Matsukata Finance

This is the common name for the financial and economic policies implemented by Matsukata Masayoshi, who became Finance Minister (later the first Minister of Finance) after Okuma Shigenobu was ousted in the political upheaval of October 1881 (Meiji 14). While Matsukata followed the basic tone of Okuma's financial policies, he placed particular emphasis on the following two points:

The first was the end of the inflation that had begun with the Satsuma Rebellion. The Meiji government had issued various inconvertible paper currency to carry out policies such as enriching the country and strengthening the military, encouraging industry, and disposing of stipends. In particular, the huge amount of inconvertible paper currency issued to cover the costs of the Satsuma Rebellion of 1877 led to severe inflation. Matsukata raised funds from general fiscal revenues, used part of it directly to liquidate paper currency, including the write-off of inconvertible paper currency, and used the other part to purchase specie to expand specie reserves. In 1882, he established the Bank of Japan and established a convertibility system. At the same time, he reduced the fiscal deficit by raising taxes, which led to a shrinkage of the currency and a shift from inflation to deflation.

The second change was a major shift in the policy to encourage industry. Until then, government-run industries had been increasing their financial deficit without being able to recover the huge amount of capital invested by the government, but this was suddenly transferred to the private sector, which allowed capitalist management to take root in the private sector. In addition, active measures were taken to develop overseas markets, such as the establishment of the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce and the creation of a trade finance system to promote raw silk exports.

In this way, Matsukata's finances promoted the development of government-business capital, taking advantage of the transfer of government businesses as a turning point, while at the same time forcing through original accumulation by placing the fallen small and medium-sized peasants who had fallen into disintegration due to the reorganization of paper money as wage laborers subordinate to the private capital that had transferred the land, and as tenant farmers under the landlord system on the other hand.As a result, Japanese capitalism entered the period of the Industrial Revolution in the second half of the 1880s.

[Tetsuya Hitosugi]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

1881年（明治14）10月の政変で大隈重信(おおくましげのぶ)が失脚したのち、松方正義(まさよし)が大蔵卿(きょう)（後に初代大蔵大臣）となって展開した財政・経済政策の通称。松方は大隈財政の政策基調を踏襲しながらも、とくに次の二点を重点的に推進した。

　第一は、西南戦争に端を発したインフレーションの終息である。明治政府は、富国強兵、殖産興業、秩禄(ちつろく)処分などの政策遂行のため各種の不換紙幣を発行してきたが、とくに1877年の西南戦争の戦費として巨額の不換紙幣を増発したため、激しいインフレーションを引き起こした。松方は、一般財政収入から資金を捻出(ねんしゅつ)し、その一部を直接に不換紙幣の償却など紙幣整理にあて、他の一部で正貨を買い入れて正貨準備の拡充を図り、82年には日本銀行を設立し、兌換(だかん)制度を確立した。同時に増税によって財政赤字を削減したため、通貨は縮減し、インフレーションからデフレーションに転じた。

　第二は、殖産興業政策の大転換である。それまで官営工業は多額の政府投下資本も回収できぬまま財政欠損を増加させていたが、これの民間への払下げを一挙に実施し、これによって資本主義的経営が民間に基礎を据えることになった。また、農商務省の創設、生糸輸出振興のための貿易金融制度の創設など、海外市場開拓のための積極策をとった。

　このように官業払下げを転機として政商資本の発展を促進すると同時に、紙幣整理を通じて農民層分解により発生する没落中小農民層を、一方では払下げを受けた民間資本に従属する賃労働者として、他方では地主制のもとに小作人として配置する本源的蓄積を強行したのが松方財政であったといえよう。これを受けて、日本資本主義は1880年代の後半、産業革命期を迎えることになるのである。

［一杉哲也］

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