Sub-Module 1: Japanese Government and Politics (1) - Pre- -

1. Historical Backdrop to Japanese Modernization

1-1 Tokugawa Japan Japan was a closed country from the early part of the 17th Century to 1868, historic periods now referred to as either the Edo or Tokugawa Eras. During these times, no Japanese were allowed to leave the country, while no foreigners except the Chinese and the Dutch were permitted to visit Japan. Although extremely isolated, the country remained vigorous and active, and in fact this era generated several significant factors conducive to Japan’s subsequent political and economic modernization, which began around 1868.

2. Major Contributing Factors to Japan’s Modern Nation Building

2-1 The Growth of Semi-Government Officials during the Tokugawa Regime

(1) Outline of Tokugawa Japan From 1603 to 1868, Japan was ruled by the , which held the real power: the Emperor was a nominal figure residing in Kyoto. Under these two sovereigns, the country was divided into more than 270 fiefs called Han, each semi-independent and ruled by a lord or Daimyo. The Daimyo maintained groups of retainers designated as , professional soldiers who served the lord as protective warriors, and constantly practiced swordsmanship in preparation for any contingencies, including war.

(2) Tokugawa Society Society in Tokugawa Japan was strictly structured into rigid hierarchical social strata. At the top of the social order sat the Samurai class, the societal leaders in the different fiefs. Below them were farmers and artisans, with the merchant class at the bottom. This stratified social structure lasted to 1868 and engendered a slogan still popular today: “Public Revered, Private Despised.” Even now, public officials are frequently respected much more than those in the private sector.

(3) Transformation of the Function of Samurai The role and function of the Samurai underwent a radical transformation during the Tokugawa

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period, however. Because the country was isolated from the rest of the world, Japan enjoyed peace for more than 250 years, an era in which the country had no wars from within or without. Consequently, the Samurai warrior function decreased, and they began instead to perform functions similar to those of public officials in contemporary government. They developed into the fiefdom's caretakers, looking after general management and finances. By the time the Tokugawa regime collapsed in 1868, the country possessed a large cohort of semi-public officials, who served as bureaucrats in the subsequent Meiji government.

2-2 The Growth of General Education in the Tokugawa Period

(1) Education as an Important Aspect of Modern State Building Education is an essential ingredient in the process of nation-building. With a largely well-educated public, a country can transform itself from a traditional society to a modern state. In this regard, too, the Tokugawa period played a significant role, as during this era, the Japanese public became increasingly educated, which subsequently helped to facilitate the modernization process that occurred during the Meiji period. The expansion of education during Tokugawa Japan was integral to the economic growth of the period.

(2) Two Economic Systems in Tokugawa Japan There were two different economies under the Tokugawa regime. The Samurai economy was based on rice, and Samurai were paid in kind, while merchants used a different economic system, based on money. The rice-based economy presented a problem for the Samurai: as with any agricultural product, rice production was unstable, weather-dependent, and could only increase in a piecemeal fashion. Given these drawbacks, the Samurai’ stipends increased only incrementally, if at all. The more fluid money economy, however, fluctuated, could go up or down in a given period of time, and responded to inflation.

(3) Unemployed Samurai and the Growth of Terakoya Education Although the Samurai enjoyed higher social status and prestige than the merchant class, they were frequently impoverished, while the merchant class prospered. Many fiefdoms tried to rectify this problem by terminating large numbers of the Samurai, leading to the rise of the Ronin (Samurai without lords) in Tokugawa Japan. Often, unemployed Samurai started schools in neighborhood temples. In these “Temple Schools” (Terakoya), the Ronin taught reading, writing, and simple calculation by abacus to the sons and daughters of the farmer and merchant classes. Subsequently, by the time the Meiji Era came into being, Japan had a large number of literate citizens; according to one estimate, the literacy rate by the end of the Edo era was over 30%, surpassing any other country of the time. This important factor contributed to the rapid

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modernization of Japan after 1868.

