Question: What comes to your mind when you hear the words "Chrysanthemum Inbō"?
The Iron Eagle - The History of the Cold War
- Thread starter Kaiser of Brazil
- Start date
I assume some sort of flower.
Also think Clytemnestra, but that's just because I've got the Trojan Epic cycle on the brain right now (not willingly) and the word is long and starts with the same letter as the name.
Considering the Finland IIRC has the highest percentage of blondes of any country in the world, I'm sure the Nazis would be big fans of the Finns. Then again, there are a lot of blonde Slavs, and that didn't make the Nazis think any more highly of them.
TheSpectacledCloth
Gone Fishin'
Didn't the SS kidnap blonde Slavic children for the Lebensborn program?
I was considering mentioning that. IIRC they viewed blonde Slavs as lost Aryans. It'd be pretty ironic if future Nazi Germans had a sizable amount of Slavic DNA from Lebensborn children.
They did
Nazi Germany didnt have nearly enough demographics to colonize all of Eastern Europe so they started stealing children from the locals that they deemed "aryan enough"(aka blonde with blue eyes) to raise as germans intending for them to colonize parts that the native german population couldnt and enslaving their bethreem after being brainwashed into thinking they're aryans
Thus long term a "successful" Nazi Germany would most likely be, ironically enough, a slavic country
Even if a german-speaking one
Ironic because much of the Nazi leadership, including Der Fuhrer himself, weren't blonde haired nor blue eyed. Blonde Hair/Blue Eyes is actually more common in countries the Nazis had slated for genocide like Belarus, Lithuania and Latvia than it is in southern Germany and Austria.
Indeed, its one of the things Cody noted in his own "Axis Victory" novel as well - that Hitler would likely be portrayed as the "perfect aryan" with all those traits he didnt have irl
To the point I'd say that if a picture of him was found in the future it would likely be discarded as slanderous forgery
This is just proof that we live in a simulation that has a sick sense of humor
That was featured in the book Swastika Night, a future history book written just before WW2 depicting a world ruled by the Nazis and Imperial Japanese. While I haven't read the book, the Wikipedia states that the future Nazis in this novel believe that Hitler was a 7 foot tall, blonde haired/blue eyed Aryan gigachad, rather than the average height, brown haired junkie he actually was.
I have written around 2.5 thousand words for the Japanese chapter so far that should cover the country in the 50s, including Kuribayadhi's struggle to keep the country together, a great conspiracy to restore an Empire, the growing threat of Maoism and the consequences of the destruction and power vacuum in the country.
I will also begin to write the Israeli chapter about the Second (or third) Levantine War and Israel's great showdown against Saadeh and Nasser.
I will also begin to write the Israeli chapter about the Second (or third) Levantine War and Israel's great showdown against Saadeh and Nasser.
Nice. I’d rather you do Japan first, but i’ll be tuning into both regardless of which one comes first.
Not to ask for too many spoilers, but how poor and dysfunctional will Japan be in the present day?
I remember reading that in his youth Fidel Castro flirted with Falangism. Maybe in this timeline instead of becoming a communist, he stays a Falangist....
XXXVII - CHRYSANTHEMUM INBŌ
THE IRON EAGLE
CHRYSANTHEMUM INBŌ
CHRYSANTHEMUM INBŌ
Suicide? That was not what happened, even if it had become a trend for the police to find such cases. There was no lack of incidents reported as suicide, Heavens know how many times Kuribayashi himself had not seen people killing themselves out of desperation, out of humiliation and defeat, ever since the damned war. Some took other ways to restore their honor, serving the new nation like he did, others unleashed their wrath and frustration against the New Japan, a symbol of the oppression of the outsiders, the foreign demons who invaded Japan for the first time in eras, destroying everything with all weapons, flames from the sun itself flashed bright on Sendai. But Nobuhito? The Prince of Japan? Kuribayashi worked with the man, knew him since before the war, and after it they both attempted to rebuild the nation with Tokugawa, the three of them fought with words and not swords, the time for those had passed. But first Tokugawa died, killed by the Demon of Sendai and his followers in the northern mountains of Honshu, it took thousands of men to destroy that cell, all of them Japanese citizens who saw too much bloodshed, and yet were willing to bleed more for their nation. The Americans did not understand what it was like to kill a brother who is fighting for the same cause as yours, they saw their own civil war as a conflict between states, Mount Haguro was not a conflict of states, not a conflict of factions, it was a senseless slaughter that terrified him every night. Now it was Nobuhito, once he was no longer useful as regent to the young Emperor Akihito, he had been taken out, by who? Who knows. He had to discover, because he knew that the only member of that Triumvirate was him, if he did not find the assassin, he would be the next to commit suicide.
