- House of Peers
:"This article is about the Japanese body. The British
House of Lords is also known as the "House of Peers" for certain ceremonial purposes.":"The French "Chambre des pairs " of theBourbon Restoration is sometimes known as the "House of Peers" in English."The nihongo| House of Peers of Japan|貴族院| Kizokuin was the
upper house of the Imperial Diet as mandated under theConstitution of the Empire of Japan (in effect from11 February 1889 to3 May 1947 ).Ito Hirobumi and the other Meiji leaders deliberately modeled the chamber on the BritishHouse of Lords , as a counterweight to the popularly elected House of Representatives ("Shūgiin").In 1869, under the new
Meiji government , a Japanesepeerage was created by an Imperial decree merging the former Court nobility "(kuge )" and former feudal lords "(daimyo )" into a single newaristocratic class called the "kazoku ."A second imperial ordinance in 1884 grouped the "kazoku" into five ranks equivalent to the
Europe anprince (orduke ),marquis ,count ,viscount , andbaron . Although this grouping idea was taken from the European peerage, the Japanese titles were taken from Chinese and based on the ancient feudal system in China.The House of Peers originally comprised:
# theCrown Prince from age of 18
# all imperial princes "(shinnō)" and lesser princes of the imperial blood "(ō)" over the age of twenty
# all princes and marquis over the age of 25 (raised to age 30 in 1925)
# 150 representatives elected from the ranks of counts, viscounts, and barons over the age of 25 (raised to age 30 in 1925), for seven year terms
# 150 additional members nominated by the Emperor, in consultation with the Privy Council
# 66 elected representatives of the 6,000 highest taxpayers, for seven year terms.For the first session of the Imperial Diet (1889–1890), there were 145 hereditary members and 106 imperial appointees and high taxpayers, for a total of 251 members.
With the creation of new peers, additional seats for members of the former Korean aristocracy and five seats for representatives from the
Gakushuin Peer's School, membership peaked at 403 seats by 1925. In its 92nd and final session, the number of members was 373.Presidents of the House of Peers
After
World War II , under the currentConstitution of Japan , in effect from3 May 1947 , the unelected House of Peers was replaced by an electedHouse of Councillors .ee also
*
Westminster System
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