Editing Hara Takashi (section)

==Political career==
In 1882, Hara took a position in the [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Japan)|Ministry of Foreign Affairs]] at the request of [[Inoue Kaoru]], the [[Minister for Foreign Affairs (Japan)|Foreign Minister]] at the time. Based on discussions Hara had with him on his views for the future of Japanese politics during a trip both men took to [[Korea]] in 1884, Inoue appointed Hara to become consul-general in [[Tianjin]], and the first secretary to the embassy of Japan in [[Paris]]. Hara served as Vice-minister of Foreign Affairs and as ambassador to [[Korea]] under [[Mutsu Munemitsu]]. He then left the Foreign Ministry to work as a [[journalist]] for several years, and became the manager of a [[newspaper]] company, the ''[[Mainichi Shimbun]]'' based in [[Osaka]].

In 1900, Hara returned to politics and joined [[Itō Hirobumi]]'s newly founded ''[[Rikken Seiyūkai]]'', becoming the first secretary-general of the party.

Hara ran successfully for the House of Representatives as a representative from his native [[Iwate Prefecture]] and was appointed [[Ministry of Communications (Japan)|Minister of Communications]] in the Fourth Ito Administration. Hara later served as [[Home Ministry (Japan)|Home Minister]] in several cabinets between 1906 and 1913, a powerful position that made it able for him to effect many reforms. Hara realized that a fundamental political issue in Japan was the tension between the elected government and the appointed [[bureaucracy]], and his career was dedicated to weakening the power of the non-elected bureaucrats. As Home Minister, Hara tried to implement [[meritocracy]] by systematically dismissing local bureaucrats in local governments in every capacity from [[Governor (Japan)|governor]]s down to high school principals. Any public employee who fell under his power would be replaced by someone in whom he saw real ability instead of a mere useful recipient of a favor or [[nepotism]]. Thus, Hara created a system in which people with talent could rise to the top of the bureaucracy, regardless of their background or rank. Hara also understood that maintenance of the supremacy of the elected leaders depended on the government's ability to develop the Japanese national [[infrastructure]] and on a long-term economic plan that would address regional as well as national interests.

In 1914, after heated debate, Hara was appointed the president of the ''Rikken Seiyūkai'' to replace the outgoing leader, [[Saionji Kinmochi]]. Under Hara's leadership, ''Rikken Seiyūkai'' first lost its majority control of the [[National Diet|Diet]] in the [[1915 Japanese general election|1915 general elections]], but regained its majority in the [[1917 Japanese general election|1917 general elections]].