That was the trend, he thought, both of these killings involved someone taking their own life, first the assassin, then the victim, a sacrifice for honor that had become such a prevalent case in Japan. Kuribayashi was alone in his office on the 28th of February 1952, he had to investigate who was the one behind Nobuhito's death. Perhaps the Orphans of Showa still lived, escaping from their fate and lingering to fight another day. It was not much their style, that particular group had always a "do or die" purpose, they were the type who would be the first in those damned charges, who would volunteer as Kamikazi pilots or human torpedoes, he was certain that none who were in Mount Haguro had escaped with their lives because none of them would have ran away, but they were not all in Haguro, were they? No, their group was larger, divided into smaller cells, cut one head and seven more would appear, smaller ones with smaller bites, but still dangerous. As he wondered that, a car stopped by outside of the police station, even at this late night some officers could be running their errands and patrols in Tokyo, the city has been dealing with so many problems from the black market and the criminal gangs that he could barely focus on this one murder. But there was something off, the car stayed there, still turned on with nobody leaving from the driver's seat. That is where his war instincts kicked off, he knew something was going to happen and despite now entering his sixties, the former General was still fast enough to jump from his chair and leave his room. Call it paranoia, but that saved his life, because not even a second after he left the door, the car exploded.
That was the trend, he thought, both of these killings involved someone taking their own life, first the assassin, then the victim, a sacrifice for honor that had become such a prevalent case in Japan. Kuribayashi was alone in his office on the 28th of February 1952, he had to investigate who was the one behind Nobuhito's death. Perhaps the Orphans of Showa still lived, escaping from their fate and lingering to fight another day. It was not much their style, that particular group had always a "do or die" purpose, they were the type who would be the first in those damned charges, who would volunteer as Kamikazi pilots or human torpedoes, he was certain that none who were in Mount Haguro had escaped with their lives because none of them would have ran away, but they were not all in Haguro, were they? No, their group was larger, divided into smaller cells, cut one head and seven more would appear, smaller ones with smaller bites, but still dangerous. As he wondered that, a car stopped by outside of the police station, even at this late night some officers could be running their errands and patrols in Tokyo, the city has been dealing with so many problems from the black market and the criminal gangs that he could barely focus on this one murder. But there was something off, the car stayed there, still turned on with nobody leaving from the driver's seat. That is where his war instincts kicked off, he knew something was going to happen and despite now entering his sixties, the former General was still fast enough to jump from his chair and leave his room. Call it paranoia, but that saved his life, because not even a second after he left the door, the car exploded.
Japan was a time bomb when Huey Long and Admiral Halsey left, one nobody knew would explode, could be in a day or a decade, but that would happen. It is no wonder Kuribayashi was being target, an explosion that rocked the building of the Police Headquarters in Tokyo, he was the man responsible for keeping much of that structure together now. This insidious conspiracy was not the only one ongoing, but they were the most immediate threat as of now. The High Commissar of Police was far more than what the name implied in this country, because as the country was forbidden to possess an armed force in the Treaty of Kyoto, the Police was the strongest force in Japan responsible for National Defense and Protection, it was the most highly militarized police force in the world, with many officers of both IJA and IJN coming into the control of Kuribayashi. No man was more appropriate for the task than him, a honorable commander for Japanese standards, who once was a diplomat and knew well the United States from his time as an Atache in Washington three decades earlier. He was the only High ranking General who surrendered, as well as the most competent one who managed to hold the north of Kyushu for a year against overwhelming odds and dwindling resources. He did not waste troops on Banzai Charges or wasted the conscripts like other commanders, he fully used the Japanese terrain to his advantage and indeed he was responsible for the greatest military defeat the US Army suffered in the entire war when they failed in capturing the beach of Miyazaki. There was a certain respect between him and MacArthur, to the point the former surrendered to the latter before the official surrender, although his forces likely could have held out for several more weeks, if not months, even with the overwhelming firepower advantage of the Allied forces. The quick rehabilitation would make the Japanese General to be considered "The Jap we can trust" according to Secretary Wheeler in a meeting with President Long in 1950 before the battle of Mount Haguro.
