General Election Law

General Election Law

The nihongo|General Election Law|普通選挙法|Futsu Senkyo Hō was a law passed in Taishō period Japan, extending suffrage to all males aged 25 and over. It was proposed by the Kenseito political party and it was passed by the Diet of Japan on 5 May 1925.

Background

Meiji period Japan was dominated by the Meiji oligarchy, who viewed popular democracy and party politics with suspicion. However, after the promulgation of the Meiji Constitution, limited suffrage was extended to male property holders, aged over 25 years, who paid more than 15 Yen in annual taxes for elections to the lower house starting in 1890. The number of voters who qualified under this restriction was around 450,000 (roughly 1 percent of the population). Over the next three decades, the number grew to around 3,000,000. It should be noted that many executive and legislative positions in the Japanese government were appointive, rather than elected. Although seats in local, prefecture and the national (lower) assemblies were elected, the House of Peers was composed of both appointed and hereditary members, and prefectural governors were appointed by the central government and answerable only to the Home Ministry (Japan). City mayors were appointed by the prefectural governor, albeit from a list of names supplied by the city elected assembly.

Universal Suffrage Movement

Almost from the start of elections in Japan, popular movements arose to eliminate the tax-paying requirement, which effectively disenfranchised as large segment of the adult male population. In 1897, the nihongo|Universal Suffrage League|普通選挙期成同盟会|Futsu Senkyo Kisei Dōmeikai was created to raise public awareness through discussion groups and periodicals. Diet members, mostly from liberal faction within the Diet, supported by the Jiyuto and its offshoots, presented bills to the Diet in 1902, 1903, 1908, 1909 and 1910. The movement finally appeared to succeed in March 1911, when its Universal Suffrage Bill was passed by the lower house only to be summarily rejected by the House of Peers.

Increased government hostility towards radical groups broadened in the 1910s, with the implementation of the Peace Preservation Laws and increased censorship and surveillance of suspected radical groups associated with leftist or labor movements. However, the movement for universal suffrage resurfaced in 1918-1919 with demonstrations held by student and labor associations and a sudden upsurge in interest by newspapers and popular journals. The opposition political parties, the Kenseikai and Rikken Kokuminto jumped on the bandwagon, whereas the governmental Rikken Seiyukai still opposed.

The liberal parties favored an increase in the popular franchise to keep up with the world trend to democracy and to provide a safety valve for both urban and rural discontent. The more conservative parties, fearing that the increased voter base would favor their liberal opponents, resisted these proposals.

In 1924, a Kenseikai alliance with the Seiyukai scored a victory over the non-party government of Kiyoura Keigo. Kenseikai leader Kato Takaaki became Prime Minister of Japan, and the Seiyukai was forced to accept the Kenseikai proposal on extending universal male suffrage to all male citizens over the age of 25 as the price for the coalition. The bill was passed in 1925, and came into effect for the 20 February 1928 elections.

Criticisms

The General Election Law was passed only after the Peace Preservation Law was passed. Although more democracy was given, liberty (in terms of freedom of the press, freedom of assembly and freedom of speech) was limited at the same time. With the greatly increased voter base (approximately 12 million voters in 1925, or approximately 20 percent of the total population), the costs for elections rose considerably. Political candidates, in need of greater sources of funding, turned to the zaibatsu and other sponsors who also had vested political interests.

In addition, women still did not have the right to vote.

ee also

*Japan general election, 1928 [http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%AC%AC16%E5%9B%9E%E8%A1%86%E8%AD%B0%E9%99%A2%E8%AD%B0%E5%93%A1%E7%B7%8F%E9%81%B8%E6%8C%99 In Japanese]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • general election — n: an election usu. held at regular intervals in which candidates are elected in all or most constituencies of a nation or state Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996. general election …   Law dictionary

  • General Election of May 27, 1990 —    On September 10, 1988, the Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP) held its second Extraordinary Congress, at which it promised to hold a multiparty general election. After the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) was established on… …   Historical Dictionary of Burma (Myanmar)

  • Japanese general election, 1928 — The 16th General Election of Japan of the House of Representatives was the first election in Japan after the diet passed the General Election Law. It was held on February 20, 1928.ResultsThe ruling Seiyukai Party led by Prime Minister Tanaka… …   Wikipedia

  • Papua New Guinean general election, 2007 — General elections were held in Papua New Guinea from 30 June 2007 to 14 July 2007. [http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/s1978689.htm Voting in PNG elections draws to close] , ABC Radio Australia, 14 July 2007.] For the first time, the… …   Wikipedia

  • election — elec·tion n 1 a: the act or process of electing b: an instance of the electorate voting for candidates for an elective office c: the fact of being elected 2: the right, power, or privilege of making a choice: as a: the right of a spouse to choose …   Law dictionary

  • law — / lȯ/ n [Old English lagu, of Scandinavian origin] 1: a rule of conduct or action prescribed or formally recognized as binding or enforced by a controlling authority: as a: a command or provision enacted by a legislature see also statute 1 b:… …   Law dictionary

  • general — gen·er·al / jen rəl, je nə / adj 1: involving, applicable to, or affecting the whole 2: involving, relating to, or applicable to every member of a class, kind, or group 3: not confined by specialization or limitation 4: relating to, determined by …   Law dictionary

  • general election — An election recurring at stated intervals as fixed by law, without any superinducing cause other than the passage of time. 25 Am J2d Elect § 3. An election held for the purpose of selecting an officer to succeed to the office on the expiration of …   Ballentine's law dictionary

  • Italian general election, 2006 — Infobox Election election name = Italian general election, 2006 country = Italy type = parliamentary ongoing = no previous election = Italian general election, 2001 previous year = 2001 next election = Italian general election, 2008 next year =… …   Wikipedia

  • Massachusetts general election, 1994 — Elections in Massachusetts Federal government Presidential elections 1972 · 2000 · 2004 · 2008 Presidential primaries …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”