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We who opposed federalism were fighting for the right of the Emperor to appoint his own regional administrators, that is what is known as the centralized model. A unitary state with no regional administrators would not be a unitary state for long, as how can you administrate an entire country from a single capital? It is traditional for the monarch to send out officers of his court to oversee the districts of the nation.
 
We who opposed federalism were fighting for the right of the Emperor to appoint his own regional administrators, that is what is known as the centralized model. A unitary state with no regional administrators would not be a unitary state for long, as how can you administrate an entire country from a single capital? It is traditional for the monarch to send out officers of his court to oversee the districts of the nation.

There seems to be some confusion as to what you are actually arguing for. When you speak of regional administrators, one assumes that you are referring to political regional governors, similar to the temporary ones we have now, and not to apolitical civil servants who administer on a provincial or regional level. The former is evidence of a federal system, the latter is compatible with either federal or unitary government.

-- Hosokawa-dono.
 
Count Hosokawa, you may disagree with my intended method of who the Emperor should be advised to appoint as regional governors, but please understand that by denying the Emperor his established right to appoint regional administrators you are not strengthening his power, you are drastically weakening it and becoming supporters of federalism yourselves. I hope all supporters of the unitary state will either support my legislation or propose their own systems for which candidates should be recommended as regional administrators.
 
Count Hosokawa, you may disagree with my intended method of who the Emperor should be advised to appoint as regional governors, but please understand that by denying the Emperor his established right to appoint regional administrators you are not strengthening his power, you are drastically weakening it and becoming supporters of federalism yourselves. I hope all supporters of the unitary state will either support my legislation or propose their own systems for which candidates should be recommended as regional administrators.

Sir, I do not disagree with your intended method for appointing regional governors, I disagree with the institution of permanent, political, regional governors altogether! That is federalism, plain and simple. One does not support federalism by opposing what is, de facto federalism!

-- Hosokawa-dono.


((Just to clarify, by permanent Hosokawa means that there will always be a regional governor for Kyushu, Shikoku, etc. Not that x person shall be Governor of y province until he dies.))
 
Count Hosokawa, you may disagree with my intended method of who the Emperor should be advised to appoint as regional governors, but please understand that by denying the Emperor his established right to appoint regional administrators you are not strengthening his power, you are drastically weakening it and becoming supporters of federalism yourselves. I hope all supporters of the unitary state will either support my legislation or propose their own systems for which candidates should be recommended as regional administrators.

During the transitional period, Chancellor Date worked to reconstruct Japan as an Empire, with the regional subdivisions of Prefectures, who are governed by appointed Governors and are not part of some sort of a Federal system. The Prefectures, as witnessed, provide the needed administration in the regional level for the Emperor.

~ Nishimura Hiroshi
 
During the transitional period, Chancellor Date worked to reconstruct Japan as an Empire, with the regional subdivisions of Prefectures, who are governed by appointed Governors and are not part of some sort of a Federal system. The Prefectures, as witnessed, provide the needed administration in the regional level for the Emperor.

~ Nishimura Hiroshi

Date should be thrown into the sea.

-Tanaka
 
Sir, I do not disagree with your intended method for appointing regional governors, I disagree with the institution of permanent, political, regional governors altogether! That is federalism, plain and simple. One does not support federalism by opposing what is, de facto federalism!

-- Hosokawa-dono.


((Just to clarify, by permanent Hosokawa means that there will always be a regional governor for Kyushu, Shikoku, etc. Not that x person shall be Governor of y province until he dies.))

There are too many prefectures for His Majesty's Government or Privy Council to recommend fitting leaders to all of them. This isn't about independence of the regions, it's about making something that the capital can effectively control. And I would say that the notion that one man be the governor of a region until he dies smacks of the Daimyo and is therefore Federalist. Nippon can't continue to be split up into these tiny feudal domains, which we abolished, tied to a few old families. A unitary state requires a rational administrative system. It was to be expected that the Privy Council would recommend candidates to the Emperor, they have just been neglecting that duty. Had appointments on merit of excellence been already made, we wouldn't need to resort to integrating it into the Imperial Diet election system; but it seems that some things too much for overworked administrative bodies like the Council and the Ministers of State to handle themselves, and so by default they've allowed a return to the Daimyo system to creep back into the nation. I believe it is high time we swept aside feudalism for good by ensuring that a national body directly under the Emperor, such as the Imperial Diet, is part of what decides subsidiary administration.

