Japan. In addition, the overwhelming success of the Western democracies in the war strongly influenced Japanese thought. The most democratic Western powers, Great Britain, France, and the United States, had emerged victorious, and the least democratic, Germany, Russia, and Austro-Hungary, had collapsed completely. It seemed obvious that democracy made stronger states and was therefore superior to autocracy. This argument was convincing to the average Japanese. There was an upsurge of enthusiasm for real democracy, and the business men of Japan, riding a wave of economic prosperity and responding to a popular demand for democratic government, became the dominant group in politics.
Military officers, professional bureaucrats, and rural landowners all remained extremely influential, but the business men, particularly the representatives of great economic empires like Mitsui and Mitsubishi, dominated the post-war political parties, and these in turn controlled most of the Cabinets. Some of the Premiers were titled men, others were admirals without party connections; but for more than a decade after the First World War the Cabinets were largely party Cabinets, dependent for their authority upon party strength in the Diet. Thus, at last, the Diet became the key organ of government. Political parties often acted as tools of small but powerful private interests, and Japan had its full share and more of political corruption; but democracy, however imperfectly, was becoming the dominant force in Japanese politics.
The new system of party government got its start as early as September 1918, when Hara, the leader of a