The idea of popular representation in the government of Japan may be said to have had its birth with the Restoration, although some thoughtful men had been turning their minds in that direction at an earlier date. His Imperial Majesty the present Emperor, in his oath on the occasion of his succession to the throne, made known his enlightened desire that men should meet in council from all parts of the country and all affairs of state be determined in accordance with public opinion. This pronouncement may be regarded as the starting-point of the movement for parliamentary representation. The germ of the present House of Peers and House of Representatives is found in the Gi-sei, a department of the government which was organized as early as June, 1868. The Kō-gi-jō, which was opened in the following year, was representative, not of the people, but of the governing authorities in the various localities. The members of the Sa-In, which replaced the Kō-gi-jō (or Shūgi-in) in September, 1871, were nominated by the Emperor and the council of state.

The history of political parties in Japan may conveniently be divided into four periods: (1) From the Restoration up to 1882, while as yet they were in embryo; (2) from the year 1882, when they for the first time took actual shape, until 1888; (3) from the organization of the Daidō-Danketsu in 1887 until 1898; (4) the period since the amalgamation of the two strongest parties to form the constitutional party in 1898.

During the early seventies discussion went on regarding the advisability of the formation of a popular assembly. In 1874 was formed the first political society, the Aikoku-tō, or patriotic society, from which later sprang the Liberal Party (Jiyu-tō). In the previous year a division had taken place in the ranks of the higher officials of the government. The one party was composed of those who desired rapid progress in domestic matters and a vigorous foreign policy; the other desired steady progress at home and conciliation abroad. The latter party retained control of the government, and the former went into opposition. Among the most important of the radical party was Itagaki of Kōchi Prefecture. He organized the first local society, and devoted himself constantly to the attainment of his end of bringing about parliamentary institutions in the country. We thus have Kōchi, and later on Hizen, working for the extension of the power of the people, while the government was in the main conducted by Satsuma and Chōshū men.

The agitation for popular representation, although checked for a time by the Satsuma Rebellion, gained strength in 1879 and 1880, and the government became convinced that the question could not longer be postponed. On the 12th of October, 1881, the Emperor promulgated the famous ordinance in which the promise was given that a parliament should actually be established in 1890. As a preparatory measure, Itō, in company with a number of junior officials, was despatched to Europe early in 1882 to study the political systems of the West. The promise of a parliament served to give a more definite purpose to the various political associations, and the year 1882 saw the formal organization of the three parties which, under various names, have continued almost uninterruptedly to occupy the field until the present time. The Jiyu-tō was the first organized, although not the first to be properly registered as a political association.

It is noticeable that the utterances of the various political parties when they first came into existence present in the main no features of a distinctive nature. All put forth excellent doctrines, but usually of extreme vagueness. The same characteristic has been noticeable throughout their history except when some temporary question of urgency has arisen. This is no doubt the reason why the grouping has constantly changed, one merging into another, and secessions occurring without apparent cause. 1883 and the following years saw a falling off in the interest in political parties,—doubtless a natural result of the over excitement which had just preceded, and of the apparent certainty of a parliament after 1890. The interest in politics and in parties revived, however, as the date assigned for the granting of the constitution approached.

Since the opening of the first Diet, the efforts of the parties have in general been directed towards the securing of control of the administration,—the establishment of parliamentary government. Except during the period of the war with China, when all party differences were for the time set aside, the parties have all been in more or less constant opposition to the government. Until within the last year or two, however, no party has possessed for any considerable length of time an absolute majority of the membership of the Lower House, sufficient to enable it to control the votes of that body. Political parties have now become a distinct power in the land which no statesman can afford entirely to neglect. From small and unruly beginnings, they have gradually progressed in influence and in organization. As by degrees they have been getting rid of their unruly and dangerous elements, and learning to a greater extent the lesson of responsibility, they have more and more gained the popular confidence. Possessing practically the power of the purse,—for in the Diet the House of Representatives has the first say as to the details of the budget presented by the government,—they have always to be reckoned with....

That there have been no distinct and well-defined party issues may be traced to the fact that feudalism gave place so suddenly to a modern state of society. The leaders of thought and those who have taken up the work of national rejuvenation have all been men of progressive tendencies. That the parties have frequently opposed the government in cases where opposition for its own sake has been the only recognizable principle cannot be denied. It must be remembered that they have all along been struggling for a share in the administration. The political parties have well illustrated the intensely democratic character of the Japanese people side by side with marked reverence for the Emperor. The desire for equality and the revolt against the controlling influence of a narrow coterie has all along been exhibited....

I217 may perhaps take this opportunity to mention two characteristics of Japanese political parties which have impressed themselves upon me in the course of my own, as yet comparatively slight, study of the politics of this country. As in so many other aspects of Japanese life, so also in politics, I think we can see a curious blending of Old Japan with the very latest and most advanced which the West has to offer. It was a remark of the most influential, if not the greatest, English political philosopher of the nineteenth century, John Stuart Mill, that, even if we could be assured that an autocrat, an all-powerful individual ruler, would govern more wisely than a popular government, we ought, nevertheless, to prefer the popular government for the educative effect which the effort to govern produces upon the people.

Now it will be found that there has been very much conscious or unconscious following of this idea in the progress of popular government in Japan. In marked contrast to the history of popular government in the West, where parliaments have been forced on the government from below for the protection of popular rights, popular representation has been granted from above in this country, and the people have grown up to it, or are in process of growing. The truth of this is not affected by the fact that contest between rival clans has been an ever controlling factor in the domestic politics of the country since Restoration days. The agitation of the parties has been not so much directed against the measures of the government as against the fact that the government is not controlled by the representatives of the people.

The element of Old Japan in the political parties is seen in the nature of political allegiance. What holds the parties together is men rather than measures. In Old Japan personal allegiance to one’s feudal lord was one of the strongest feelings of the individual, and sufficed to give a distinct character to the life of the time. The most important elements of feudalism, the political and economic organization of the society which was founded upon it, have passed away, but the sentimental part remains in the personal allegiance of men to their party leaders of to-day. What would the Seiyukai have been without Prince Itō, or the Progressive party without Count Ōkuma? No doubt other leaders would be forthcoming if these were not present, the names of the parties might be retained, but the membership would almost certainly undergo enormous changes.