Takashi (Kei) Hara

Takashi (Kei) Hara , 1856-1921, Japanese statesman, prime minister (1918-21). As secretary-general and later president (1914), Hara established the Seiyukai as the first powerful majority party by compromise with the oligarchs (see genro ), distribution of patronage posts to cooperative bureaucrats, exploitation of public works legislation, and lavish use of election money. He was the first prime minister to form a party cabinet in accordance with principles of parliamentary government. He encouraged the extension of suffrage but suppressed labor organization. His administration was notable for the expedition to Siberia, the independence movement in Korea, Japanese participation in the Paris Peace Conference, labor unrest, and naval armament. He was assassinated by a fanatic.

Bibliography: See T. Najita, Hara Kei in the Politics of Compromise, 1905-1915 (1967).

Hara Takashi (b. 9 Sept. 1856, d. 4 Nov. 1921). Prime Minister of Japan 1918–21 The protégé of Inoue Kaoru, also known as Hara Kei and Hara Satoshi. Hara was to win a position for himself independent of the oligarchs who had ruled Japan since the Meiji Restoration, establishing the power of the party in politics. Hara's early career included time spent as a journalist and as a senior official in the consular service in China and ambassador to Korea. As a leading member of the Seiyûkai, he entered the Diet in 1900 and served in several Cabinets as Minister of Communications and head of the powerful Home Ministry. In 1914, Hara succeeded Saionji Kinmochi as party president and four years later he became the first commoner to hold the premiership. He was an expert at building up the party machine, largely through the funnelling of patronage provided by big business to the grass roots. A combination of strong electoral performances and the brilliant skills Hara displayed as a political schemer allowed Japan's political parties to win power from the bureaucracy and the old political establishment. Hara's policies, as well as his emphasis on domestic economic well-being, brought him into conflict with the entrenched interests in the bureaucracy. He was assassinated by a right-wing fanatic.