That is why he had to be killed, he represented a new Japan meshed with the old, a way for the Japanese people to look up and see redemption, rehabilitation, but all that many Japanese saw was a traitor, a collaborator who surrendered without orders and made a deal with the foreign invaders to save his own skin while others like Anami, Tojo, Yasuhito and Konoe had died. On the 28th, just after the assassination of the former Regent, Prince Nobuhito, an attempt on Kuribayashi's life failed and just left the man more determined to find the perpetrators before they had another shot at him. The security of the headquarters was reinforced, with a perimeter formed to forbid vehicles from going even close to the building for the next two weeks. The investigation had to remain focused on Nobuhito, for that Kuribayashi assigned an agent he could trust, Toshiro Sato, a Police captain in the investigation wing. Sato was a war veteran from the last year of the war, born in Nagasaki, rising to be a second lieutenant by the time the General surrendered to the American forces, he was responsible for detaining the Kempetai officers before the surrender was agreed to, earning the trust of the Police Commissar. Sato would find out that Nobuhito's cupbearer had been replaced months earlier after he stepped down from the regency, instead employing an individual who disappeared following the murder. The Police began to track down the cupbearer, finally coming across a man who matched the description of the suspect in Osaka, working as a construction worker for the city hall, curiously he was not included in the employees list, although many volunteers were not accounted for since the war. The cupbearer was intercepted on his way home and a shootout began as the suspect resisted arrest, killing a police officer before being finally subdued. The Cupbearer was being taken back to the Police station when another car crashed on the police car, allowing him to escape while Sato had his leg wounded.
The investigation had reached a dead end by April, Captain Sato was left with a limp leg and relegated to stay on his desk, struggling to find a way to locate the suspect, he had escaped and there were still so many missing person cases in the country that it was impossible to find him amongst millions of civilians. Furthermore, the Elections were approaching in May and Prime Minister Inukai and his "New Democracy" proposal was clashing with the Socialists again and perhaps for the first time in two years the National Liberal Party would lose their majority, it was likely without Halsey and the Americans to interfere like they did before. There were several proposals for Kuribayashi to run for Prime Minister, he certainly had the prestige, authority and gravitas to do so, a man who could prevent the radicalization of the two parties as many feared the events in Korea and China. The Elections were to happen on the Monday, 5th of May, but before that the Socialists would make a grand show of force. Nationalists opposed Inukai, but they rarely were part of the Democratic process, overtly nationalist parties were constitutionally banned to avoid a repeat of the past decades, while many others were caught up by the momentum of Socialism in Asia. On the First of May, Labor Day, Mao Zedong announced the People's Republic of China in the continent, while in Japan, the leader of the Socialist Party Tetsu Katayama, promised a return to power, this time with a great popular mandate, pushing to solidify his reforms. He was known by some as the "Father of Orphans" or "Big Brother", for his great efforts to develop the foster care system for countless children who were victims of the war. He was a pacifist, not wanting to associate himself with Mao Zedong, but comparisons were inevitable if only because both used red flags in their parades. Sato and Kuribayashi's investigation had to be sidelined due to the worries for the security of Katayama during the electoral cicle, although the bounties continued on the background.
Emperor Akihito was not content, his uncle had been assassinated and the Police lost the killer, he complained about Kuribayashi's performance as he summoned Prime Minister Inukai, who readly went to the rebuilt Imperial Palace in Tokyo to meet the young Emperor. Despite just recently taking the Throne and being mostly sidelined from power due to the new Constitution, Akihito was hardened by the war, seeing his father being killed, as well as his uncle, spending a year trapped underground with constant bombing raids and the imminence of American capture, he became a man of little tolerance for failures, failures had killed his family, imprudent actions with terrible calculations brought enemies to the shores, worse, the failure of the military led to Japan being invaded and occupied with him being seen by many as a puppet. He held no love for the United States, contrary to his more moderate uncle and former regent Nobuhito, the new Emperor was in constant frustration after seeing the destruction of his nation for around a third of his life. When the Prime Minister came, despite all the ceremony on the outside, when meeting in private Akihito's calm and imperial facade dropped into a rant over the incompetence of the government, which allowed his own family to be struck, he told Inukai to sack Kuribayashi at first, but was calmed down and talked out of it by the Minister. Inukai left the Palace with worries that he would lose the election and the Emperor's favor as well. Akihito was popular to the people, there was no lack of Japanese citizens who considered him divine, two decades of Imperial indoctrination would not simply vanish from the people's minds with one declaration that was forced upon him by a brutal foreign occupier.
