Ministry of Internal Affairs

A central government agency that was responsible for general administration of the people, including local government and police, from the Meiji to Showa periods (prewar). After the abolition of feudal domains and the establishment of prefectures (1871), domestic administration was under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance, but there was a problem with too many affairs under its jurisdiction, and the need for a ministry with a full-time internal affairs department was advocated. In 1873 (Meiji 6), following the political upheaval over the debate on the expedition to Korea, the establishment of the Ministry of Home Affairs was announced in November of the same year, and Okubo Toshimichi, who proposed its establishment and held real power in the government at the time, was appointed as the first Minister of Home Affairs. The organization of the ministry was finalized in January of the following year, and it began operations as one of the ministries within the Dajokan. The initial structure consisted of six bureaus and one bureau, with five bureaus (industry promotion, family registration, post office, civil engineering, and geography) transferred from the Ministry of Finance, the police and security bureau from the Ministry of Justice, and the surveying bureau from the Ministry of Public Works, and the main focus of internal administration was the promotion of industrial policies and domestic security measures to enrich the country and strengthen the military. In 1875, health and library (censorship) affairs were transferred from the Ministry of Education, and in 1877, with the abolition of the Ministry of Education, the Bureau of Shrines and Temples was transferred. In 1881, business related to the promotion of industry was transferred to the newly established Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce, and the ministry became one with the full-time responsibilities for police, civil engineering, and local administration, and in response to the Freedom and People's Rights Movement that was gaining momentum at the time, the ministry placed a greater emphasis on political police affairs, such as censorship of speech, assemblies, and associations. With the implementation of the Cabinet System in 1885, it became a ministry under the Cabinet, and the organization of the Ministry of the Interior was largely solidified with nine bureaus, including the Minister's Secretariat, General Affairs, Prefectural Governance (renamed the Local Bureau in 1898), Police and Security, Civil Engineering, Sanitation, Geography, Accounting, Family Registration (downgraded to a department in 1886), and Shrines and Temples (separated into two bureaus, Religion and Shrines, in 1900). The first Minister of the Interior was Yamagata Aritomo, and this became the basis for the formation of his bureaucratic clique. Later, in 1887, the Zojingu Shicho (Office for the Construction of Shrines) was established, promoting a policy of State Shinto, and in 1890, the Railway Bureau was transferred from the Cabinet. In 1920 (Taisho 9), reflecting the emergence of social problems and the rise of social and labor movements, the Social Affairs Bureau was established, and in 1924, following the Great Kanto Earthquake, the Reconstruction Bureau was established. Next, under the wartime system, the Planning Bureau was established in 1937 (Showa 12), followed by the National Land Bureau and Air Defense Bureau in 1941. The Minister of the Interior had the power to appoint prefectural governors and other high-ranking local officials, and as the head of the national police force, he also held police power. In 1928, Special Higher Police were established in every prefecture, and they were responsible for political police as well as general administrative police. In this way, the Ministry of the Interior administered security legislation such as the Public Order Police Law and the Peace Preservation Law, and exercised jurisdiction and control over all aspects of people's lives, including election interference, suppression of mass movements, and ideological control. Following Japan's defeat in 1945 (Showa 20), the organization was downsized as part of the democratization policies of the occupying forces, which began with the abolition of the Special Higher Police, and was abolished entirely in December 1947.

[Masaru Sasaki]

"History of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, 4 volumes (1971, Local Finance Association/Reprint edition, 1980, Hara Shobo)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

明治～昭和（戦前）期の地方行政や警察など対民衆行政一般を所管した中央行政官庁。廃藩置県（1871）後、国内行政は大蔵省の所管であったが、所管事務の多すぎる弊があり内政専務の省の必要が唱えられていた。1873年（明治6）征韓論をめぐる政変を機に、同年11月内務省設置が公表され、創設の発議者で当時政府の実権を握っていた大久保利通(としみち)が初代内務卿(きょう)に就任し、翌年1月省機構が確定し太政官(だじょうかん)中の一省として執務が開始された。当初の機構は、大蔵省から勧業、戸籍、駅逓(えきてい)、土木、地理の5寮を、司法省から警保寮を、また工部省から測量司を移した6寮1司の構成で、内務行政の主軸は、富国強兵のための勧業政策と国内治安対策の推進にあった。1875年文部省より衛生、図書（検閲）事務を、1877年教部省廃止に伴い社寺局を移管した。1881年新設された農商務省に殖産興業関係事務を移管して、警察、土木、地方行政を専務とする省となり、おりから盛り上がりをみせる自由民権運動に対し、言論、集会、結社の取締りなど政治警察事務の比重を高くした。1885年内閣制度の実施に伴い内閣下の一省となり、大臣官房以下、総務、県治（1898年地方局と改称）、警保、土木、衛生、地理、会計、戸籍（1886年課に格下げ）、社寺（1900年宗教、神社の2局に分離）の9局となり、内務省機構がほぼ固まった。初代の内務大臣は山県有朋(やまがたありとも)であるが、彼の官僚閥形成の基盤となった。その後、1887年造神宮使庁(ぞうじんぐうしちょう)を置き、国家神道(しんとう)政策を推進、1890年内閣より鉄道庁を移管した。1920年（大正9）には、社会問題の発生、社会・労働運動の高揚を反映して社会局が新設され、関東大震災後の1924年には復興局が置かれた。ついで1937年（昭和12）には戦時体制下に計画局を、1941年に国土局と防空局を設置した。内務大臣は各府県知事をはじめ地方高官の人事権をもち、全国警察の統轄者として警察権をも握った。1928年には全国府県に特別高等警察を置き、一般行政警察とともに政治警察をも担当した。こうして内務省は、治安警察法、治安維持法などの治安立法を運用し、選挙干渉や大衆運動の弾圧、思想統制など、国民の生活全般にわたって管轄、統制を行った。1945年（昭和20）敗戦を機に、特高警察廃止に始まる占領軍の民主化政策で機構を縮小してゆき、1947年12月全体が廃止された。

［佐々木克］

『『内務省史』全四冊（1971・地方財務協会／復刻版・1980・原書房）』

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