Kenseikai, later Minseito, and Seiyukai Parties recognized the possible benefits of cooperation and compromise The Seiyukai, a political party founded in 1900 by Ito Hirobumi—himself an elder statesman and one of the architects of the Meiji state—became the leading political party of the early 20th century in Japan Internal divisions within his party led to Ito’s own resignation in 1903, and another elder statesman, Saionji Kinmochi, became the Seiyukai’s new president Yet Hara Kei was quickly becoming the leading personality in the Seiyukai It was he who struck a deal with Prime Minister Katsura Taro in 1904 whereby the Seiyukai, in exchange for its Diet members’ support for government expenditures needed to prosecute the Russo-Japanese War, gained future access to the office of prime minister Party president Saionji served two stints as prime minister, from 1906 to 1908 and from 1911 to 1912, and the intervening non-Saionji cabinets included party representatives It was clear that the Seiyukai had become a fixture in Japanese politics Kai worked to strengthen the party by recruiting members of the civil bureaucracy into the organization, providing funds for local development, and seeking the support of leading industrialists Each of these efforts was designed to further the Seiyukai’s fortunes in the Diet and to lead to eventual party rule in the government In 1912–13 financial constraints forced a showdown between the Seiyukai and the leadership of Japan’s military, the latter of whom wanted funding to add new army divisions, which the Seiyukai leadership was unwilling to provide In December 1912, the army toppled Saionji’s cabinet by ordering the war minister to resign and refusing to replace him Katsura resumed the post of prime minister, but discontent over these machinations within the government led a number of political officials, business leaders, and journalists to form a “movement to protect constitutional government,” which helped to spark mass demonstrations Katsura resigned after just two months in an episode that illustrated the growing power of the political parties, especially the Seiyukai Meanwhile, Katsura created a new political party, the Doshikai—this party was renamed the Kenseikai party in 1916 and then reorganized as the Minseito in 1927—in an attempt to build a rival party that could undermine Seiyukai dominance of the Diet’s lower house Upon Katsura’s death in 1913, his new party was led by Kato Takaaki, and in the election of 1915 the Doshikai succeeded in relegating the Seiyukai to the position of second-largest party in the Diet The 185 Seiyukai, however, regained a plurality of seats in 1917 and won an absolute majority in 1920 As prime minister, Kai tried to build support for the Seiyukai through a “positive policy” of public spending on education and developing local infrastructure Hara’s government expanded the franchise by lowering the tax qualification for voting but did not act upon calls for universal male suffrage Hara was assassinated in 1921, and following his death, party government was dealt a setback, as from 1922 to 1924 the post of prime minister reverted back to a series of nonparty officials The last of these was ousted from office by another “movement to protect constitutional government,” this one consisting of a Diet coalition that included both the Kenseikai (the name for the Doshikai after 1916) and the Seiyukai Thereupon Kenseikai president Kato Takaaki, whose party had regained a plurality of seats in the lower house of the Diet, became prime minister in 1924 For the next eight years until 1932, the heads of these two major parties alternated as prime ministers As early as 1920 the Kenseikai had sponsored, along with a number of smaller parties, a universal male suffrage bill in the Diet At that time the proposal was voted down by the Seiyukai With Kato Takaaki as prime minister, however, the Kenseikai was able to achieve passage of legislation guaranteeing universal suffrage for Japanese men aged 25 and older The Kenseikai-led government took an approach more friendly to Japanese labor than their Seiyukai counterparts did The new government legalized workers’ strikes, legislated improvements in industrial conditions, and provided for health benefits for workers In the realm of economics, the platform of the Kenseikai/Minseito party emphasized the imperative of fiscal conservatism and balanced budgets in opposition to the spending programs of the Seiyukai, though both parties spent considerable money on pork-barrel projects The foreign policy approach of the Kenseikai/Minseito party in the 1920s was based on conciliation with China and cooperation with the West Yet this policy engendered discontent in some quarters, especially among the military, who were concerned about protecting Japanese interests in Manchuria, perceived as severely threatened by the end of the decade by Chinese nationalists and the Soviet military Economically, as much of the globe descended into the Great Depression Minseito-led cabinets tried to resolve Japan’s financial difficulties, such as imbalance of trade and the too-low market price of rice, which hurt Japanese farmers but could not mitigate Japan’s financial situation