May came and went, with a new government in Japan under Prime Minister Katayama, who now had a comfortable majority with his own party, the greatest victory the socialists had in Japanese history. Urban workers hoped he would bring back Industry, Rural workers hoped he would help them rebuild, the homeless hoped for homes, the poor hoped for food, the orphans hoped for care, and the Nationalists hoped for his death. Yes, this was a tall order of people to satisfy and Katayama did not intend to satisfy the last ones. First Japan required economic assistance, something that would be hard to get from the United States as Long as someone was President, or at least while Wheeler was Secretary of State, a famous isolationist who had been publicly humiliated by Japan thanks to Pearl Harbor on the 2nd of November 1942. Indeed there were few places where foreign help could even come from, but a loan was acquired from British banks, a move that was decried by Nationalists due to the high interest rates in Britain after the Suez War to contain the growing inflation. Japan had lost most of it's heavy industry while some agrarian lands were poisoned by the war. Nevermind the fact that one of the major cities had suffered a nuclear attack, Sendai was habitable but had to be rebuilt from nothing but ashes, with many of the city's inhabitants opting to not return. Refugee camps had been established for the population of many major cities, which meant that homelessness was the first problem Katayama had to tackle. The rate had been reduced in 50% in comparison to the previous year, but over a million inhabitants still had nowhere to go. With the loans a program was made to rebuild many cities with affordable housing, such as apartment blocks, despite their crude appearance that reminded many of Soviet habitations.
One group grew more since the war than any other, the Yakuza, or criminal families that in some ways reminded of Sicilian familial clans, but there were few similarities in the organizations. Criminal activities skyrocketed after the war due to the rationing and devastation, local crime bosses had everything to grow, a vast amount of young men with weapons experience from the war, devastated cities with desperate people seeking employment and survival, a power vacuum from the destruction of the Zaibatsu, and a profitable black market opportunity. Crime skyrocketed after the Americans left the country and Kuribayashi's police force was overwhelmed by them, plus the fact many had links with Terrorist holdouts that still existed in Japan, who were another responsibility for him. It is no wonder Kuribayashi aged five years in one since his assassination attempt. However, as the investigation slowed down, the solution came from the Yakuza, a police raid in Yokohama led to the discovery of the Cupbearer's fate, he had been executed by one of the mobsters after that night in Osaka, further investigations led to the Bakuto the thriving gambling business of post-war Japan as many bet their few stipends in attempts to restore their lives. The Bakuto houses were seen lowly by society at large which meant that they were the perfect center to recruit those desperate enough to do a job like assassinating a high-level fugitive. The Cupbearer, as the interrogation of his killer discovered, had been ordered by a higher level in Kyushu, no doubt the island of Japan suffering the most from crime and a fertile ground for the Yakuza to grow, especially with the American control of the port of Nagasaki.
Many questions were still unanswered as June of 1952 came, but it was increasingly clear that the assassination of Nobuhito was linked to the extremists, who were already in the top of the suspects list. Captain Sato was unable to continue on that trail however, once he arrived at Nagasaki his presence had already been discovered by hostile elements to his work, despite the injuries the Captain and his bodyguards fought fiercely during a night ambush before their deaths. Now the High Commissar was left on a dead end, only knowing that radical elements now were cooperating with the Yakuza to some level in order to strike high-end targets, apparently they also paid very well, the killer had been paid over five times the standard fee to kill the Cupbearer. Left with an unsatisfying ending, Kuribayashi was left to report to Prime Minister Katayama about his failure and offered his resignation letter, which the Prime Minister refused, after all there was nobody else in his eyes who could do the work, even if the man was a former General of the regime that persecuted his ideology. Instead, the Police was reoriented to crack down on crime and contraband at port cities such as Osaka, Yokohama, Nagasaki, Nagoya and Hiroshima, although the problem with Nagasaki was a hard one to solve due to the local American authorities in the harbor. For the moment, the beaten General had to do as ordered, but the body of Nobuhito continued to haunt his nightmares, nightmares of Mount Haguro and of so many other mistakes he had made.
