History of Japan Revolution

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History of Japan Revolution
Revolutions in governance systems are often inevitable due to the arising changes and evolutions that come with time. Japan had long been recognized to have adopted a system of governance characterized by feudalism up until 1868, when Emperor Meiji took over the government in what is popularly termed as the Meiji Restoration (Sims 5). Despite the Meiji Restoration being recognized as the major cause for modernization, westernization, and liberation of the country from the military regime, the emperor faced growing opposition from new idealists and socialists towards the end of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. Notable scholars of the time presented their views of the much-needed revolution post the Meiji Restoration through print media, despite some of them facing acute resistance from the reigning regime. The works of Beate Sirota Gordon in drafting the constitution, Kita Ikki in the reorganization of Japan, and Asahi Heigo on the cause for new restoration depict their ideas on the revolution that would liberate the Japanese from the problems that emerged during the Meiji regime.
The first of the renowned authors on the revolution that befell Japan in the early 20th century is Kita Ikki, a leader of the revolutionary group of the early 20th century that was well versed with the western civilizations (Bary et al. 271). Born at the height of the Meiji Restoration, Kita was anxious to revolutionalize Asia to the extent of forming meaningful associations with the nationalist groups of China. The failure of the Chinese nationalist group to effectively bring about a revolution in the communist regime inspired Kita to express his thought on the necessary changes to revolutionalize Japanese society. Kita, through his writing of an outline plan for the reorganization of Japan, proposed a raft of measures, including the suspension of the constitution for three years, the emperor’s recognition of its mandate as the pillar of the nation, the abolition of the peerage system, restricting people’s freedom, restoration of the democratic action of the people through an election, and the reunification of the imperial estate (Bary et al. 272).
Despite Kita being a self-proclaimed socialist, his ideas are typical of that of a nationalist and a fascist, as he is often referred to as the father of Japanese fascism. His advocacy sought to vest the sovereignty to the people as opposed to the emperor, granting them the authority even to suspend the constitution. To address the quest for equality, the proposal by Kita sought to impose limits on the property owned by an individual or the assets of the companies while seeking the establishment of public entities controlled by the Japanese government.
Kita’s proposal also sought to liberate the Japanese from the infringement of their freedoms and the fundamental rights that the members of the society were entitled to, including the right to education, the right to own property, basic human rights, and even labor rights. The decision to incorporate universal suffrage and the adoption of the bicameral system in his agenda makes Kita’s proposal futuristic. The option f...