After the 1890 general elections for the lower house of the Diet of Japan, the elected members proved much less amenable to government persuasion than had been anticipated by Itō Hirobumi and other members of the Meiji oligarchy. Rather than docilely rubber stamp legislation issued from the House of Peers and the genrō, the leaders of the lower house used the only leverage granted to them under the Meiji Constitution, withholding budgetary approval, to show resistance.
Following the 1890 general elections for Japan's lower house, elected representatives were considerably less cooperative with government requests than anticipated by Itō Hirobumi and other members of the Meiji oligarchy. Instead of passively endorsing legislation from the House of Peers and the genrō, the leaders of the lower house utilized their sole constitutional authority to withhold budgetary approval as a means of showing resistance.