1840: The Court goes to the country
It could not be denied that Peers used some influence in elections, but they paid this much respect to the resolution of that House, that they did not openly and personally interfere at them He was not aware of any instance in which a Peer presented himself openly on the hustings in favour of any particular candidate, or directly canvassed. And if such an occurrence were to take place, the House ought to notice it immediately and with severity.
State opening and Emperor's speech
The new year heralded fresh elections to the privy council, from which the new Cabinet was to be selected. For the present administration under Prime Minister Ito, the state opening of the Diet in January was to be the last such occasion before the voters delivered their verdict.
With this in mind, the Budget had been crafted to appeal to the electorate, but also to a wider class of citizens and subjects whose opinions - though individually insignificant - could taken together shape the views of voters. Thus, the Finance Minister brought forward plans to cut taxes on the nobility to half of the level they had been at the time of the last election, while substantial reductions were also made to the tax burden on commoners.
To pay for this largesse, a new import tax of 25% would be introduced. The Finance Minister explained to the Diet that the flourishing of Japanese industry meant that finished goods could be obtained domestically, while increasing the cost of raw materials would mean that more attention would be paid to developing internal sources, hopefully to the benefit of the growing numbers of unemployed labourers.
The 1840 election
The Court party entered the election in high spirits. The war scares of the mid-30s had seen Japan's territory expanded and had given way to a period of impressive industrial growth. The evidence appeared to confirm the Court's conviction that a strong Empire depended on military power and moral rectitude.
The Isolationists in the Diet - who would have seen Japan withdraw from Europe - looked increasingly irrelevant, while the Restorationists were united by little save a dislike of the current government.
The Cabinet's industrial policy was a point of contention however. Since its introduction the government had reserved to itself the right to expand factories. Investors were free to begin new enterprises, but any premises seeking to employ more than 10,000 workers required a licence. While this gave the state a degree of fine control over local economies, some believed it had a stifling effect on entrepreneurs.
The debate began in earnest in Nagoya. The state was one of Japan's most prosperous cities and home to almost a fifth of the electorate. While the traditional landed gentry could be relied upon to support the Court, the rising class of merchants and industrialists had other ideas and began a whispering campaign in the clubs and salons aimed at securing greater freedom from government intervention. The Court did all it could to condemn such novel ideas, but despite fierce resistance the liberal policies had some appeal.
On military policy the Cabinet believed it was on surer ground, although once again their support for industry had created controversy. In early February a retired brigadier from Shumshu petitioned the Diet complaining about the standard of food supplied to the army.
The incident had the potential to severely embarrass the Cabinet as it was revealed that the War Office had been ordered to purchase tinned food from government-sponsored factories. In its haste to head off a controversy the Cabinet agreed to increase soldiers’ food rations, but in so doing were thought to have disparaged the products of Japanese industry, to the outrage of many.
The new tariff was less of an election issue than might have been expected. Receipts from the 1840 Budget had been predicted to return a surplus to the treasury of around £30,000 per annum, but in the event the substantial tax cuts that accompanied it raised imports to such a level that the Finance Minister was now anticipating a net return of £140,000.
The election campaign in Luzon saw some liberal electors raise objections to the Budget, but in the face of its unquestionable success the government had little trouble winning over all but the most committed of dissidents.
Two incidents in March demonstrated the tricky balancing act the Cabinet was attempting. In Zhaoqing a colonel serving in the Army of Southern China struck the son of a prominent local magistrate. The colonel claimed the lad had made disparaging remarks about the Emperor, while the boy alleged that the colonel had been drunk and attacked without provocation.
True to form, General Kuroki dismissed calls for the officer to be tried in the local civil courts and refused to countenance summoning a court martial for what he described as a trivial matter. The case became something of a cause celebre in both pro- and anti-military camps and tensions were heightened further when the War Office chose to take the army's side in the matter: the honour of an officer was unimpeachable, the War Minister told the Diet, and given that the boy had insulted the Emperor, Colonel Lee had only done what any father would have.
On 4th March news arrived of the British Empire's annexation of Leinster. Though not formally allied, the Empire had extended generous financial support to the Irish kingdom and its capitulation was seen as a worrying sign of British revival.
Despite this, the situation was difficult for enemies of the government to profit from. Few in the Empire wanted another war with Britain, and since the latter's ejection from Asia in the last century it seemed that no vital interests were at stake.
In Shumshu, the population responded to all the talk of war by questioning the very basis on which Japan approached such conflicts: instead of trying to solve problems by force of arms, surely civilised men could settle their differences amicably.
