The Diet of the Empire of Japan in pre-WWII era

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Korean and Taiwanese members of House of Lords in the Empire of Japan.
Korean and Taiwanese Home Territory habitants had the right to vote.
The “Fairness” of the Government of Japan.

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 In the pre-WWII era, the diet of the Empire of Japan was consisted of the House of Lords and the House of Representatives, as with the British Empire. The difference from the British Empire was that some members of Japanese House of Lords were the Emperor’s appointees. In the British Empire, only the life peers were eligible to be the members of the House of Lords. 

Membership of Japanese House of Lords was granted for the classes of count, viscount, and baron. “Outer Territories” of Taiwan and Korea under Japanese rule was similar to Ireland of United Kingdom rather than colonies or commonwealth. It was a kind of “United Empire of Japan, Korea and Taiwan”.

Until 1963, membership of the House of Lords of Scottish and Irish peerage was limited by representative peer election in the UK. In the Empire of Japan, Korean heredity peer were also excluded from membership of the House of Lords.

 However, membership regulation of Japanese House of Lords was amended in April, 1945. The amendment enabled 10 Korean and 10 Taiwanese to be appointed to the members of House of Lords. But some Korean and Taiwanese already had been appointed the members before. As noted above, the Empire of Japan had the authority to appoint a person of age of 30 or higher in case with national credit and/or intellectual to member of the House of Lords even if he was not peerage. The term of the Emperor’s appointee of the Upper House was lifelong.

 Korean and Taiwanese were not excluded from the Emperor’s appointee of the Upper House member. In fact, some Korean and/or Taiwanese were appointed under the title of Home Territory Japanese after the amendment of 1945.

 For the House of Representative, both candidates and voters were restricted as to one’s place of residence. Authorized Korean and Taiwanese Home Territory habitants were eligible to be candidate and voter, while the Japanese Outer Territory habitants were not.

That meant that Korean and Taiwanese Home Territory habitants could be members of the House of Representatives if won the election. In the pre-WWII era of Japan, Korean members of the House of Representatives did existed. One Korean representative was elected for the House of Representative twice. This meant that it didn’t matter whether the candidate was Japanese or Korean. This proves that not only Japanese voters but also the Japanese Empire’s Government was “fair” for election, because after 1925, all the Home Territory habitants of the Empire of Japan above the age of 25 was equally given the right to vote.

In April 1945, membership of the both House was allocated for the Outer Territories. 10 seats were allocated for each House for Korean and Taiwanese respectively. After 50 years of annexation of Taiwan and 35 years of Korea, both Outer Territories had acquired the right of membership of the Diet from the Outer Territories in a short period of time, that means total of 40 should be the members of Diet were Korean or Taiwanese, however the heredity peers of Korea were still excluded the right of membership of the House of Lords.

This amendment had never been effective due to surrender of Japan. The detail of the Diet membership is another evidence that Japan intended to establish “United Empire of Japan, Korea and Taiwan” and shows the “Fairness” of the Government of the Empire of Japan.