Taisho Democracy - Essay Example

Political parties in the Meiji era were established to represent the voice of the people, to present platforms for political and economic reforms, as the government slowly progressed from an authoritarian government to a more democratic form of government. As what the Charter Oath stated, the affairs of the state would be decided based on the public opinion through deliberative assemblies. From an oligarch to the present, because of the participation of the parties, the Japan government has evolved into as what the CIA Factbook defines the present-day Japanese government as a Constitutional Monarch with a Parliamentary government (2007).
For example, the Constitutional Liberal Party that was established in 1890, had a list of items that were to be studied and deliberated upon. A few items found in the list are revisions of the Newspaper and Assembly Ordinances, the expansion of the franchise, the restoration of Japan's right to impose customs duties, the expansion of educational opportunities, the creation of a business tax, and the reduction of land taxes which indicate the orientation of the party at that time.
In the opening of the Diet on 25 November 1890, popular political parties argued between the Satsuma-Choshu group on the issues regarding budgetary cuts. The budgetary cuts cannot be applied without the consent of the government. The active participation of parties during this time made the motion successful. Read More