SNA (Tokyo) — From 1914-1916, Shigenobu Okuma made an unlikely return as prime minister, this time establishing a more stable administration in cooperation with the conservative oligarchs. Okuma and his dynamic Foreign Minister Takaaki Kato led the nation into the First World War, which for Japan was a relatively profitable opportunity.

Transcript

On April 16, 1914, Shigenobu Okuma returned as prime minister of Japan.

He was an unexpected choice, the political resurrection of an elderly statesman from the last century who had largely retired. But Kaoru Inoue suggested to his Genro colleagues that Okuma could be useful in limiting the power of the Constitutional Association of Political Friends, and especially to keep Takashi Hara out of the top job.

From the point of view of the Genro, however, they had only exchanged one problem for another. Okuma, who had been a champion for decades of political party government, had no interest in being a puppet, though he did prove willing to bend his long-held principles for his last shot at real power.

The more serious problem for the Genro was new Foreign Minister Takaaki Kato, who was also the leader of the Constitutional Association of Like Minds, the political party created by Taro Katsura during the Taisho Political Crisis.

Kato did everything he could to freeze the aging Genro out of policymaking, even restricting their access to day-to-day diplomatic documents.

But before these tensions had much time to develop, the Great War broke out in Europe. As a formal treaty ally of Great Britain since 1902, Japan entered the war on the side of the Entente powers. Japan’s leaders were united on this point, though Kato was the most insistent.

While the Great War was a cataclysm for Europe, it was very much an opportunity for Japan. In the early months of the war, Japan captured Germany’s port of Tsingtao on the China coast as well as its Pacific island territories.

At the beginning of 1915, Foreign Minister Kato also sent the so-called Twenty-One Demands to the government of the Republic of China, threatening to use force unless Japan’s interests in the country were secured. The Chinese government eventually agreed to a version of the Demands which were moderated by the more cautious views of the Genro. But Chinese nationalist opinion was turning against Japan for its increasing violations of their sovereignty.

In domestic politics, the Okuma Cabinet’s hand was strengthened by the March 1915 general elections, when Kato’s party overthrew the long years of dominance of Hara’s party.

During the contest, Okuma had innovated new election techniques such as railway campaign stops and the use of phonograph records of his speeches when he couldn’t be present in person.

Another modernization introduced by Okuma was his relative openness to the news media, including press conferences after Cabinet meetings.

Less welcome, however, was a scandal in which it emerged that Home Minister Kanetaka Oura had used large-scale bribery to help secure the general election victory of Kato’s pro-Okuma political party.

As a result of this scandal, Okuma reshuffled his Cabinet, which most notably included appeasing the Genro and dropping Kato as foreign minister, though he remained Okuma’s ally in the House of Representatives.

In the autumn, Genro Kaoru Inoue, who had first proposed Okuma to become premier, passed away after a long illness. Best known in his role as foreign minister back in the 1880s, Inoue never held the top office. This was by choice, however, as he had several opportunities to become prime minister had he wanted it.

As the year 1916 dawned, Okuma was approaching his 78th birthday, was showing some signs of senility, and was starting to talk about resigning.

But the old man had one last trick up his sleeve, which is that he wanted Kato to succeed him as prime minister, rather than Yamagata’s preferred candidate, the military man and Governor-General of Korea Masatake Terauchi.

Picking prime ministers had always been a prerogative of the Genro, but Okuma was determined to wrest this power away from them, remaining in office until he could make it happen. This contest dragged on for many months.

Finally, October 9, 1916, Okuma resigned from office and recommended to the Emperor that Kato be his successor.

The Emperor accepted Okuma’s resignation and appointed… Masatake Terauchi. The Genro had prevailed once again.

Shigenobu Okuma’s second term had lasted for two years and 177 days.

After his retirement from active politics, Okuma enjoyed the status of being a “semi-Genro,” and in fact Yamagata thought he should become a fully-recognized Genro, though his colleagues disagreed. Okuma continued to work as an educator, supporting Waseda University in particular.

Okuma died of cancer in 1922 at age 85, one of the most beloved figures in Japanese public life. At his funeral in Hibiya, an estimated 300,000 ordinary citizens gathered to say their farewells.

This article was originally published on January 15, 2023, in the “Japan and the World” newsletter. Become a Shingetsu News supporter on Patreon and receive the newsletter by email each Monday morning.