Katayama was in the middle of his struggle to rebuild Japan when East Asia was shaken by the events of the Korean War, with the coup of Colonel Paik on the 7th finally erupting the Peninsula into open war. The Japanese response was one expected of a war-torn nation led by a pacifist, decrying the coup but also the armed insurrection, calling for both sides to come to terms. If anything, these calls coming from the Japanese would only have contributed to make the Korean people kill one another even harder out of spite for the Japanese. The response of Kim Tu-Bong's rebellion in Japan was another show of how divided society was, many socialists called him a freedom fighter against the vile tyranny of Colonel Paik Sun-Yup and that he would set right the legacy of the Korean People's Republic. Meanwhile the Conservatives were more fearful than ever that Katayama was another Mao or Kim, a man who would bring in the red rise and fully destroy what was left of Japan. Katayama was far from a revolutionary, he was a socialist and a pacifist too, but not all in his party thought like him. The National Liberal Party (NLP) was created as a counter from sectors from the center and right against the advances made by the left. When Huey Long decided to step into Korea, the naval base of Nagasaki gained greater importance and the harbor was now vital for the supplying of Paik's war effort, some Conservatives did praise the American intervention, but they were few, in fact many nationalists actually argued on the same side of the socialists, claiming that using Japan as a military base broke the clause of Neutrality imposed on the Japanese constitution and the Treaty of Kyoto, not like Secretary Rusk particularly cared. There were positives from this, Katayama finally was granted the credit he needed from the Bank of America to push for his programs, a concession given in return of silence on the Nagasaki matter. Akihito claimed that Katayama became a "sellout" after that incident, but the young Emperor did not wish to further provoke the Americans.
However, the red spectrum was a reality in Japan, many movements existed that wanted Katayama to push for a more radical and firm direction such as Shōjirō Kasuga, a Maoist leader of the Japanese Communist Party, a minor party in the coalition with the Socialists. Kasuga argued in favor of a revolution in Japan to rid the nation of American Imperialism and join China and Korea in a new Asian Brotherhood, making Asia into the new hub of the Socialist thought worldwide. He had help, some said, from Soviet exiles who were smuggled in Japan, men who were more experienced and could grant support in the coming struggle. But they were a minority held in posters as if they were a majority by the anti-communists. Inukai had been beaten but not broken, he continued as an opposition leader, but his more liberal approach was opposed by the Conservative spokesman and elderly statesman Tanzan Ishibashi, a pre-war liberal and advocate for Feminism that ended in the right-wing of the post-war politics due to the opposition of the radical demilitarization and American occupation, which gained him many followers in the right. However Ishibashi was hated by the Nationalists who remembered his pre-war opposition to Japanese Imperialism, very few figures met the standards of those who considered the very government of Tokyo as illegitimate.
1955 came with calls for a new election when the Communists broke their coalition with the Socialist Party of Japan. Kasuga saw the chance when the Korean communists captured the city of Kaesong, the long attrition war was a losing conflict for the Southern Nationalists of Paik's regime, with the Communists now fully in control of the North of the Peninsula and the Eastern coast, the momentum was seen as favorable by the JCP. The 1955 election came with interesting results, the resentment over the American occupation in Nagasaki and the use of Japanese air bases fueled the right and the far-left alike in opposition to Katayama's pacifism. There was a certain interest in a more pacifist nation by the Japanese people in the aftermath of the war, however Halsey's harsh occupation and Long's isolationism contributed to drive down the popularity of cooperation, especially as even after the occupation the United States treated Japan as an American base abroad to intervene on Asian affairs and oppose Mao's China. As a result, the National Liberal Party won a slight majority, but the Communists grew enormously. Pan-Asianists saw a Red Asia as the only form of opposing American Imperialism, while also having the backing of the Chinese and Koreans through cooperation rather than conquest, Takeru Inukai was supportive of friendly relations with China, although personally he distasted communism. But Inukai was not the Prime Minister, Ishibashi was and he wanted to push through a revision of the Treaty of Kyoto that immediately got the attention of Secretary of State Dean Rusk and the CIA.