2-3 The Development of Civic Culture during the Tokugawa Era

(1) Austere Samurai Ethics and Social Conduct Because the Samurai class was not prosperous, the Tokugawa government adjured them to live frugally and simply, and the resulting culture of austerity was later instrumental in Japan’s modernization. In 1615, the Tokugawa regime enacted “The Samurai Code of Ethics," based on strict moral precepts such as working hard and avoiding extravagance. The code provided the foundation for the major ethical principles of the Samurai class during the period, and although it underwent several revisions, the central precepts remained unchanged, and had a long-lasting impact on the civil culture of Japan.

(2) Expansion of Samurai Code of Social Conduct During the Tokugawa period, the Samurai code of ethics began to permeate throughout society, as farmers and merchants began to follow it. This meme of hard work and avoidance of excess has been an important part of Japanese civil culture ever since. Even today, the Japanese are noted for a high propensity to work hard and save. Because of this cultural by-product of Tokugawa Japan, when the Meiji government initiated modernization of the country, it did not borrow money from foreign capitals, and practically financed various measures themselves.

(3) Two Faces of Nationalism Another significant cultural aspect that developed during Tokugawa Japan was the rise of nationalism. Often nationalism was presented as a sense of national mission, and leaders in pre- war Japan repeatedly used it to rally the general public to support colonizing other regions or countries. Thus, nationalism was used to justify the Japanese invasion of China and other Asian countries as part of Japan's national destiny. It was stated that it was Japan's "mission" to colonize Korea and Taiwan. As often as not, nationalism was used by Japan’s pre-war administrations to justify wrongdoing in international affairs.

(4) Nationalism as a Mechanism for Modern State Building There is another important dimension to nationalism, however. History attests that nationalism is the glue that keeps a country together: without it, a modern state would be more likely to disintegrate and perish. In order to survive as a unified entity, the country must develop a feeling of attachment and commitment to the nation in its citizens. A lack of nationalism has been a problem in many developing regions, where narrow tribalism and ethnic identification predominate, resulting in local schisms and regional strife. For this reason, many countries in developing regions

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urge the growth of nationalism.

(5) Dual Sovereigns and Continuing Source of Legitimacy Unlike China, Japan did not have a historical dynastic cycle. For better or worse, the imperial system remained the constant and critical source of legitimacy. Under the prolonged imperial system, Japan witnessed many regimes change hands. Governments came and went, although the Emperor as an institution remained undisturbed. Under this arrangement, during Tokugawa Japan, real power rested in the hands of the Shogunate who resided in Edo (currently Tokyo). Nonetheless, the Tokugawa sent consecutive missions to Kyoto, to legitimatize their government. Although largely nominal, therefore, the Emperor continued as an important symbol and the ultimate object of Japanese respect and awe.

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3. Meiji Japan and Political Development

3-1 and Young Leaders The Meiji Restoration of 1868 marked the end of the Tokugawa government, and the reins of power were once again returned to the emperor. The restoration was fashioned by approximately 20 young lower ranking Samurai from regions far from Tokyo. A substantial number of them came from southwestern Japan, especially from the Satsuma, Tosa, Choshu, and Hizen clans. Naturally then, many of the early leaders of Japan during the Meiji era came from these domains. The Samurai from these ‘big four’ clans were capable and progressive. They also knew and trusted each other—both of which were important criteria for high office in the quasi-revolutionary environment that prevailed at that time.

Originally, they were against the Tokugawa policy of opening up Japan; their cry was to honor the emperor and expel barbarians. Once exposed to British and French powers, however, they changed their outlook, eventually believing in honoring the emperor and opening up the country. These few young radicals eventually became known as Genro or Elder Statesmen, and were the brainchild of modern Japan. They ruled the country to approximately 1910 before the last of them died from old age. While in power, they introduced many measures to modernize Japanese traditional systems. Often criticized for their undemocratic manner and management style, they nevertheless led the country to become a modern society.

