or Hara Takashi
born March 15, 1856, Morioka, Japan
died Nov. 4, 1921, Tokyo
Prime minister of Japan (191821) and cofounder of one of Japan's first political parties, the Rikken Seiy 016B; kai .
Hara lowered the property qualifications for voting, thus enlarging the electorate to include small landholders, who supported the Seiy 016B; kai. He attempted to reduce the power of the military, which led to his assassination by a right-wing fanatic.