Kuribayashi spent the last three years dealing with constant fear of another attack, his paranoia kept him away from the station many times unless his presence was absolutely necessary, and when those times came he always walked around with guards and a pistol of his own. Under Katayama, he had to deal with the frustration of socialist protests that had to be left without the necessary response, the police's presence at them many times only escalated the situation as the Constables were compared to the Kempetai. Indeed, that was not entirely untrue, most of the officers had to get used to the fact that Unionists were no longer target practice. The High Commissioner was still de facto the strongest individual in the nation, but the police force was overextended, containing protests and riots, fighting against attacks from nationalist holdouts, facing the rising criminal activity and investigating assassinations and robberies. On the night of the 22nd of October 1955, he had to deal with a new incident in Nagasaki, this time an American soldier had killed a Japanese woman, worse was the fact the man had remained within the American part of the city at the docks, being taken into custody by the American military police. However, the locals were outraged by the news, it was the last of many incidents between the American garrison and the locals and this one had gone too far. A protest was organized and the Police established a perimeter to try to contain it, however the anti-American sentiment was too common amongst the officers, they did not stop the crowd from marching into the naval base, demanding the murderer's head, demanding justice, demanding for the American garrison to leave the city. Nobody knows who started it, but once a shot was fired, many more followed and the protest became a massacre, with over 9 Japanese and one American dead in the incident. The tensions have been highened ever since Prime Minister Ishibashi began to push for a revision of the Treaty of Tokyo, in fact he did so with the support of the Communist Party with the Socialists remaining in the opposition, committed to Katayama's pacifism. However, the Government was not ready for an open showdown with the Americans, they especially were not ready for the scale of the reaction in Japan after this incident.
One group grew more since the war than any other, the Yakuza, or criminal families that in some ways reminded of Sicilian familial clans, but there were few similarities in the organizations. Criminal activities skyrocketed after the war due to the rationing and devastation, local crime bosses had everything to grow, a vast amount of young men with weapons experience from the war, devastated cities with desperate people seeking employment and survival, a power vacuum from the destruction of the Zaibatsu, and a profitable black market opportunity. Crime skyrocketed after the Americans left the country and Kuribayashi's police force was overwhelmed by them, plus the fact many had links with Terrorist holdouts that still existed in Japan, who were another responsibility for him. It is no wonder Kuribayashi aged five years in one since his assassination attempt. However, as the investigation slowed down, the solution came from the Yakuza, a police raid in Yokohama led to the discovery of the Cupbearer's fate, he had been executed by one of the mobsters after that night in Osaka, further investigations led to the Bakuto the thriving gambling business of post-war Japan as many bet their few stipends in attempts to restore their lives. The Bakuto houses were seen lowly by society at large which meant that they were the perfect center to recruit those desperate enough to do a job like assassinating a high-level fugitive. The Cupbearer, as the interrogation of his killer discovered, had been ordered by a higher level in Kyushu, no doubt the island of Japan suffering the most from crime and a fertile ground for the Yakuza to grow, especially with the American control of the port of Nagasaki.
Many questions were still unanswered as June of 1952 came, but it was increasingly clear that the assassination of Nobuhito was linked to the extremists, who were already in the top of the suspects list. Captain Sato was unable to continue on that trail however, once he arrived at Nagasaki his presence had already been discovered by hostile elements to his work, despite the injuries the Captain and his bodyguards fought fiercely during a night ambush before their deaths. Now the High Commissar was left on a dead end, only knowing that radical elements now were cooperating with the Yakuza to some level in order to strike high-end targets, apparently they also paid very well, the killer had been paid over five times the standard fee to kill the Cupbearer. Left with an unsatisfying ending, Kuribayashi was left to report to Prime Minister Katayama about his failure and offered his resignation letter, which the Prime Minister refused, after all there was nobody else in his eyes who could do the work, even if the man was a former General of the regime that persecuted his ideology. Instead, the Police was reoriented to crack down on crime and contraband at port cities such as Osaka, Yokohama, Nagasaki, Nagoya and Hiroshima, although the problem with Nagasaki was a hard one to solve due to the local American authorities in the harbor. For the moment, the beaten General had to do as ordered, but the body of Nobuhito continued to haunt his nightmares, nightmares of Mount Haguro and of so many other mistakes he had made.
