Ōkuma Shigenobu invited Inukai to help form the
Rikken Kaishintō political party in 1882, which supported
liberal political causes, strongly opposed the domination of the government by members of the former
Chōshū and
Satsuma domains, and called for a
British-style constitutional monarchy within the framework of a
parliamentary democracy. Inukai was first elected to the
Lower House of the
Imperial Diet in 1890, and was reelected 17 times, holding the same seat for 42 years until his death. Inukai's first cabinet post was as
Minister of Education in the first
Ōkuma Shigenobu administration of 1898, succeeding Ozaki Yukio, who was forced to resign due to a speech that conservative elements in the Diet charged promoted
republicanism. However, Ozaki's resignation did not end the crisis, which culminated with the fall of the Ōkuma administration, so Inukai's term lasted only eleven days. Inukai was a leading figure in the successors to the
Rikken Kaishintō, the
Shimpotō, Kenseitō and the
Rikken Kokumintō, which eventually toppled the government of
Katsura Tarō in 1913. During this time, his politics became increasingly conservative and he was associated with both leading figures from the
Pan-Asian movement and with nationalists such as
Tōyama Mitsuru. He was also a strong supporter of the
Chinese republican movement, visiting China in 1907, and subsequently lending aid to
Sun Yat-sen during the
Xinhai Revolution of 1911 which overthrew the
Qing dynasty. He later assisted Sun when Sun had to flee to Japan after his attempt to overthrow
Yuan Shikai failed. Inukai had a deep respect for Chinese culture, and felt that Sino-Japanese cooperation was the cornerstone of Asian solidarity. Although in later years his vision of Sino-Japanese cooperation diverged greatly from Sun's, Inukai maintained close personal ties with many leading Chinese politicians. Inukai likewise supported the
Vietnamese independence leader, Prince
Cường Để, and invited him to Japan in 1915. Inukai returned to the cabinet as
Minister of Communications in the second
Yamamoto Gonnohyōe administration from 1923 to 1924. He was concurrently Education Minister again for a four-day period in September 1923 In 1922 the
Rikken Kokumintō became the
Kakushin Club, and joined forces with other minor parties to form the cabinet during the premiership of
Katō Takaaki in 1924. During his time, Inukai served on the cabinet again as Minister of Communications. The
Kakushin Club then merged with the
Rikken Seiyūkai, and Inukai continued as a senior member. In July 1929, Inukai travelled to
Nanjing, China, with several other Japanese delegates at the invitation of Chinese government to a memorial service for Sun Yat-sen. The delegates later travelled to numerous other cities, and noted with concern the growing anti-Japanese sentiment. In 1929, after the sudden death of
Tanaka Giichi, Inukai became president of the
Rikken Seiyūkai. Inukai was an outspoken critic of Japan's signing of the
London Naval Treaty, which reduced military spending. He supported the actions of the
Imperial Japanese Army in invading
Manchuria in 1931, and rejected criticism from the
League of Nations over the
Mukden Incident. ==Premiership (1931–1932)==