So Ito was obliged to have Inoue step down and took his political enemies Shigenobu OKUMA and Kiyotaka KURODA into cabinet as a Minister of Foreign Affair and a Minister of Agriculture and Commerce respectively, and set out to suppress the Freedom and People's Rights Movement Party, however, he resigned from prime minister to assume as Chairman of the Privy Council with the view to concentrating on the establishment of constitution and Former Imperial House Act.
そこで伊藤はやむなく井上を辞任させて、政敵と言える大隈重信と黒田清隆をそれぞれ外務大臣・農商務大臣として入閣させ、保安条例を制定して自由民権派の弾圧に乗り出したが、憲法・旧皇室典範の制定事業に専念するために、総理大臣を辞して新設の枢密院議長に転じた。