House of Representatives was dissolved and led to the political isolation of the Kenseikai for almost a decade. During its time in opposition, the Kenseikai firmly opposed Siberian intervention and pushed for more rights for trade unions .
In the parliamentary elections in 1924, the Kenseikai reached 150 seats, making it the largest single party in the House of Representatives, albeit without a majority. Katō agreed to form a coalition government with the Rikken Seiyukai (led by Takahashi Korekiyo ) which had 100 seats and the Kakushin Club (led by Inukai Tsuyoshi ) which had 30 seats. This coalition of three ( Goken Sampa Naikaku ) was the first ruling coalition in Japanese history and its majority focused on domestic reforms and moderate foreign policy.
The Kenseikai increasingly pushed for rule under the Meiji Constitution , without influence or control by the Genrō. She also advocated universal male suffrage (which led to the Universal Electoral Law) and reforms in labor law and agriculture. Despite its liberal image, however, the coalition passed the Peacekeeping Act in 1925 .
After Katō's death, the party was led by Wakatsuki Reijirō , but his cabinet could not survive the financial crisis of Shōwa in 1927. The party merged in June of the same year with the Seiyū Hontō to the Rikken Minseitō .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Sheldon Garon: The State and Labor in Modern Japan . Palgrave Macmillan, 2001, ISBN 0-312-23915-7 , pp. 63-65 .
