Mutsu Munemitsu and the concept of competition in modern Japanese politics

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16H06702
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Research Field: Politics
• Research Institution: Tokyo Metropolitan University (2017); The University of Tokyo (2016)
• Principal Investigator: Sasaki Yuichi 首都大学東京, 社会科学研究科, 助教 (80779538)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-08-26 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: 近代日本 / 陸奥宗光 / 競争 / 利益 / 代議政治 / 立憲政治 / デモクラシー / 明治初期の政治思想

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Focusing on Mutsu Munemitsu, one of the Meiji leaders and Meiji intellectuals, this research project aims at understanding how the concepts of competition and interest were accepted in modern Japanese politics. This project reveals that Mutsu's political thought was based on his practical experience and concerns rather than Utilitarianism, and that he strongly promoted the development of representative government and party politics which were based on the concept of competition. However, such development ceased with his death in 1897.

Free Research Field

日本政治外交史