Taishō democracy

Taishō democracy was an era of expanded party politics, electoral participation, and popular movements in Japan, especially from the 1910s through the early 1930s.

Meiji Constitution: Japan’s 1889 constitution established a constitutional monarchy, an elected lower house, and a cabinet responsible to the emperor. It created the institutions and limits that party politicians sought to reshape.
House of Representatives (Japan): The House of Representatives is the elected lower chamber of Japan’s National Diet. Party competition increasingly focused on control of this chamber and its influence over cabinets.
Yoshino Sakuzō: Yoshino Sakuzō was a Japanese political scientist who advocated popular politics under the imperial constitution. His minponshugi theory became a prominent intellectual defense of broader political participation.
Peace Preservation Law: Japan’s 1925 Peace Preservation Law criminalized advocacy of changing the national polity or abolishing private property. Enacted alongside suffrage expansion, it sharply restricted radical political organizing.
Meiji oligarchy: The Meiji oligarchy was the small group of leaders who dominated Japanese government after the Meiji Restoration. Party cabinets gained ground against this older concentration of political power.
Universal male suffrage in Japan: Japan’s 1925 law enfranchised men aged 25 and older, removing property qualifications for national elections. It greatly expanded the electorate while excluding women and leaving other restrictions intact.
Hara Takashi: Hara Takashi was a Japanese politician who became prime minister in 1918 and led a cabinet centered on a political party. His career embodied the rise of party-led cabinets during the era.
Japanese militarism: Japanese militarism was the growing influence of the armed forces in politics and national policy, especially before and during World War II. Military influence and coercion narrowed the space for party politics after the era’s high point.
Hibiya incendiary incident: The Hibiya incendiary incident was a 1905 Tokyo riot over the terms ending the Russo-Japanese War. The protest demonstrated mass political mobilization before Taishō-era party expansion.
Political party: A political party is an organized group that seeks influence over government through elections and political action. Party organization became the main route for contesting cabinet power.

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