Rikken Kaishintō
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rikken Kaishintō (Constitutional Reform Party) (立憲改進党 Rikken Kaishintō ?) was a political party in Meiji period Japan. It was also known as simply the ‘Kaishintō’.
The Kaishintō was founded by Ōkuma Shigenobu in April 1882, with the assistance of Yano Ryūsuke, Inukai Tsuyoshi and Ozaki Yukio. It received financial backing by the Mitsubishi zaibatsu.
The Kaishintō pursued a moderate approach, calling for a British-style constitutional monarchy within the framework of a parliamentary democracy. It won 46 sets to the House of Representatives (Japan) in the Diet election of 1890, thus becoming the second largest party after the Jiyūtō.
Afterwards, the Kaishintō adopted an increasingly nationalistic foreign policy, and in March 1896 merged with several smaller nationalist parties to form the Shimpotō.
