General elections were held in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

on 15 February 1892 to elect the members of the House of Representatives of the

Diet of Japan The is the national legislature of Japan. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives (, ''Shūgiin''), and an upper house, the House of Councillors (, '' Sangiin''). Both houses are directly elected under a paralle ...

Background

After the 1890 general elections for the

lower house A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...

of the

, the elected members proved much less amenable to government persuasion than had been anticipated by Itō Hirobumi and other members of the Meiji oligarchy. Rather than docilely rubber stamp legislation issued from the House of Peers and the genrō, the leaders of the lower house used the only leverage granted to them under the Meiji Constitution, withholding budgetary approval, to show resistance. This stalemate led to earlier-than-anticipated dissolution of the government and new elections.

Emperor Meiji , also called or , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession. Reigning from 13 February 1867 to his death, he was the first monarch of the Empire of Japan and presided over the Meiji era. He was the figur ...

expressed concern that if the same people were elected again, the same problem would recur, and suggested that regional offices encourage good people to run for office. Home Minister

Shinagawa Yajirō Viscount was a Chōshū Domain samurai, who became Home Ministry (Japan), Home Minister in early Meiji period Japan. Biography Shinagawa was born in Hagi, Yamaguchi, Hagi, in former Chōshū Domain (present day Yamaguchi Prefecture). His father ...

interpreted this as a condemnation of political party activity, and sent memorandums to all regional government offices encouraging the dismissal of men deeply involved in political party activity. He also instructed the police to deal severely with any acts of bribery and intimidation. However, the elections became the most violent in Japanese history, with numerous riots, in which 25 people were killed and 388 wounded. Violence was particularly severe in areas of the country with strong support for the opposition Liberal Party. Encouraged by Prime Minister Matsukata Masayoshi, Shinagawa arrested candidates he deemed "disloyal", and had gangs of toughs molest voters and burn opposition politicians' property. Prefectural governors and police chiefs were secretly ordered to disrupt campaigns of "disloyal" opposition politicians and to aid pro-government supporters.Richard H. Mitchell. ''Political Bribery in Japan'', p.16. University of Hawaii Press, 1996, Ballot boxes were stolen in Kōchi Prefecture, and voting was made impossible in parts of Saga Prefecture; violations were most conspicuous in these two prefectures, Ishikawa and Fukuoka.

Electoral system

As with the 1890 elections, the electorate was based on limited

suffrage Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in representative democracy, public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally i ...

, with only male citizens 25 years of age and over, who had paid 15 Yen or more in national taxes, and who had been resident in their prefecture for at least a year, qualified to vote. The number of eligible voters who met this requirement was 434,594. The number of candidates for office was 900.

Results

Despite the violence, the ''mintō'' (liberal parties) – the Liberal Party, Rikken Kaishintō and their affiliates) maintained a plurality in the House of Representatives, winning 132 seats as opposed to 124 for pro-government candidates, with 44 independents.Keene, pp. 461-464.

Post-election composition by prefecture

Aftermath

The government faced an angry lower house when the next Diet term convened on 6 May; even members of the House of Peers were outraged, issuing a resolution condemning the manner in which the elections had been held on 11 May. Shinagawa was forced to resign the following month.

Notes

References

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OCLC 46731178
* * {{Japanese elections Politics of the Empire of Japan General elections in Japan

General election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

February 1892 events Election and referendum articles with incomplete results