washington naval onferene political artoon

From 1924 to 1932, seven successive cabinets were formed by political parties, laying the foundations for genuine party politics in the Diet this was lauded at the time as “the normal course of constitutional government” and had a high degree of legitimacy. (*1) The term “Taishō Democracy” refers to the flourishing of new ways of thinking, strengthening of social movements, and development of party politics in a period centered on the Taishō era (the reign of Emperor Taishō, 1912–26). Japan experienced a groundswell of liberalism in the early twentieth century that was dubbed “Taishō Democracy” by historians in the 1950s. Even the Allies who defeated Japan in 1945 realized this: Among the terms for surrender given in the Potsdam Declaration, there is reference to the removal of obstacles to “the revival and strengthening of democratic tendencies among the Japanese people.” This demonstrates the need to look back to Japan’s political history in the period before World War II. But the origins of Japan’s democracy predate this period. Democracy in Japan is commonly associated with the reforms implemented during the Allied Occupation following World War II, particularly the adoption of a new constitution including explicit provisions for a parliamentary system of government.

Now that a century has passed since the start of World War I, what links that era with the Japan of today? Human rights and democracy have become the basis for Japan’s contemporary political system, and their influence extends beyond politics to every corner of society.

Washington naval onferene political artoon