3-2 Exposure to Western Learning

(1) Three National Objectives and Helping Hands from Overseas In very early Meiji Japan, the government coined three expressions to define the ultimate national design for Japan: 1) Creating a Prosperous Country with a Strong Army; 2) Enlarging Cultural Enlightenment of the Japanese; and 3) Promoting Industrialization and Expansion of Production. These national goals being set, the Meiji government invited many foreign scholars to the country to help Japanese modernization in their different fields of expertise. These foreigners, primarily from the United Kingdom, France, and the United States, totaled more than 500 by the 1870s. They contributed to starting many government offices including the Ministry of Engineering, and educational institutions such as the University of Tokyo. Their numbers began to dwindle, however, and by 1892 only 130 remained in Japan.

(2) Sending Students Overseas One of the major reasons for the decline of foreign scholars was the increased number of Japanese students returning from studying in either Europe or the United States. Once repatriated, they

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began to replace these foreign experts. In fact, the Meiji government made deliberate efforts to send young able students overseas. As early as 1871, a total of 60 students (including five females) were sent abroad to absorb Western learning, and their number increased to more than 5,000 by the turn of the century. Some went to Europe to learn constitutional laws, others studied engineering and chemistry, and still others went to the United States to master agriculture, economics, and even philosophy.

Box 1-1. Boys! Be Ambitious! There is an interesting anecdote from this time. W. S. Clark from Amherst College came to Japan in 1876, and was involved in erecting an agricultural college in Sapporo, Hokkaido. A year later, as he was about to leave Sapporo, it is claimed that he said, “Boys! Be ambitious!!” This utterance was translated into Japanese as “Boys! Have dreams and strive to achieve these goals.” Although misinterpreted, Clark’s remark inspired many young Japanese. Some of them left for the US to study and later became leading intellectuals in Meiji Japan. One of them, Inazo Nitobe, was a student when Clark came to Sapporo. Once finished college in Japan, he went to Johns Hopkins University and became the first Japanese to obtain a Ph.D. in agriculture. He subsequently became Deputy Secretary General in the League of Nations in 1920 for six years before his death in Vancouver, Canada.

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4. Introduction of Western Systems to Japan

4-1 The Rise of the New Social Order The Meiji government tried to eliminate any remnants of the Tokugawa legacies as quickly as possible, and to replace them with those of Western ideas and technologies. In 1871, the leaders eliminated both the old fiefs and the highly structured social system, including the Samurai class. As a result, 93.4% of the population became commoners, with equal social rights and privileges. In Meiji Japan, the government paid close attention to the development of general education, considering it to be inextricable from the country’s modernization. In 1872, a new education system was put into effect, and with six years of compulsory elementary school, children were taught the new social order and exposed to Western cultures. In addition, every morning in the school yard, they marched in goose-step, as if in military drill. Discipline was the essence of Japan's pre-war education.

4-2 and Conscripted Army As noted earlier, during the Meiji period, those of the Samurai class, the past ruling elite, lost their status and other social privileges. The government paid off these former elites; however, their dissatisfaction with the system persisted and grew. Many of them joined forces and staged civil wars against the Meiji government. In response, the government put a general conscription into effect in 1873, and for the first time, Japan developed a modern military made up of the sons of non-Samurai farmers and merchants. The final showdown, called the Satsuma Rebellion, occurred in 1877, when the anti-government Samurai forces fought against the conscripted army, and were overwhelmingly defeated.

4-3 Liberty and People’s Right Movement Following their military defeat, the Samurai began to express their discontent differently: political protest against the Meiji leaders became popular. The dissatisfied group increasingly voiced demands that the government enact a modern constitution and open a national legislature. At one point in Meiji history, this political protest spread throughout Japan, and developed into a real threat to the Meiji government. In many regions, former Samurai joined hands with tax-stricken sake brewers. Together, they orchestrated anti-government rallies, which later came to be known as the “Liberty and People’s Right Movement.” Regarded as the first democratic movement in Japanese history, it eventually became the seedbed for the two-party system of government from 1900 to 1931.

