Katsura Tarō
The emperor appointed Katsura Tarō, a former army general, who had served as Prime Minister twice before and a member of the "genrō", to form the new government. Katsura was not a popular choice with the public, which believed he focused his interests more on the military than on the rest of the people. Soon after taking office, Katsura was faced with a ministerial defection of his own, when the Navy sought an increased budget to fund the construction of new battleships and threatened to withhold the appointment of a Navy Minister as a negotiating tactic. Unlike his predecessor, Katsura went directly to the emperor, who issued an edict that the Navy must provide a minister.