The Cabinet Replaces the Dajōkan Government

The Meiji government had retained a Dajōkan, or Great Council of State, above its growing ministries. On December 22, 1885, it abolished the offices of grand minister, ministers of the left and right, councillors and departmental chiefs, replacing that structure with a prime minister and ministers.

Itō Hirobumi became the first prime minister. The Cabinet comprised him and the departmental ministers, excluding the minister who administered the imperial household. Foreign affairs, finance, army, navy, justice, education and other branches therefore remained distinct responsibilities within a common executive organization.

The accompanying Cabinet Powers document placed the Cabinet directly under the emperor. It required the prime minister to chair its meetings, organize discussion, coordinate the direction of government and demand explanations of departmental performance. He submitted ministerial appointments and dismissals for imperial decision. Laws and imperial ordinances required his countersignature, with the responsible minister also signing departmental measures.

These rules established procedures for coordinating and checking ministries. They did not create an elected government: the Diet had not yet opened, and ministers served under imperial authority. The constitution and revised Cabinet Ordinance of 1889 subsequently adjusted that relationship. The 1885 change was the creation of the Cabinet and premiership, rather than the simultaneous establishment of all those later institutions.