The Hawaiian gazette., 1908-04-21
PARTY SPIRIT
IN JAPAN
advertiser Correspondence, Copy

| IOhlO, Marcn ZS.-Japdn Is on IRE
with politics from one end to the
other, for this is great campaign
year in The Land of the Rising Sun,
just as it is in the United States. A
new Diet is to be elected in June, and
for the first time in the eighteen
years that Japan has had a parlia-
mentary government, there is a red
} hot issue of principle at stake. Here
tofore, election to the Diet has been
merely a matter of personal follow
ing, petty factionalism and bribery.
Now comes the commercial interests
t of the nation demanding a seat at
the council table where they have
!, never been represented. In old Japan
the people were divided into four
classes, and the lowest. of these were
the merchants. Commerce was look
ed upon as degrading. and the ambi-
tion to make money was nothing short
of criminal.
The chambers of commerce of the
country recently organized a United
Chambers and memorialized the gov
ernment in opposition to the increase
of taxes contemplated by the Diet. In
this protest they were Joined by the
labor organizations. The government
called the leaders on the carpet and
| told them that the chambers of COM
merce were business organizations and
that if they so far forgot themselves
as to meddle in politics, their charters
would be revoked. Whereupon the
chambers withdrew, but every indi-
vidual member in every city began at
once to conduct an individual cam
paign for the election of a member in
the. Diet who would represent the
commercial interests, regardless OF po-
litical party lines.
Political parties as they are known
in the United States do not exist here,
but they probably will be called into
being by this very campaign. When
the parliamentary government was
first granted, the necessity for stand
ing together for the new form of adj
ministration made party divisions
dangerous, and Prince Ito, the
George Washington of Japan, frowped
upon them. The cabinets were made
up of ministers from a very important
faction. This condition continued
nominally until quite recently, and
while a cabinet was really a party |
affair it was not until a few months
ago that all the ministers were actu
ally of one group. The, cabinet head
ed by Marquis Saionji gave to the
party called the Seiyukwai, or Consti-
tutionalists, the first exclusive con-
troll of the government by party. That
its hold is only by sufferance is shown
by the fact that it can muster but III
votes out of the total of 377 in the |
Lower House, and must always have
at least twenty-four votes from the
other party groups or from the inde-
pendents. The strength of the other
parties are: The Shimpo-to, or Pro-
gressists. ninety-three; the Daido |
Club. sixty; the Yukowai, thirty-five; |
and Independent, twelve. In the |
House of Peers there is no party di- /
vision.
These so-called parties have no ex-
istence in fact outside of the Lower
House of the Diet. Members are re-
turned from the various districts for
one reason or another, and their party
alignment is fixed after they get TO
Toxic. This leaves much room for
bribery and corruption, and it is no
torious that there are many members
of the Lower House, in fact a whole
group of them. who may be had by
the highest bidder and in no other
wav. II having been virtually decided
that Japan is to have government by
party cabinets responsible to the Diet,
it is becoming important that the cor
ruption in the parliament be purged,
and that the people themselves take
an interest in the views and princi-
ples of political organizations, as well
as of individuals.
This interest is being aroused by
the commercial movement and by the
newspapers, so that in the elections
this summer candidates will declare
their party affiliations in a much more
distinct fashion than has been done
heretofore, and the people will begin
to align themselves. In this evolu-
ton. the Japanese are following close
" the trend of early American MIS-
tory. When our government under
the constitution was first organized,
President Washington, as did Prince
Ito. feared the effect of party dissen-
sion at a time when it was necessary
for all hands TO pull together to save
the constitution itself. Therefore he
invited into his cabinet Alexander
HAMILTON and Thomas Jefferson, the
leaders of the two schools of thought
In the country, although their follow
ings were not parties" as the term
is understood in these days.
Questions essential to the very eX-
istence of the government were upper
most for years, the party alignments
were made mainly at the Capitol, and
the congressional caucus ruled, just
as the parliamentary caucus rules IN
japan today. Then came the Era of
Good Feeling" resulting from strong
foreign policy which united all factions
In Japan this era came Immediately up
on the heels of a war, in the United
States it was some little time after the
second war with England. The great
est event of that era in American his
tory was the promulgation of the Mon j
roe Doctrine, "America for Ameri-
cans" In the same era in Japan the
Japanese Monroe Doctrine of Asia for
the Asiaties" made its appearance.
In the United States the peaceful era
of no parties was followed by the most
bitter political battles of our history. |
and under the administration of An
drew Jackson, political parties came
into being as thew are known today, |