If you wish to create new administrative regions not tied to the old Regions, I won't argue with you, but the Prefectures are too small to be micromanaged from Kyoto. The central government should appoint regional administrators who in turn can appoint prefectural administrators, maintaining the Emperor's central authority and the integrity of the unitary state.

I find it interesting that I need to convince National Liberals of the dangers that can hide under the guise of "tradition". We can't allow a new Shogunate to form, merely one in which half the Daimyos have been dispossessed and the other half seen their powers increased. And yet, unless a law is in place with a scheme for regional administration, His Majesty's Government and the Privy Council will have no choice but to fall back on relying on outdated local institutions as they haven't the time to vet candidates for each and every prefecture themselves.

- Admiral Unryu Raizo
 
A Letter from Takeda Hitomi to His Friend, Lieutenant Takahashi Itsuki
My Dear Friend,

It troubles me continuously and at greater lengths each day the more I hear of the happenings in Tokyo and in the general halls of national government. More and more I hear of the most troublesome debates and controversies in the Diet and even among the members of the Cabinet and the Privy Council, which, divided along ideological lines, squabble and fight to earn the affection and respect of His Majesty the Emperor. Among these many fighters and screamers are, sadly, men of military merit.

Perhaps the most worrisome of these unfolding events is the effect it will undoubtedly have on the kokutai (national essence). The Constitution promulgated to us by the Emperor most clearly delineates the matters of the State from the matters of the Army and Navy. And still, these men of the Army and the Navy -- the Generals and Colonels and Admirals and Captains -- continue to interject into the Diet, into the Cabinet, and into the Privy Council their unbounded and poisonous influence, hoping to gain glory for themselves and for their respective branch. They simply seek glory for themselves instead of glory for the Emperor and the Nation. It is truly shameful.

If these men, or men like them, assume the powers and responsibilities of civil government, I can only foresee disaster for the future of the Empire, from which we can only be saved by the wisdom, power, and virtue of His Majesty the Emperor.

I await respectfully the response and wisdom of my great friend,

Yours,
Hitomi
 
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Date should be thrown into the sea.

-Tanaka

I would suggest you not speak of a superior officer in such a way, soldier, unless you want to breed an atmosphere of disrespect.

~ Marshal Prince Date Munenari, War and Navy Minister, Chief of the Army General Staff, Chief of the Navy General Staff, Commander of the Northern General Army, and Privy Councillor
 
This is exactly the sort of damage to the integrity of military discipline that could be prevented should serving officers be prohibited from serving as Ministers of State. I myself have been involved in politics since the Constitutional Convention, but working within a political party and proposing legislation is already a tremendous privilege; I don't entertain ambitions to become Prime Minister one day.
 
[Insert Imperial Symbol because imgur is being stupid]
We hereby appoint Marquis Oshiro Kazuki as Prime Minister of the Diet. May his reign lead Japan to prosperity

-Emperor Meiji

--------------------------------
Player Actions Needed: Somberg, get your government up, get orders in, and get a budget in. You have until Thursday at 9:00 PM EST or Friday at 1:00 AM GMT to do that.
 
((Private- Privy Council))
((As he should be.))



And yet the Lord Mouri sees no conflict of interest whatever transpiring from Prince Sakamoto's membership of the Privy Council. If the Leader of the Opposition can advise the Emperor in a personal capacity, then why not his Prime Minister, and vice versa? It appears that the Hon. Lord only sees alleged "conflicts of interest" when they affect his political opponents, and not his political allies.

I do not feel it is the role of the Privy Council to appoint Japan's Head of Government - that should be ultimately left to its Head of State. As Marquis Oshiro is the incumbent and the leader of the governing party, he should be appointed by right until such time as the Emperor or his Parliament loses confidence in him.

PM: Oshiro

[Count]


-- Hosokawa-dono, PC.
Firstly, it's Lord Mori you pleb. Secondly, the Leader of the Opposition is not a position that is appointed by the Emperor and does not have the same power as Prime Minister. The Prime Minister leads the Emperor's government and implements their policies (if they have any) while the Leader of the Opposition scrutinizes the Prime Minister's and the Government's actions.

The Marquis being incumbent does not make a difference when we have seen that the Marquis feels it okay to sit around in the cabinet while his Foreign Secretary rambles on and on about things the government will doe, but has not yet done.