Katayama was in the middle of his struggle to rebuild Japan when East Asia was shaken by the events of the Korean War, with the coup of Colonel Paik on the 7th finally erupting the Peninsula into open war. The Japanese response was one expected of a war-torn nation led by a pacifist, decrying the coup but also the armed insurrection, calling for both sides to come to terms. If anything, these calls coming from the Japanese would only have contributed to make the Korean people kill one another even harder out of spite for the Japanese. The response of Kim Tu-Bong's rebellion in Japan was another show of how divided society was, many socialists called him a freedom fighter against the vile tyranny of Colonel Paik Sun-Yup and that he would set right the legacy of the Korean People's Republic. Meanwhile the Conservatives were more fearful than ever that Katayama was another Mao or Kim, a man who would bring in the red rise and fully destroy what was left of Japan. Katayama was far from a revolutionary, he was a socialist and a pacifist too, but not all in his party thought like him. The National Liberal Party (NLP) was created as a counter from sectors from the center and right against the advances made by the left. When Huey Long decided to step into Korea, the naval base of Nagasaki gained greater importance and the harbor was now vital for the supplying of Paik's war effort, some Conservatives did praise the American intervention, but they were few, in fact many nationalists actually argued on the same side of the socialists, claiming that using Japan as a military base broke the clause of Neutrality imposed on the Japanese constitution and the Treaty of Kyoto, not like Secretary Rusk particularly cared. There were positives from this, Katayama finally was granted the credit he needed from the Bank of America to push for his programs, a concession given in return of silence on the Nagasaki matter. Akihito claimed that Katayama became a "sellout" after that incident, but the young Emperor did not wish to further provoke the Americans.
However, the red spectrum was a reality in Japan, many movements existed that wanted Katayama to push for a more radical and firm direction such as Shōjirō Kasuga, a Maoist leader of the Japanese Communist Party, a minor party in the coalition with the Socialists. Kasuga argued in favor of a revolution in Japan to rid the nation of American Imperialism and join China and Korea in a new Asian Brotherhood, making Asia into the new hub of the Socialist thought worldwide. He had help, some said, from Soviet exiles who were smuggled in Japan, men who were more experienced and could grant support in the coming struggle. But they were a minority held in posters as if they were a majority by the anti-communists. Inukai had been beaten but not broken, he continued as an opposition leader, but his more liberal approach was opposed by the Conservative spokesman and elderly statesman Tanzan Ishibashi, a pre-war liberal and advocate for Feminism that ended in the right-wing of the post-war politics due to the opposition of the radical demilitarization and American occupation, which gained him many followers in the right. However Ishibashi was hated by the Nationalists who remembered his pre-war opposition to Japanese Imperialism, very few figures met the standards of those who considered the very government of Tokyo as illegitimate.
1955 came with calls for a new election when the Communists broke their coalition with the Socialist Party of Japan. Kasuga saw the chance when the Korean communists captured the city of Kaesong, the long attrition war was a losing conflict for the Southern Nationalists of Paik's regime, with the Communists now fully in control of the North of the Peninsula and the Eastern coast, the momentum was seen as favorable by the JCP. The 1955 election came with interesting results, the resentment over the American occupation in Nagasaki and the use of Japanese air bases fueled the right and the far-left alike in opposition to Katayama's pacifism. There was a certain interest in a more pacifist nation by the Japanese people in the aftermath of the war, however Halsey's harsh occupation and Long's isolationism contributed to drive down the popularity of cooperation, especially as even after the occupation the United States treated Japan as an American base abroad to intervene on Asian affairs and oppose Mao's China. As a result, the National Liberal Party won a slight majority, but the Communists grew enormously. Pan-Asianists saw a Red Asia as the only form of opposing American Imperialism, while also having the backing of the Chinese and Koreans through cooperation rather than conquest, Takeru Inukai was supportive of friendly relations with China, although personally he distasted communism. But Inukai was not the Prime Minister, Ishibashi was and he wanted to push through a revision of the Treaty of Kyoto that immediately got the attention of Secretary of State Dean Rusk and the CIA.
