Japanese Research ›› 2021, Vol. 35 ›› Issue (2): 9-16.DOI: 10.14156/j.cnki.rbwtyj.2021.02.002

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The Creation and Operation of the Senate under the Politics of “Public Opinion” in Modern Japan

ZHANG Yong-qing   

  1. Japan Institute, NanKai University, Tianjin, 300071, China
  • Online:2021-04-25 Published:2021-05-24

Abstract: In the process of Japan's modernization and transformation,“public opinion”became the banner of political power construction by various political subjects in society. The new Meiji regime repeatedly advocated the establishment of “public opinion” politics, and tried to establish public councils such as assembly house and congress. Among them, the Senate had the longest existence and played the most obvious role. The Senate is the product of the government's efforts to calm public opinion and pursue political balance. Its birth originated from the temporary bridging of differences between the ruling groups in political modernization since the Meiji Restoration. Therefore, it is regulated by the government in terms of authority. Members of the Senate play an active role within the framework of the political system, trying to make the Senate meeting become a key link in the Japanese legislative process. The Senate had a long-term game with the government in the process of exercising legislative power and constitutional power, and the interactive mode of the two has profoundly affected the form of Japanese constitutional construction. The government's suppression of parliaments under the leadership of executive power can be regarded as a preview of the constitutional transformation of modern Eastern countries.

Key words: the Senate, the politics of “public opinion”, national constitution codification, constitutional construction, the fighting between Government and Parliament

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