The explanation of this peculiarity in the government of Japan is also the explanation of the difficulty of determining where is the centre of power. When Japan reorganized on a modern basis much of the influence of the older system _remained. The Tokugawa Shogunate, for instance, disappeared but the power of the Satsuma and the Chosu clans remained. A parliamentary system of government was inaugurated, but the Diet was divested of all essential authority, the sovereign being even the legislative power in the land. The sovereign, however, does not participate in politics and he has recognized as between himself and the parliament three agencies, the Genro, consisting of Elder Statesmen, the friends of the Emperor Mejii; the Privy Council which consists of men of reputation and service who have achieved distinction; the cabinet which is the administrative organ of the government as well as the legislative arm of the sovereign. The cabinet is theoretically the most powerful of all, but since the selection of the Premier and other Cabinet officers by the sovereign depends upon the desire in the matter of the genro, Privy Council, political parties, clans, and_ invisible individuals, the Cabinet cannot altogether disregard the will of these groups. As for the Diet it has nothing to say with regard to cabinet appointments. The Yamamoto cabinet was organized against the protest of both principal parties in the Diet; yet it was seated.
The political parties are struggling desperately for power. The strongest party is the Ssiyukai which has had 282 seats enti of a total of 464. This party, however, was only offered one seat in the cabinet which was installed on the day of the earthquake. The second principal party, the Kenseikai, has been on the wane for several years because of a loss of public confidence. The Kakushin Club, which is not exactly a political party but which consists of independent members of Parliament who vote together, is now supporting the new Cabinet and the likelihood is that it will be organized into a powerful political party under the leadership of Viscount Goto with a view toward winning the elections which are to take place in April.
The death of Premier Kato brought the political dissatisfaction of the country to ahead. During the last weeks of his life Premier Kato was literally hounded by both political parties which objected to a non-party government. Had he not died, there can be little doubt but that he would have been driven from office by the political parties. But while these parties were planning to obtain the power for themselves, non-party individuals, mostly bureaucrats and officials, both civil and military, were plan: ning a governmeti by officials with a view toward the re organization of the entire political system in Japan. The death of the Premier gave them their opportunity. Men at whom the Politicians laughed, like Goto, who was supposed to be a dead number because of-his Russian policy, suddenly came to the fore and soon it was realized that the centre of power was in the bureaucracy.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.