The First Imperial Diet Opens under a Restricted Franchise

The Meiji Constitution provided for a two-house Imperial Diet. The first House of Representatives election took place on July 1, 1890, selecting 300 members. Voters had to be men aged at least twenty-five who met residence and direct-national-tax qualifications. Only about one percent of the population was eligible.

The House of Peers was assembled through different rules: imperial-family members, senior nobles and appointed members sat alongside members chosen within specified noble and high-taxpayer groups. Both chambers were summoned on November 25. Their formal opening on November 29 made the constitution operative.

The first session immediately tested parliamentary powers. Opposition representatives pressed for expenditure reductions, confronting a government that did not consider itself dependent on their electoral majority. An emergency motion sought government agreement before making protected budget cuts. Some opposition members supported it, splitting their side and enabling negotiation and passage of the budget.

Under the constitution, annual budgets needed Diet consent, but certain existing expenditures could not be reduced without government agreement. Failure to pass a new budget meant continuing the previous year’s budget. The elected chamber therefore had real influence over proposals without possessing a general power to appoint ministers or shut down all expenditure. The opening created a continuing place for parliamentary politics, with participation and control constrained by the franchise and imperial constitutional rules.