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Chapter 43 – General Election

“Can’t we use the Matsushima Scandal to force the Seiyukai to change the cabinet? I think that could at least help us avoid the worst-case scenario.”

At my opening statement, in which I staked everything, Great-Grandfather slightly furrowed his brows.

“I don’t think the current cabinet is all that bad, though.”

“The best person for the Finance Minister is Takahashi Korekiyo.”

“True, there’s no one who can match that gentleman in managing Japan’s current finances. But are you saying the tight fiscal policies preferred by ex-bureaucrats from the Ministry of Finance are a bad move? Still, spreading bad rumors about the scandal just through our newspaper won’t be easy.”

“Then how about spreading rumors that the earthquake bills are also meant to support certain zaibatsu?”

“If we’re going to do that, it’s better to spread those rumors during the election campaign. The Kenseikai isn’t that fragile. It would also be more effective to influence someone within the Seiyukai.”

Great-Grandfather grimaced slightly at his own words.
After all, the Ootori Zaibatsu leans toward the Kenseikai.

In terms of zaibatsu influence on political parties, the Kenseikai is funded by Mitsubishi and its allies, while the Seiyukai is backed by Mitsui and its circle.

The current Prime Minister, Katou Takaaki, also transitioned into politics from Mitsubishi and is the son-in-law of the zaibatsu’s founder.

And because the Ootori group has relatively good relations with Mitsubishi, it tends to favor the Kenseikai.
When Prime Minister Katou recovered from pneumonia, he even personally extended a formal thank-you to Kouryuu-sensei.

Also, since Suzuki Shouten is the most upstart of all the zaibatsu, its relationships with others are generally poor—especially with the Mitsui Zaibatsu, with whom relations are particularly bad.

“Then how about leaking Suzuki Shouten’s internal situation, which the Ootori group has uncovered, to the core of the Seiyukai behind the scenes and letting them negotiate under the table with Suzuki?”

As I hesitated, unsure how to bring up the subject, Grandfather casually threw out something rather ruthless.

Great-Grandfather let out a quiet sigh in response.

“You say that so easily. But that would be almost the same as the Ootori parting ways with the Kenseikai. How do you propose we explain it? A sudden shift in allegiance might earn us applause from the Seiyukai, but we’d be making even more enemies than we already have.”

“Couldn’t we talk with Mitsubishi and say that given how harsh austerity is, we’re opposing it this time?”

“That’s not strong enough. Besides, it’s not just the Kenseikai—Hamaguchi and his group are desperately working to return to the gold standard. Most of the zaibatsu also prefer the stability of the gold standard over unstable floating exchange rates.”

“But the Seiyukai would implement the gold standard too, when the time comes, wouldn’t they? If they won’t, we can make them do it. We’re in a position to make that happen now.”

Grandfather began pressing forward at full throttle.

He’s probably using this opportunity to voice all the thoughts he’s been holding onto.
He may be a soldier, but he’s also the head of a family that leads a zaibatsu.

Then Great-Grandfather turned his face toward Grandfather, and the two locked eyes for a while in a silent standoff.

I was already out of the loop.

I knew they were doing it on purpose, but since I was the one who brought it up, I wanted them to treat me not as the “Dreaming Miko”, but as Ootori Reiko. 

That said, even just allowing a six-year-old to see part of the political underbelly is already a generous move on their part—and probably something they internally feel conflicted about.

While that thought lingered at the edge of my mind, Great-Grandfather let out another small sigh.

“Alright. We’ll spread the rumors about the scandal to the public while keeping our name out of it as much as possible. Before that, we’ll inform Mitsubishi and the Kenseikai that we oppose austerity more than we oppose the return to the gold standard. With the power of our American stock holdings behind us, we should be able to force their hand. And since we’re holding a large amount of dollars, they’ll logically agree that a floating exchange system is more favorable for us. It’ll put us in debt to Mitsubishi, though.”

“After that, we tell the Seiyukai that Suzuki is in worse shape than expected, right?

“Exactly. Suzuki may be hiding it, but other groups probably know to some extent.”

Great-Grandfather replied with a wry smile to my first words in a while.

And then he added:

“As for the scandal, if we approach Hiranuma a little more, he’ll probably move on with it gladly. He hates not just the Kenseikai, but the Shidehara diplomacy in particular.”

(Ah, Oushuu is such a complicated and baffling person. Come to think of it, wasn’t he the guardian of the law around this time?)

For a moment, I absentmindedly recalled one of the named figures, when a voice called out to me.

“So, when would be a good time for the election?”

Great-Grandfather was now looking at me not as his great-granddaughter, but as the “Dreaming Miko.”

Naturally, I straightened my posture and recalled a bit of history.

“If the scandal deepens in November, and a senior member of the Kenseikai gets summoned by Kiichirou Hiranuma around then, it might make for a pretty interesting development.”

“That does sound interesting.”

Great-Grandfather showed a smile, one that said he had made up his mind.

I felt a bit frustrated that I could only offer suggestions as the “Dreaming Miko,” but as a child, I can’t take social responsibility anyway—so I suppose I have no choice but to accept that.

