Ascendancy of The Military
The main threat to representative democracy in Japan proved to be the Japanese military, rather than the left-wing parties. Under the Meiji Constitution, the Minister of the Army (who served as Minister of War) and Minister of the Navy were appointed by their respective services, and not by the Prime Minister. The military was also directly answerable only to the Emperor, and not to the elected government. In 1912, a law restricting the eligibility to Minister of the Army or Navy to active duty generals or admirals had the unforeseen effect of giving the military a trump card over the government when Prime Minister Uehara Yusaku resigned over failure of the Diet to pass his budget requesting funds for two additional army divisions. The Army's refusal to appoint a successor brought down the government.
Read more about this topic: Political Parties Of The Empire Of Japan
Famous quotes containing the words ascendancy and/or military:
“As long as justice and injustice have not terminated their ever renewing fight for ascendancy in the affairs of mankind, human beings must be willing, when need is, to do battle for the one against the other.”
—John Stuart Mill (1806–1873)
“The domestic career is no more natural to all women than the military career is natural to all men.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)