It was for this reason that in 1933 the "senior statesmen" system was established to help SAIONJI, and that former prime ministers and the Chairman of the Privy Council, together with genro SAIONJI, started to hold a meeting to plan the selection of a successor (Genro had heard the opinions of former Prime Ministers after the May 15th Incident upon recommending a succeeding prime minister to the Emperor, but that had not been established as an official procedure then.).
そこで、昭和8年（1933年）に西園寺を助ける目的で「重臣」制度が設けられて、総理大臣経験者と枢密院議長が元老西園寺とともに会議を開いて後継選定を図ることにしたのが始まりである（五・一五事件後の後継首相奏薦にあたっても元老は首相経験者から意見を聴取しているが、正式な手続きとして定められたものではなかった）。