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In spite of the fact that mob violence is too frequent, there has been a great growth of the power of public opinion. There is even a trend toward democracy, not so much in form as in spirit. Some writers go so far as to assert that there is no public opinion in the true sense of the word, that there is only mob opinion. But others believe that they see in mob violence only an unfortunate mode of expression of real public opinion; and they think that, with less official repression, there will be less public violent expression. They write about “the awakening of the people”; of the “tendency toward popular government” as “steadily growing strong”; and they claim that “on the whole, it must be admitted that constitutionalism has made marked headway”. They assert that the time has passed when the Japanese nation would follow the lead of one man “as sheep follow the shepherd”. The development of such public spirit is no small result of the past twenty-five years.

In conclusion, it is interesting to notice how the Japanese seem to have united and harmonized various forms of government. They have not adopted but rather adapted what they found useful in other political systems, and have harmonized all with Imperialism. The Emperor is still nominally and theoretically the head of the Empire, the sole Sovereign; but he has voluntarily given away some of the administrative functions to an Imperial Diet, partly representative in its nature; and he has permitted a large measure of local self-government. In other words, the Japanese have evolved a form of constitutional government which theoretically recognizes the “divine right” of the Emperor to be absolute in his realm, but in practise gives to the people an increasing measure of administration with such representative institutions as an Imperial Diet and local assemblies. McLaren says: