The Rikken-Dōshi Kai ( ja, 立憲同志会, , Association of Comrades of the Constitution) was a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

active in the

Empire of Japan The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of Japan, 1947 constitu ...

in the early years of the 20th century. It was also known as simply the Dōshikai. Founded by

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

Katsura Tarō Prince was a Japanese politician and general of the Imperial Japanese Army who served as the Prime Minister of Japan from 1901 to 1906, from 1908 to 1911, and from 1912 to 1913. Katsura was a distinguished general of the First Sino-Japanese W ...

on February 7, 1913, the ''Rikken Dōshikai'' largely served to support his cabinet against criticism by Ozaki Yukio and his '' Rikken Seiyūkai'' party, which at the time held a majority of the seats in the Lower House of the Diet of Japan, as well as by

Inukai Tsuyoshi Inukai Tsuyoshi ( ja, 犬養毅, 4 June 1855 – 15 May 1932) was a Japanese politician, cabinet minister, and Prime Minister of Japan from 1931 to his assassination in 1932. Inukai was Japan's second oldest prime minister while serving, as he ...

of the Rikken Kokuminto party. Katsura was able to convince 90 Diet members (including all 31 members of the

Chūō Club The Chūō Club ( ja, 中央倶楽部, lit. ''Central Club'') was a political party in Japan. History The party was established in March 1910 by a group of around 50 MPs who had previously been members of the Boshin Club and the Daidō Club or ...

and half of the

Rikken Kokumintō The Rikken Kokumintō ( ja, 立憲国民党, , "Constitutional Nationalist Party") was a minor political party in the Empire of Japan. It was also known as simply the Kokumintō. History The ''Kokumintō'' was founded in March 1910, by a merger o ...

) to join his new party. The party survived Katsura's death in 1913, and under the leadership of Katō Takaaki placed five of its members in the Cabinet of Prime Minister

Ōkuma Shigenobu Marquess was a Japanese statesman and a prominent member of the Meiji oligarchy. He served as Prime Minister of the Empire of Japan in 1898 and from 1914 to 1916. Ōkuma was also an early advocate of Western science and culture in Japan, and ...

in 1914–1916. It became the majority party in the Diet after the 1915 General Election, with a 153 seats. After the dissolution of the Ōkuma government, the ''Dōshikai'' merged with '' Chūseikai'' and other small political parties to form the ''

Kenseikai The was a short-lived political party in the pre-war Empire of Japan. History The ''Kenseikai'' was founded on 10 October 1916, as a merger of the '' Rikken Dōshikai'' (led by Katō Takaaki), '' Chūseikai'' (led by Ozaki Yukio) and the '' ...

'' in October 1916.Jansen, The Making of Modern Japan

Election result

References

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External links

National Diet Library of Japan
Politics of the Empire of Japan Political parties established in 1913 Defunct political parties in Japan 1913 establishments in Japan Political parties disestablished in 1916 1916 disestablishments in Japan {{Japan-party-stub