And so, the general election—one that was practically orchestrated behind the scenes by the Ootori family—was held in early December.

This election was Japan’s first general election under universal male suffrage, and is sometimes described as a battle between the common people and the zaibatsu.
But no matter how hidden it was, I couldn’t help but feel that we had ruined the spirit of universal suffrage.

Shortly before the election, rumors spread that the Ootori family, sitting on ridiculous unrealized gains from American stocks, had voiced their complaints to the Kenseikai, were ignored, and subsequently switched their support to the Seiyukai.
And even the Mitsubishi conglomerate—normally close with the Ootori family—didn’t press them hard about it.

The Kenseikai itself had rejected Ootori’s plea, so it only resulted in some crude members of the Diet barking about it.

As a result, the public perceived that much of the industrial world and the zaibatsu were more inclined to deny austerity policies than to debate the gold standard.

At that point, the scandalous rumors began to spread to the ruling Kenseikai, and when Minister of the Interior Reijiro Wakatsuki was summoned by Kiichirou Hiranuma, it dealt the final blow to the already unstable cabinet of Prime Minister Kato Takaaki.

However, the Kenseikai was quite popular with the common people, so they were actually more enthusiastic about the upcoming election.

On the other hand, the Kato Takaaki government’s coalition partner, the Reform Club led by Inukai Tsuyoshi, declared their intent to dissolve their alliance with the Kenseikai.

They started weighing the options between the Kenseikai and Seiyukai.
This was unexpected for me, but it seemed that someone had made a move behind the scenes.

According to Great-Grandfather, the influential figure within the Seiyukai, Takejirou Tokonatsu, and his faction had considerable power.
He was expected to become the prime minister if a Seiyukai-led cabinet was formed, which was a development that certain forces within the party disliked. 

These forces likely proposed a post-election coalition.

For the minor factions of the Seiyukai, securing two or three ministerial positions and several dozen seats was considered a cheap deal.

Therefore, the Seiyukai essentially took a collaborative stance with the Reform Club to secure a numerical advantage.
Furthermore, rumors began to spread in the public that the earthquake bonds were also supporting certain zaibatsu.

On the other hand, the Kenseikai, although hurt by the effective withdrawal of the Reform Club, maintained a confident stance, believing they could manage due to their high popularity among the common people.
During the election campaign, Reijirou Wakatuki, who had been freed from the scandal surrounding Kiichirou Hiranuma’s summons, returned and began a comeback for the election.

Thus, the “16th General Election” for the House of Representatives arrived.

It was the first general (male) election in Japan, held during a different time period than in my past life.

Thanks to Ootori’s generous financial support, the Seiyukai won the election and became the leading party.
This resulted in Ootori gaining a significant favor with the Seiyukai. 

On the other hand, the Kenseikai greatly resented this.
Although Ootori’s plea had been rejected by them first, politicians are always unpredictable.

Following the pre-election agreement, the Seiyukai announced their coalition with the Reform Club, led by Inukai Tsuyoshi, and began forming a government with a commanding majority.

In forming this cabinet, it was said that Takashi Hara, who had become the elder statesman of the Seiyukai, played a key role behind the scenes.

At the time, the most powerful figure in the Seiyukai was Tokonatsu, who was a close confidant of Hara.
However, Tokonatsu had grown too powerful, so Hara had to bring the Progressive Club into the fold to balance out the party.

Additionally, the scandal regarding the earthquake bonds led a significant number of non-partisan members to align with the Seiyukai.
Many of these non-partisan members were from socialist or working-class parties that were critical of the zaibatsu.

And with this, securing more than two-thirds of the seats, a new cabinet was formed with Yoshikazu Tanaka, a retired military officer, as the Prime Minister.

I had expected either Hara Takashi’s second cabinet or Tokonatsu’s cabinet, but instead, I was witnessing the course of history unfold.

With this, I had, perhaps even more than the previous “Dreaming Miko,” changed history, to a certain extent.
I didn’t just move things—I changed them.

What that would bring about, aside from what I had intended or predicted, was entirely beyond my imagination.

One week after the election, with the death of Emperor Taisho, Crown Prince Hirohito ascended the throne, marking the beginning of the Showa era.

Japan was now, whether it liked it or not, heading into an era of turmoil.

Hiranuma-san

Hiranuma Kiichirou (平沼 騏一郎)

He was not a mysterious battleship.
A Japanese judicial official and politician.

He held various positions such as Minister of Justice, Member of the House of Peers, Vice President and President of the Privy Council, Prime Minister, Minister of State, and Minister of the Interior.

Had he become Prime Minister a bit earlier, he might never have become associated with a battleship or a war criminal.

Universal Suffrage

Not only the timing but also the historical context is slightly different.
Since Hara Takashi was not assassinated, the Seiyukai are somewhat stronger.

Additionally, with the Ootori zaibatsu providing financial support, the Seiyukai became even stronger.

Socialist and Working-Class Parties

These were the origins of the people who later formed the Social Party after the war.
While socialist, they were distinct from communism. 

This is how it was framed.