Tetsu Katayama served as Japan’s first socialist prime minister in 1947-1948. His moderate approach, however, proved unable to satisfy the increasingly contradictory demands of his political base and the US occupiers.
From 1927-1929, Imperial Army-officer-turned-politician Giichi Tanaka attempted to guide Japan with a firm hand, aiming to crush radicalism at home and to use the iron fist in China. This hardline turn was resisted on many fronts, but the biggest problem emerged from the Army itself, which was slipping away from political control.
In early 1924, bureaucrat Keigo Kiyoura reluctantly agreed to become premier, but the frustration of the political parties about once again being passed over created a challenge which Kiyoura was not able to tame.
From 1923-1924, Admiral Gonnohyoe Yamamoto made a return as prime minister. He was brought in to provide leadership in the wake of the cataclysmic Great Kanto Earthquake. Yamamoto made some progress in providing relief services, but was unable to bring political stability.
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.
From 1911-1912, aristocrat Saionji Kinmochi returned as prime minister of Japan. Although his government had strong public support, it soon found itself in a budget confrontation with the Imperial Army. Neither side was prepared to back down.
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.
In 1898, Shigenobu Okuma became prime minister of Japan, leading the first and only government of the Meiji Era formed by the opposition to the Genro oligarchs.
From 1892-1896, Hirobumi Ito returned as prime minister and had one of the most successful administrations in Japanese history. He presided over Japan’s first modern war in which it decisively defeated Qing China, overturned the traditional East Asia political order, and created its own colonial empire.
From 1891-1892, the financial specialist among the Meiji Genro, Masayoshi Matsukata, served as prime minister of Japan. After weathering a potential crisis with Russia, he called a general election and unleashed violence against the elected representatives of the people.
