The Imperial Diet: The Struggle from the Western Impact to Its Birth

2018/10/23

The two-hour journey from my home to Hiyoshi was by no means short. For the five years from entering Keio Senior High School to my second year of university, I spent most of my commuting time to Hiyoshi sleeping and reading. What excited me most were historical novels. I was particularly interested in the Bakumatsu and Meiji Restoration periods.

What was the Meiji Restoration? Why was Japan the only country in the East to succeed in rapid modernization? To seek answers to these questions, I chose the Department of Political Science in the Faculty of Law and proceeded to graduate school. However, the more I learned, the more my questions increased and deepened.

Nevertheless, through repeated trial and error, this book is what I published as an answer to those questions. In the Bakumatsu and Meiji Restoration periods, which were colored by various slogans such as "Revere the Emperor, Expel the Barbarians," "Civilization and Enlightenment," and "Enrich the Country, Strengthen the Armed Forces," the one thing consistently advocated was "Kogi" (public deliberation). Simply put, this was a demand for the expansion of political participation.

As is well known, the policy-making process during the Edo period was conducted within an extremely limited scope. However, the arrival of Commodore Perry in 1853 (Kaei 6) changed the situation completely. The "impact" of the Black Ships convinced the samurai that the time for them to play an active role had arrived. Intellectuals believed that the realization of parliamentary politics was necessary for civilization. Thus, they advocated for politics based on public deliberation, leading to the fall of the Shogunate and the birth of the Meiji government.

However, the Meiji government immediately after the Restoration intended to gradually expand the scope of political participation and prioritized the promotion of industry. On the other hand, among the public, the Freedom and People's Rights Movement, which demanded the immediate establishment of a popularly elected assembly, flourished. They engaged in a fierce "struggle," but they were the same in that both aimed for the establishment of a parliament.

In October 1881 (Meiji 14), the "Imperial Rescript on the Establishment of a National Assembly" was issued, declaring that a parliament would be established nine years later. Both then and now, there are likely few citizens who would believe a promise for nine years in the future, and few politicians who would keep it. Furthermore, at the time, it was recognized that it took nearly 200 years for parliamentary politics to take root in Western countries. However, the Meiji government kept its word. This was despite the fact that establishing a parliament would lead to the loss of their own power.

The history surrounding the birth of the Imperial Diet provides great suggestions for those of us living in the modern age. For details, please read this book.

『The Imperial Diet: The Struggle from the Western Impact to Its Birth』

Satoshi Kubota (Author)

Chuko Shinsho

288 pages, 860 yen (excluding tax)

*Affiliations and titles are as of the time this magazine was published.