Discontent with the radical reforms made by the Okubo government manifested itself all over the country: the Saga War broke out and warriors rose in revolt across the country; in Kagoshima Prefecture, the Shigakko (school mainly for warriors) party controlled the municipal government as they pleased; and Itagaki and his colleagues formed the Aikokukoto party to initiate the Jiyu Minken Undo (Movement for Liberty and People's Rights).
大久保主導政府の急進的な改革に対する不満が、全国で顕在化し、佐賀の乱はじめ各地で士族の反乱、鹿児島県においては私学校党による県政の壟断を招き、また板垣らは愛国公党を結成して自由民権運動を始動した。