From the 1880s to the 1920s there was an internal drive for participatory, parliamentary politics, causing the slippage of power from formal oligarchs to Diet politicians. There was a series of rice riots/mass demonstrations by the common folk in 1918; this drove the emperor to consent to a position as the "prime minister," essentially acting as the majority party president in the Lower House of their parliament; this trend continued until 1932. In the wake of the Meiji Restoration, as I'm sure you know, Japan underwent a significant period of industrialization, commercialization, and urbanization- the people who drive this industrialism are always subject to some abject misery, though many Japanese, especially in the commercial sector, were able to thrive under Japan's newfound regional dominance- Japan's growth fostered the growth of their middle class/wage earning urbanites (this new working class included women). This period of intense nation building fostered a sense of citizenship and nationalism among all the people of Japan. Young Japanese men increasingly embraced Western culture, especially Western lifestyles and pseudo-Western political views (the drive for participatory politics I mentioned earlier). Japan's new working class developed journals, newspapers, magazines, film industry; shopping districts, movie theatres, jazz clubs, dance halls all became popular among these working class people.

Basically, the common Japanese folk were treated the same as in any newly industrializing regional power in recent history. The poor were poor and their lives pretty much still sucked (I distinctly remember watching a video in class about how horrible the conditions for miners/factory workers were), the upper class enjoyed lavish luxury as always, but the emerging middle class/wage earning urbanites enjoyed a very comfortable lifestyle. I took all this information from my lecture notes, and could do some more thorough research if there's anything else you'd like to know.

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