((Private - Privy Council))

Prime Minister: Ōshiro Kazuki

[Marquis]

I wish to echo what Lord Hosokawa has stated, as I do not understand the conflict of interests which Lord Mori seems so concerned by. The Privy Council is meant to be an apolitical that advises the Emperor. One's position as prime minister would hardly do anything but provide the Emperor an opportunity to also hear from the leader of his government. Are we to deny Prince Sakamoto the position of prime minister should his party win because it would create a "conflict of interests" as he too is a member of the Privy Council? I know that I would support Prince Sakamoto as prime minister if his party won control of the Diet, as it would petty to deny him a position that he earned through his party's victory. I ask my fellow Councillors to carefully consider this as they decide who will be the next prime minister.

~ Ōshiro Kazuki, Marquis of Okayama
"One's position as prime minister would hardly do anything but provide the Emperor an opportunity to also hear from the leader of his government." You humor me Marquis. The Emperor hears from his government, or is supposed to, on a daily base. The Prime Minister being one of the highest advisers to the Emperor next to the Privy Council. It's rather disappointing that you seem to have not taken advantage of this procedure.

Do you live in some deluded world where the people directly elect the Prime Minister? The people elect, if the Marquis was paying attention, their representative in the Diet and not the Prime Minster. Not a single vote, save in the constituency of the Marquis', was a vote cast for the Prime Minister. Learn the basics of our electoral system or your risk becoming even more out-pf-touch then you already are.

Prince Sakamoto will be denied the Prime Minister ship so long as the Marquis is denied the Prime Minister ship. The Emperor appoints a knowledgeable member of the Diet who can command the confidence of the Diet and not whoever the leader of the biggest party is. Learn some of the basics of our government and maybe you wouldn't sit in your chair like a buffoon.

- Count Mori


((Public))

Yet another term for the man who sleeps while Japan labors. I can only wait to see the lack of policies from yet another term of this government. A government which does not know what the words "compromise" or "effectiveness" mean.

- Count Mori
 
Second Ōshiro Government
Prime Minister: Ōshiro Kazuki (Somberg)
Minister of Foreign Affairs: Hosokawa Mitsuhide (LordTempest)
Minister of War: Date Munenari (Riccardo93)
Minister of Finance: Nishimura Hiroshi (EmperorBasilius)
Minister of the Interior: Yamamoto Hirakuni (Davout)
Minister of Justice: Takeshi Ohba (LoggingOut)
Minister of Education: Kishiwada Yukio (mrlifeless)
Minister of Commerce: Tanabe Shinzou (TJDS)
Minister of Transportation: Ito Katashi (Michaelangelo)​
 
I would suggest you not speak of a superior officer in such a way, soldier, unless you want to breed an atmosphere of disrespect.

~ Marshal Prince Date Munenari, War and Navy Minister, Chief of the Army General Staff, Chief of the Navy General Staff, Commander of the Northern General Army, and Privy Councillor

General Date, I greatly respected your soldiering abilities when I served under you and we fought together against the reactionaries. I do not share the same respect for you as a politician and defacto dictator.

-Tanaka
 
Sir, I do not disagree with your intended method for appointing regional governors, I disagree with the institution of permanent, political, regional governors altogether! That is federalism, plain and simple. One does not support federalism by opposing what is, de facto federalism!

-- Hosokawa-dono.


((Just to clarify, by permanent Hosokawa means that there will always be a regional governor for Kyushu, Shikoku, etc. Not that x person shall be Governor of y province until he dies.))

Count Hosokawa, you may disagree with my intended method of who the Emperor should be advised to appoint as regional governors, but please understand that by denying the Emperor his established right to appoint regional administrators you are not strengthening his power, you are drastically weakening it and becoming supporters of federalism yourselves. I hope all supporters of the unitary state will either support my legislation or propose their own systems for which candidates should be recommended as regional administrators.

Lord Hosokawa, Admiral Unryu,
If you will forgive my intercession, but the size of the province, and method of selecting governors has no affect on Japan's status as a unitary state. Japan is unitary because all power rests with the central government, even if some tasks are delegated. Most notably Tax and budgetary powers are ((presumably)) handled by the central administration.
However both of you raise valid points. As the Admiral states, it is hard to maintain effective and thorough oversight of many small prefectures, which could well lead to local politicians or dignitaries establishing what amounts to a personal fiefdom. Lord Hosokawa is also correct that large administrative divisions could swiftly begin to come into conflict with the central government in terms of delegated powers.
Perhaps a detailed review of the prefectures, their number and boundaries might be in order? I am sure a consensus can be achieved on the most efficient number.

