The First WAKATSUKI Reijiro Cabinet and the Kenkyukai : Party Rule in Japan and the House of Peers

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to show adjustment to the party rules by the leaders of the Kenkyukai, which was a party in the House of Peers, and influence of their activities on the political situation under the first WAKATSUKI Reijiro cabinet. By passing its act of manhood suffrage in 1925, the Japanese House of Representatives received firmer legitimacy. It was expected that party-led governments would continue, but that rebutted political action by the House of Peers. In particular the members of the Kenkyukai needed their legitimacy, because they had lost legitimacy on due to their coalition with the KATO Tomosaburo cabinet and KIYOURA Keigo cabinets, which were blamed for being partyless. Then KONOE Fumimaro advocated that the House of Peers should defer to the cabinet based on a majority in the Lower House. This seemed to be adequate for recoverring their legitimacy at first glance, but it was impossible to put into practice very easily, since there was no party with an absolute majority in the House of Representatives at that time and the parties were bickering among themselves. So the leaders of the Kenkyukai tried to form a majority in the House of Representatives by stabilizing the tumult, hoping that popularity and legitimacy would result from their action. At first they supported WAKATSUKI's government and tried to make it join hands with Seiyuhonto. But they suddenly began to blame the government for its maladministration in October in 1926. The turn of the front office of Kenkyukai tipped the scale.