Rikken Doshikai
Encyclopedia
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
active in the Empire of Japan
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
in the early years of the 20th century. It was also known as simply the Dōshikai.
Founded by Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Japan
The is the head of government of Japan. He is appointed by the Emperor of Japan after being designated by the Diet from among its members, and must enjoy the confidence of the House of Representatives to remain in office...
Katsura Tarō
Katsura Taro
Prince , was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army, politician and three-time Prime Minister of Japan.-Early life:Katsura was born into a samurai family from Hagi, Chōshū Domain...
on February 7, 1913, the Rikken Dōshikai largely served to support his cabinet against criticism by the Rikken Seiyūkai
Rikken Seiyukai
The was one of the main political parties in the pre-war Empire of Japan. It was also known simply as the ‘Seiyūkai'Founded on September 15, 1900 by Itō Hirobumi , the Seiyūkai was a pro-government alliance of bureaucrats and former members of the Kenseitō. The Seiyūkai was the most powerful...
party led by Inukai Tsuyoshi
Inukai Tsuyoshi
was a Japanese politician and the 29th Prime Minister of Japan from 13 December 1931 to 15 May 1932.-Early life:Inukai was born to a former samurai family of the Niwase Domain, in Niwase village, Bizen Province , and was a graduate of Keio Gijuku in Tokyo. In his early career, he worked as a...
and Ozaki Yukio, which held a majority of the seats in the Lower House
House of Representatives of Japan
The is the lower house of the Diet of Japan. The House of Councillors of Japan is the upper house.The House of Representatives has 480 members, elected for a four-year term. Of these, 180 members are elected from 11 multi-member constituencies by a party-list system of proportional representation,...
of the Diet of Japan
Diet of Japan
The is Japan's bicameral legislature. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives, and an upper house, called the House of Councillors. Both houses of the Diet are directly elected under a parallel voting system. In addition to passing laws, the Diet is formally...
at the time. Katsura was able to convince 90 Diet members (including all 30 members of the Chuo Kurabu and half of the Rikken Kokumintō
Rikken Kokuminto
The was a minor political party in the Empire of Japan. It was also known as simply the 'Kokumintō’.The Kokumintō was founded in March 1910, by a merger of the Kensei Hontō with a number of minor political parties and groups within the Lower House of the Japanese Diet, and was dominated by Inukai...
) to join his new party.
The party survived Katsura's death in 1913, and under the leadership of Katō Takaaki
Kato Takaaki
Count was a Japanese politician and the 24th Prime Minister of Japan from 11 June 1924 to 28 January 1926. He was also known as Katō Kōmei.- Early life :...
placed five of its members in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Ōkuma Shigenobu
Okuma Shigenobu
Marquis ; was a statesman in the Empire of Japan and the 8th and 17th Prime Minister of Japan...
in 1914-1916. It became the majority party in the Diet after the 1915 General Election, with a 153 seats.
After the dissolution of the Ōkuma government, the Dōshikai merged with Chūseikai and other small political parties to form the Kenseikai
Kenseikai
The was a short-lived political party in the pre-war Empire of Japan.The Kenseikai was founded on 10 October 1916, as a merger of the Rikken Doshikai , Chuseikai and the Koyu Kurabu...
in October 1916.