Editing Hara Takashi (section)

==Premiership (1918–1921)==
{{seealso|Hara Cabinet}}
[[File:Prime Minister Hara Takashi photograph.jpg|thumb|Hara Takashi during his premiership]]
In 1918, Prime Minister [[Terauchi Masatake]] fell from office as a result of the [[Rice Riots of 1918]], and Hara was appointed as his successor on 28 September. It was the first cabinet headed by a commoner. Also, Hara was the first civilian in Japanese history to become the administrative chief of any of the armed services, when he temporarily took charge of the Navy Ministry, in absence of the Navy Minister, Admiral [[Katō Tomosaburō]], who was serving as the Japanese representative at the [[Washington Naval Conference]].

As prime minister, Hara suffered in terms of popularity, because he refused to use his majority in the lower house to force through [[General Election Law|universal suffrage legislation]]. Hara's cautious approach disappointed communists and socialists, who accused him of delaying universal suffrage as it would endanger his position in power. As a party politician, Hara had never been the favorite of the conservatives, bureaucrats and military, and he was widely despised by the [[ultranationalist]]s. During his term of office, Japan participated in the [[Paris Peace Conference, 1919|Paris Peace Conference]], and joined the [[League of Nations]] as a founding member. In Korea, Japan used military force to suppress the [[March 1st Movement|Samil Rebellion]], but later began more lenient policies aimed at reducing opposition to Japanese rule. Particularly following the Samil Uprising, Hara pursued a conciliatory policy towards colonies, particularly Korea. Hara arranged for his political ally, [[Saitō Makoto]], a political moderate, to take over as [[Governor-General of Korea]]; he instituted a colonial administration consisting mainly of civilians rather than military; and he permitted a degree of cultural freedom for Koreans, including (for the first time) a school curriculum that featured [[Korean language]] and history. Hara also sought to encourage a limited amount of [[self-rule]] in Korea&nbsp;– provided that, ultimately, Koreans remained under Japanese imperial control. His overtures, however, won few supporters either among Koreans or Japanese; the former considered them inadequate, the latter considered them excessive.

Hara oversaw most of the [[Japanese intervention in Siberia|Siberian intervention]], which led to growing antagonism between the government and the military.

Of Hara's supposedly proactive policies, most were directed toward politicians, merchants, and conglomerates. In addition, there are some differences in the evaluation of Hara's policies before and after his inauguration, such as the repeated incidents of jail charges and his negative attitude toward the implementation of the universal suffrage law, which was the people's great desire.