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5. Creation and Lucid Features of the Meiji Government

5-1 Outlook of Political Environments As Samurai discontent increased, the Meiji leaders debated and deliberated over methods to pacify the anti-government movement, as well as engineering solutions to other nagging issues. In addition to the mounting criticisms against government, they had another serious problem to consider: in their view, foreign threats to Japan looked real and eminent. By the middle of 19th century, as one Asian country after another (including China) fell victim to Western imperialism, the Meiji oligarchy thought that Japan would be next. In order to avoid such an eventuality, they believed that they must maintain their political power. At the same time as they strove to maintain group solidarity and harmony among the Meiji leaders, they felt that in light of the growing anti- government campaign, a minimal representation of the disgruntled groups was inevitable and should be guaranteed in the Lower House. These recognitions led to the unique and yet unstable Japanese political system, which lasted until the end of WWII.

5-2 Adaptation of the Meiji System of Government The Meiji leaders adopted a Cabinet Form of Government (Naikaku Seido) in 1885, and also implemented a in 1889. The introduction of a new Meiji Constitution, however, took the form of an imperial edict in which a Benevolent Meiji Emperor handed down the law to the Japanese people. The new constitutional arrangement provided two houses: the House of Representatives (elective), and the House of Peers (appointive). As far as the Lower House, i.e., the House of Representatives was concerned, the law permitted only Japanese males aged 25 years or more, with a national tax liability of more than ¥15, to vote which meant that less than 1% of the 40 million population were enfranchised. They voted to elect 300 seats in the Lower House for the first time in 1890.

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6. Basic Framework of the Meiji Government

In the Meiji Constitution, the emperor was omnipotent - the final and absolute authority in all matters of national power and legitimacy. The prime minister was appointed by the emperor with the recommendation of Genro.

Once appointed, the prime minister could form a cabinet, but the ministers in the cabinet had to be approved and appointed by the emperor. The prime minister did not possess the authority to fire or replace his cabinet members, even those who were inimical to his political interests. Therefore, under the Meiji Constitution the prime minister was "prime" in name only, and was really only a nominal leader, with no more power than other cabinet ministers. In fact, the Meiji government was structured in such a way that no one could gain either political prominence or command of government, as the oligarchy wanted to maintain group solidarity and harmony.

7. Introduction of Local Government System to Japan

7-1 Origination of Local Government System during Meiji Japan The Meiji oligarchy felt that an elaborate network of local governments would act as their "legs and arms," that a web of local governments would consolidate their bases of power, and help uphold their reign of authority. The major architect of local government development in Japan was Aritomo Yamagata, known for his iron fist, and reputed as the founding father of the Japanese army. In 1888, a year prior to the enactment of the Meiji constitution, Yamagata decided to develop a system of local governments. He accomplished this through an imperial edict, by which the government designated several regions as cities. Initially, 39 areas were so denominated, including Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka.

7-2 Working of Japanese Local Governments during Meiji For the first ten years after 1888, Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto received different treatment from the central government in their political arrangements. Other cities had an appointive mayor, but these cities had no chief executive, and were directly controlled by the national government. One of the main reasons for this specific arrangement was the fact that Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto harbored many anti-Meiji government groups, and were, in fact, citadels of government opposition. However, in 1898, as anti-government campaigns subsided, the central government changed the rule and allowed these municipalities to have the same appointive mayor as other regions.

Initially, the Ministry of Home Affairs nominated the mayors. Later, city councils recommended

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three names as candidates, from which the Home Affairs Ministry picked one and made him chief executive of the cities. Not until 1925 could the city council electe a mayor from members of the city chamber. In the pre-war period, city councils tended to have more power than the mayor, because the local legislature had a say in choosing the mayor, who served at the pleasure of the council. Further, as in France, city council members could concomitantly serve as members of the national House of Representatives. These joint appointments were often the cause of graft and malfeasance: city governments in pre-war Japan left much to be desired in terms of clean and good government.

7-3 The First Local Government Election: The Case in Tokyo In 1889, Tokyo conducted its first local election for council members. Voter eligibility was predicated on the amount of local tax one paid: voters were classified into three different categories. Those who fell in the first track were the highest tax bearers. The second were the moderate, while the third were the lowest tax payers. Those who paid more than ¥2 qualified as “Public Residents” (Komin); those who were disqualified were labeled “Residents” (Jumin).