The Court would hear none of this, and the Interior Minister had to be persuaded against prosecuting some of the leading proponents of this argument for sedition. The Cabinet pointed to a history of unprovoked European aggression against the Empire as all the reason they needed to maintain a strong deterrent.
The campaign in Fukuoka revolved around the government’s industrial policy. The need for large factories to hold government licences was questioned by some voters, who agreed that the state had a right to intervene, but thought that it should not have a monopoly on large manufactories.
Sensing in this the hand of the Isolationists deputies – who were known to advocate such policies – the Finance Minister came down strongly in favour of his party’s line. While the state could make use of private enterprise, at a time of industrial turmoil it was folly to allow markets to dictate who could eat and who should starve, he thundered. Such a damning verdict was quite contrary to his normal reserve and while he won over many, others were incensed by the implication that they were fools.
Luzon saw a repeat of the debate over the standard of army rations.
Once again, the government was quick to reassure voters of its support for the military; and once again a somewhat heavy-handed approach left others furious.
In Daming, the chief priest of Kaishan Temple’s complaints about Christian missionary activity caught the imagination of Restorationists, who accused the government of turning its back on Japan’s traditional faiths in favour of Western superstitions.
Although the Empire had established a reputation for religious tolerance in previous centuries, the nineteenth had seen something of a moralist revival buoyed up by Japan’s conception of itself as clearly superior to its neighbours or its European rivals. Dissenters within the Court took small comfort in the knowledge that religion was not an issue that excited many voters.
In the last days of the campaign a major report on military readiness threatened to land the government with a large bill to replace obsolete and broken equipment. Isolationist deputies seized on this to argue for cuts to the military budget.
Fortunately for the Court, the success of the tariff policy left the government in a stronger than anticipated economic position. While condemning the War Office for not intervening sooner, Prime Minister Ito gave a personal guarantee that he would see to it that the soldiers would receive whatever they needed.
The final results from the vote exceeded the Court’s expectations. The success of the tariff policy and the Cabinet’s ability to campaign on a strong military record had produced a spectacular return at the ballot box.
While some churlishly grumbled that it was patronage – not policies – that had granted victory to the government, Prime Minister Ito was content to contemplate another five years of stable and prudent rule.
Domestic affairs
At the opening of the 1840s Japan’s naval pre-eminence looked more assured than ever. France, the Power with the next largest navy, had a fleet that was smaller than Japan’s forces on station in Europe. To further cement this dominance, the newly re-elected Cabinet approved plans to bring the number of ships of the line up to 60.
On land the picture was different. The 64 brigades of the Imperial Army were a match for any in the world, but in numbers it was France that held the decisive advantage. However, given the two countries’ close relations the French Army was not regarded as an existential threat.
For all Austria’s expansionism during the 1830s its regular army was a mere 19 brigades: soon to be equalled by Japan’s European deployments. The transport fleet had arrived in China in June, and although many of its ships had taken a battering rounding Cape Horn enough were deemed seaworthy to begin the long voyage back to the Mediterranean. By 1841 Japan would be in a position to oppose further Austrian aggression.
Industrially, 1840 saw a continuation of the soaring unemployment of the late 30s, but with a difference. The government’s policy of expanding factories to address oversupplies of labour had run into a crucial bottleneck: a lack of machine parts.
While some were quick to put the blame on the new tariff, the Cabinet retorted that Japan produced more parts than any other nation. The truth was that demand could not be met by local or even global supply; and as long as factories could not be enlarged the problem of unemployment would only grow.
Foreign affairs
Further afield, 1840 saw Burma conduct yet another successful war, this time against Assam.
Although there was little love lost between the Empire and King Zalahtinyan, the Foreign Minister persuaded his colleagues to finance the war effort. A few large states on the Empire’s borders were more easily controlled than a multitude of smaller ones, and there was no possibility that tiny Burma could ever present a threat to Japan.
More worrying was the continuance of British aggression, although in this case the target was far from what Japan considered its natural sphere of interests. In November, a dispute over rights to a silver mine in Potosí state escalated into an all-out war between Britain and Aragon.
Determining formal ownership of the land was complex, but Japan did not hesitate to give Aragon its full support. As was now usual practice a series of long-maturity loans were offered to the Catalans, although the disparity of forces meant that the outcome would mostly depend on British competence, or lack thereof.
End of year
The end of 1840 saw the Court party secure in its leadership of the Empire for further five years. Soon Japanese forces in Europe would be brought up to a level where they could challenge any hostile power, while the expansion of the navy and the completion of new bases would secure control of the seas. The only cloud on the horizon was the slowing pace of industrial expansion and the unemployment which this would bring.