The papers of last Saturday announced the resignation of Prince
Katsura, the Prime Minister of Japan. His resigna- tion probably marks the abandonment of the non-party system by which, as in Germany, the Government was able to rule independently of votes in Parliament. The new Prime Minister, the Marquess Saionji, is the leader of the Seiyu-kai, or Unionist Party, which has a large majority in the House of Representatives. In 1900 Prince Ito formed a party Government, but without success, as the plan was in advance of the times. Prince Ito, when he resigned the
Premiership in 1901, resigned also his leadership of the Unionists. The leadership of the Unionists passed to the Marquess Saionji, and Prince Katsura formed a non-party Cabinet on the old lines. Since then, except for a year and a half, Prince Katsura has carried on the government with extraordinary ability, in spite of the difficulties on some occasions of remaining independent of the majority in the House. The fact that he has named the Marquess Saionji as his successor suggests that he looks upon party government and the representative system as inevitable in the future.