((Historically there were originally over 300 prefectures reduced to 70s then 40s. I don't know if it differs in this AAR.))

- Kusaribe

The Education Improvement Act

1. All Japanese and Ainu children between the ages of five and sixteen, regardless of social status, gender, religion, or any other belief, shall enjoy the privilege of compulsory and free education, funding provided by the state.
2. Children whose parents are farmers or are otherwise in the lower class are entitled to an extra school year of instruction.
3. Teaching will be recognized as an official profession in Japan, and teachers shall receive a set salary which the Ministry of Education decides based on their effectiveness in educating their students (to be measured in yearly standardized tests).
4. The state will provide funding to build schools, especially in rural and hard to reach/low income regions, and supervisors will be sent to each school to ensure quality education.
5. Curriculum shall be strictly secular, though the Shinto, Confucian, and Buddhist (all branches taught, with an emphasis on the most relevant ones in Japanese life) religions shall be offered as recommended courses. There will be an emphasis on science and technology as well as the Japanese national identity, to promote cultural traditions and modernity at the same time. Though the curriculum shall be secular, students shall be continuously reminded that the Emperor is the Son of Amaterasu and must be treated with proper respect.
6. Young children shall be given places in kindergartens where they can play with educational toys, while older children shall devote much of their time to extensive homework designed to reinforce what they learned.
7. All students will undergo compulsory physical education as part of their primary curriculum. At the age of sixteen and after the conclusion of primary studies, male students are to undergo two years of compulsory military training, unless they present a certificate of admission to an accredited university beforehand. By age eighteen, all Japanese subjects, regardless of gender, must demonstrate knowledge of how to handle a katana effectively.
8. Universities following the German model are to be established in major Japanese cities to allow students to receive optional higher education.
9.((Reform selected: Good school system if not already selected))

~Prince Sakamoto

My Lord Sakamoto,
May I enquire where you intend to find teachers for so many schools? Given the previous absence of any such system in Japan I cannot imagine you will find enough individuals qualified for such a task domestically. I would have deep misgivings about inviting large numbers of foreigners to engage in the education of our children.
My apologies if this is not the case.

-Kusaribe
 
Lord Hosokawa, Admiral Unryu,
If you will forgive my intercession, but the size of the province, and method of selecting governors has no affect on Japan's status as a unitary state. Japan is unitary because all power rests with the central government, even if some tasks are delegated. Most notably Tax and budgetary powers are ((presumably)) handled by the central administration.
However both of you raise valid points. As the Admiral states, it is hard to maintain effective and thorough oversight of many small prefectures, which could well lead to local politicians or dignitaries establishing what amounts to a personal fiefdom. Lord Hosokawa is also correct that large administrative divisions could swiftly begin to come into conflict with the central government in terms of delegated powers.
Perhaps a detailed review of the prefectures, their number and boundaries might be in order? I am sure a consensus can be achieved on the most efficient number.

((Historically there were originally over 300 prefectures reduced to 70s then 40s. I don't know if it differs in this AAR.))

- Kusaribe



My Lord Sakamoto,
May I enquire where you intend to find teachers for so many schools? Given the previous absence of any such system in Japan I cannot imagine you will find enough individuals qualified for such a task domestically. I would have deep misgivings about inviting large numbers of foreigners to engage in the education of our children.
My apologies if this is not the case.

-Kusaribe
Do you not recall the rich literary tradition of our nation and the high literacy rates among the members of the former samurai class? Many literate samurai are out of jobs following the Restoration. Perhaps we could repurpose them...

~Sakamoto
 
Do you not recall the rich literary tradition of our nation and the high literacy rates among the members of the former samurai class? Many literate samurai are out of jobs following the Restoration. Perhaps we could repurpose them...

~Sakamoto

Indeed, such men are a credit to themselves and the nation, however the regressive policies of the past have left a deficit in vital subjects such as modern science, mathematics and technology. Attempting to roll out a nation-wide education system at once could spread talent thinly, resulting in patchy education.

I would humbly suggest staggering the roll out, especially for higher education. This would also have the virtue of allowing the ministry of education to gain a thorough grasp of what works, and what does not, as well as providing the opportunity to weed out any unnecessarily western practices.

-Kusaribe
((Basic Education reform, followed by the next level X years later and Good Education X years after that))
 
((Why do we have separate ministers for Finance and for Commerce? Aren't they basically the same thing in Vicky II?))