In modern Japan, until 1925 tax requirements restricted access to the polls for the House of Representatives to a minority of the male population. Similar, though looser, rules applied to local councils until 1926. Drawing on information from economic statistics and records of political debate, this paper explores how social status corresponded to tax payment and what it took to obtain the vote. Analysis focuses on the 1889 election law of the Lower House and its later revisions, pointing out how shifts in the tax threshold affected not only the size of the electorate but also the balance between rural and urban voters. Sources suggest that lawmakers carefully pondered both effects, in an effort to set requirements at a level that best suited their political goals.

Quanto vale un voto? Note sulla relazione tra reddito e suffragio nel Giappone moderno

REVELANT, Andrea
2012-01-01

Abstract

In modern Japan, until 1925 tax requirements restricted access to the polls for the House of Representatives to a minority of the male population. Similar, though looser, rules applied to local councils until 1926. Drawing on information from economic statistics and records of political debate, this paper explores how social status corresponded to tax payment and what it took to obtain the vote. Analysis focuses on the 1889 election law of the Lower House and its later revisions, pointing out how shifts in the tax threshold affected not only the size of the electorate but also the balance between rural and urban voters. Sources suggest that lawmakers carefully pondered both effects, in an effort to set requirements at a level that best suited their political goals.
2012
Nuove prospettive di ricerca sul Giappone, a cura di Giorgio Amitrano e Silvana De Maio
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10278/34418
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