ABSTRACT
Saionji’s active role in politics did not end in 1936. As Genro, he continued to receive Foreign Office communications and to advise the Emperor at times of cabinet change. As leader of the liberal constitutionalmonarchist group, he continued to exercise influence in the Court and, through the Jushin, in the Privy Council, the House of Peers and the Navy Ministry. After 1936, however, his voice as Genro in the selection of prime ministers became progressively weaker until candidates who did not have his support were appointed and ultimately, the procedure of recommendation was revised to reflect the political realities of the situation. As the balance of power shifted away from those groups in which Saionji as leader of the liberal group exercised some control, both the group as a whole and Saionji personally, suffered a loss of prestige and influence. Saionji himself, almost ninety years of age and active for seventy years in affairs of state, had acquired a degree of immunity from popular attack. In the popular mind, Saionji, like the Emperor, was above factional politics. Nevertheless, the institution of Genro was seen as anachronistic not only by those active in politics, who sought to usurp its power, but also, increasingly, by the mass of the population. Unlike Saionji himself, the liberal group as a whole enjoyed no immunity from popular attack and as the group’s influence on policy making declined, so did its reputation suffer. Finally, Saionji’s health continued to worsen and his meetings with political figures became less frequent and shorter in duration.
