From 1906-1908, aristocrat Kinmochi Saionji established the first stable government based on political party rule. Its leading achievement was to nationalize the country’s railroads and create the Japan National Railways system.
From 1901-1906, Taro Katsura served a highly consequential term as prime minister which featured the emergence of a new generation to the top leadership post and a war which established Japan as a Great Power in international affairs.
Whereas most Japanese political parties, whether the ruling conservatives or the mainstream opposition, effectively have little in the way of fixed party policies, the Japan Communist Party, the nation’s oldest political party, is very different, taking its own platforms very seriously.
A roundup of the most significant news stories from Japan reported on April 10, 2018.