In the case of Tokyo, in 1889 there were 60 seats for city council. This number was divided by three and 20 each were then assigned to the three different groups of taxpayers. There were 379 Class One voters, who selected 20 city council seats, 1,492 Class Two voters, who selected an additional 20 members, and finally, the 7,806 Class Three electors were responsible for choosing the last 20 seats. Under this system, the first local election in Japan excluded the have-nots and was relevant only to those who had property. Nevertheless, it is important to note that, however defective, Japan started local democracy as early as 1889. Since then, local elections have undergone several major reforms. In 1925, voting rights were extended to all males 25 years old and over and local contests, accommodating these changes, developed into even more democratic forms.

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Box 1-2. Ginza Renovation Project Meiji leaders considered local government very important, holding that modernization of the country depended on the growth of metropolitan areas. In their opinion, urban centers such as Paris and London reflected the power of France and the United Kingdom. They therefore wanted to remake Tokyo as a capital city with national prestige and power. In 1873, the government started to refurbish Ginza, a central section of Tokyo, with red brick buildings. Initially, bricks were imported from Shanghai, then later a man close to the government, Yataro Iwasaki, was commissioned to produce bricks in Fukagawa part of Tokyo. (Accumulating a fortune in this trade, Iwasaki opened a firm which later grew to become the giant Mitsubishi Corporation.) For ten years, the government renewed Ginza with brick buildings; however, not many Japanese were interested in living in these modern structures, and rumors circulated that the brick construction would inflict tuberculosis on residents. To calm people down, the government sent marching bands to the area to play every night. The Meiji leaders hoped that Western marching bands would help to abate public anxiety about living conditions in the brick buildings. As it turned out, the project was a complete failure, and was terminated in ten years.

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8. Transformation of the Meiji System of Government

8-1 Expansion of Political Development and the Rise and Fall of Taisho Democracy in Japan

(1) Party Politics The architects of Meiji Japan, Genro, the cohort of Elder Statesmen, retired and disappeared from Japanese politics by 1910. After their passing, Japanese politics began to take on another distinctive trend. Instead of the limited number of Elder Statesmen, political parties increased in importance, and by the turn of the century, political parties penetrated leading elite groups, trying to make party members out of bureaucrats, the military, and zaibatsu. Via political parties, then, the Meiji system of government held together, with party politicians the common glue that kept the system working.

8-2 Four prominent groups in Japanese society after 1910

(1) Party Politicians In 1900, Itoh Hirofumi started a political party called Friends of Politics, or Seiyu Kai, as a counter measure against anti-government forces in parliament. The opposition formed the Constitutional Democratic Party. For approximately 30 years from 1900 to 1930, Japan witnessed the rise of a two party system, and the politics of the country revolved around the competition between these two leading parties. These 30 years when the two party system existed is designated as the time of the Taisho Democracy. However short lived, the Japanese enjoyed a limited sense of democracy, in which two rival parties tried to capture the governing role.

(2) Bureaucrats The University of Tokyo was founded in 1877 as a training ground for Japanese central bureaucrats, and before long graduates began serving in important roles in the imperial bureaucracy. By 1918, for the first time in history, a bureaucrat, Takashi Hara, formed the government. Ever since, bureaucrats have continued to play a significant role as one of the major players in Japanese government and society.

Hara’s accession to the office of Prime Minister reflected the beginning of a new era. First, Hara was a commoner, in itself unprecedented. All of his predecessors had been members of the nobility, even if most of them were self-made men who had become peers following the Meiji Restoration. Hara therefore shared one of the perquisites associated with the peerage. Second, Hara’s birthplace was not in western Japan, but in Iwate Prefecture, located in the least-developed northern section of the country.

