Constitutional Imperialism in Japan/Chapter 3

A body of men known as Genro, which is freely translated into English by the term “Elder Statesmen”, must not be omitted from this discussion of “Constitutional Imperialism.” As a matter of fact, they are not mentioned in the Constitution; they are an extra-constitutional body; but they outrank every constitutional body except the Emperor and the Privy Council. They are a survival of feudalism; they are relics of history. To be more literal, they are the survivors of the great band of men who accomplished the Restoration of 1868, and reconstructed Japan during the marvelous years of the Meiji era. They deserve the greatest credit for making New Japan what she now is; they were statesmen of the highest ability: but they are considered to have outlived their usefulness; they are an anachronism. There are only three left since the death of Prince Ito, the most active and most eminent, and of Marquis Inouye; the survivors are Princes Yamagata and Oyama (who rarely acts) and Marquis Matsukata.

The Elder Statesmen have been the “Warwicks of Japan”, not in the sense of being king-makers but in that of being cabinet-makers. In fact they have not only made, but also unmade, cabinets. They have been the power behind and before the throne. They have invariably been consulted, unofficially of course, by the Emperor in all great political crises. But it certainly looks as if the days of that “august but obsolete” body are numbered. It is an open secret, that, while they recommended Count Okuma to the Emperor for the premiership in April, 1914, they did so, after the futile attempt to constitute a reactionary ministry under Viscount Kiyoura, merely because they found that they could no longer oppose the popular demand. Thus one result of the first quarter century of constitutionalism in Japan has been the almost complete elimination of this once strong extra-constitutional factor, which death will soon entirely eliminate.