Freedom and People's Rights Movement
The Freedom and People's Rights Movement, Liberty and Civil Right Movement, or Free Civil Right Movement was a Japanese political and social movement for democracy in the 1880s. It pursued the formation of an elected legislature, revision of the Unequal Treaties with the United States and European countries, the institution of civil rights, and the reduction of centralized taxation. The Movement prompted the Meiji government to establish a constitution in 1889 and a diet in 1890; on the other hand, it failed to loosen the control of the central government and its demand for true democracy remained unfulfilled, with ultimate power continuing to reside in the Meiji oligarchy because, among other limitations, the Meiji Constitution enfranchised only men who paid a substantial amount in property taxes, as a result of the Land Tax Reform in 1873.
of the Jiyūtō.Related people
- Chiba Takusaburō, author of the "Itsukaichi constitution", a draft constitution for the Empire of Japan
- Etō Shinpei
- Fukuda Hideko
- Gotō Shōjirō
- Ido Reizan
- Inoue Kaoru
- Itagaki Taisuke, founder of the first Jiyūtō, and former leader of the Jinshotai
- Yamamoto Yae
- Nakae Chōmin
- Ōkuma Shigenobu
- Shimizu Shikin
- Soejima Taneomi
- Yamaji Motoharu, former Jinshotai commander
- Tokutomi Sohō
- Ueki Emori
- Azenbō Soeda, prolific enka lyricist and street performer
- Saionji Kinmochi, one of the last Meiji period democrats, who later tried to prevent the Tripartite Pact