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Between the advent of the Hara government and the end of World War II, Japan had 21 prime ministers. Of these, 6 were born in the 1850s, and half of them received higher education - a significant number, given the fact that universities were still in their nascent stage. Of the 21, 20 had had careers as civilian or military bureaucrats. Of these, 17 combined their bureaucratic careers with political careers, while the remaining 3 became journalists or bankers before involving themselves in party politics. A total of 180 cabinet ministers served under these 21 premiers.

The role of bureaucrats in Japan increased as the country approached beginning of World War II. As part of the preparation for war, the central government began to put the country’s economy under the national control in the 1940s. Such basic consumer items as rice, cigarettes, and clothes became controlled by the central administration, and the list of regulations became extensive. Some of these regulations survived well into the post-war period. The registration system to purchase rice, for instance, was terminated only ten years ago: for many years, Japanese were required to use a registration form whenever they wanted to purchase a volume of rice, a legacy of the system contrived during the 1940s. Another system which started in the 1940s and has continued since is the income tax system. In Japan, the income tax of a wage earner is deducted every month from the net personal earnings at the workplace, a system developed by the central government as part of the war effort in the 1940s. Income tax deducted at the the workplace assures the government a solid financial base.

As these examples show, several policy measures which have become an integral part of Japan’s public administration made their debut in the 1940s. Thus, these systems are frequently dubbed “The 1940s System” and imply the beginning of the ascendancy of bureaucratic power in Japanese society. Indeed, the size of the country’s bureaucracy expanded, as the government had to enforce the 1940s System and to do so, needed a large number of public officials.

(3) Zaibatsu - Monopoly Capitalists The wars against China (1893-94) and Russia (1904-1905), helped Japan's economy to expand, and led to the development of several commercial empires such as Mitsui, Mitsubishi, and Sumitomo. These giant corporations, usually owned by families, were labeled Zaibatsu, meaning "money clique" or conglomerate. The Mitsui families, for instance, controlled a holding company, Mitsui Gomei, under whose umbrella were more than 150 firms including Mitsui Bank, Mitsui Insurance, Mitsui Trading, Kanebo Textiles, Mitsukoshi Department Store, etc. Families such as the Mitsui were able to amass huge fortunes because of their long standing associations with the political leaders of Meiji Japan. Under government protection, the Mitsui and other Zaibatsu flourished. Interestingly, the Mitsui families developed a close rapport with one political party,

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Friends of Politics or Seiyukai, while the Iwasaki families, founders of the Mitsubishi fortunes supported the Constitutional Democratic Party, or Minseito.

(4) The Military From the outset, as guardians of the emperor's will, power and prestige, the military enjoyed a privileged position in Meiji Japan. Under the Meiji Constitution, the military was well protected by a provision stating that the prerogative of supreme command belonged to the emperor. Eventually, as their military power increased, officials began to capitalize on this prerogative clause, insisting they were not subject to the control of civilian government, but only to the will of the emperor. As a consequence, the Military did not submit the name of a candidate for Army Minister, even when asked to do so by a civilian Prime Minister. Without the army portfolio, the PM found it impossible to form a cabinet.

Starting in 1925, the the Army harassed the civilian government, insisting that the military was independent of the control of civilian government, and was subject only to the imperial will. Many people, including some close to the Emperor, such as the Lord Keeper, tried to take measures to control the Army. One such move was to appoint Price Konoe as Prime Minister, in hopes that he would be able to put the Army under the civilian thumb. But as it turned out, this was a complete failure: Prince Konoe was weak, and actually became a spokesman for the military. In fact, under the leadership of Konoe, the political parties were dissolved. Further, it was his government who initiated the National Mobilization Law and established the Imperial Resistance League. Under the Konoe administration, military control of government was complete and it took the road to war.

Taisho Democracy was short lived, and collapsed by 1931, the year the Japanese Army engaged in war against China. It also signaled the beginning of the end of the Meiji system of government in Japan.

Topics for Discussion 1. What ingredients, do you think, are necessary for any region to become a modern state? 2. How important is bureaucracy for building a modern state? 3. What is the role of education in the transformation from a traditional to a modern state? 4. How significant is nationalism in a contemporary state? What are the roles and functions of nationalism?

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