Kuribayashi spent the last three years dealing with constant fear of another attack, his paranoia kept him away from the station many times unless his presence was absolutely necessary, and when those times came he always walked around with guards and a pistol of his own. Under Katayama, he had to deal with the frustration of socialist protests that had to be left without the necessary response, the police's presence at them many times only escalated the situation as the Constables were compared to the Kempetai. Indeed, that was not entirely untrue, most of the officers had to get used to the fact that Unionists were no longer target practice. The High Commissioner was still de facto the strongest individual in the nation, but the police force was overextended, containing protests and riots, fighting against attacks from nationalist holdouts, facing the rising criminal activity and investigating assassinations and robberies. On the night of the 22nd of October 1955, he had to deal with a new incident in Nagasaki, this time an American soldier had killed a Japanese woman, worse was the fact the man had remained within the American part of the city at the docks, being taken into custody by the American military police. However, the locals were outraged by the news, it was the last of many incidents between the American garrison and the locals and this one had gone too far. A protest was organized and the Police established a perimeter to try to contain it, however the anti-American sentiment was too common amongst the officers, they did not stop the crowd from marching into the naval base, demanding the murderer's head, demanding justice, demanding for the American garrison to leave the city. Nobody knows who started it, but once a shot was fired, many more followed and the protest became a massacre, with over 9 Japanese and one American dead in the incident. The tensions have been highened ever since Prime Minister Ishibashi began to push for a revision of the Treaty of Tokyo, in fact he did so with the support of the Communist Party with the Socialists remaining in the opposition, committed to Katayama's pacifism. However, the Government was not ready for an open showdown with the Americans, they especially were not ready for the scale of the reaction in Japan after this incident.
Secretary Rusk went to Tokyo on the 25th in the middle of a wave of protests that consumed the nation and brought the police force to a breaking point, forcing the Government to allow Kuribayashi a boost in his funding for an expansion of the force. Millions took to the streets from Satsuma to the Island of Hokkaido, Nationalists, Socialists and even moderates all calling for a change, ranging from the extradition of the soldier responsible for the murder to the expulsion of the United States from Asiatic affairs. With an incoming offensive at Korea, Long and Patton both held interest in keeping Japan appeased for the time, nobody had the patience or resources to deal with another Pacific War on the same year of the anniversary of a decade since X-Day in Kyushu. Rusk met with the Japanese Prime Minister in a more discreet visit, he further would contact Kuribayashi over the internal security of the country. The situation was not good and the status quo threatened to push the Island into a breaking point, especially with reports from the CIA that the Chinese smuggled weapons into Japan and Soviet refugees had formed a strong clique within the militant wing of the Communist Party. The Students and the Unions alike were not sleeping in the same bed as the government, even under Katayama there were significant disputes as many argued that his programs did little. Former industrial workers were complaining on the economic situation that was still far from Pre-War levels. Rusk returned to Washington with a long report to the White House, explaining the need to further investments in Japan as a form of reconciliation. On the other hand, the CIA needed to intervene and sabotage the protests so that anti-American sentiment could not gain momentum.
On the 29th, after a week of protests, the soldier was charged with murder and sentenced to 30 years of imprisonment, the government in Japan also announced a revision of the Treaty of Kyoto with the American government, removing several restrictions such as the prohibition of Japan to have a Navy or Air Force, as well as an armaments deal. The Bank of America granted low interest loans to the Japanese government as well. The public declaration appeased most of the moderates, but both the far left and the far right were still dissatisfied with the continued American presence in Nagasaki. The protests dwindled but the resentment had remained, the Police Commissioner hoped that it was enough but it was not, Japan was a rotting nation, consumed more and more each day by a threat too insidious to be beaten in the open. Ishibashi's government broke it's truce with the Communist party and both went back to being at odds with one another, furthermore many nationalists within the Diet stood in opposition to Ishibashi as he failed to reclaim the port of Nagasaki, a symbol of humiliation compared to Macau and Hong Kong in China or Goa in India, it just so happened that two of those places would be targeted soon enough.
In Korea, Colonel Paik's government started to gain material advantage in 1956 as the United States ramped up it's weapons delivery following the fall of Kaesong, as well as doubling the amount of "Advisors", many of them officers experienced in facing guerrilla tactics during the Invasion of Japan. Operation Ripper, which involved around 40 thousand American troops and over the triple of Koreans, was the response to a large operation in the East Coast by Kim's forces to capture Pusan, one of the main port cities of Korea. With an overwhelming advantage in air power being unleashed, as well as the use of demoralizing weapons such as Napalm, the shock and awe tactics of the Korean-American troops repelled the Communists from much of the southern part of the Peninsula, at Pyeongchang, over 30 thousand prisoners were made as many of the armored forces held by the communists, mostly Japanese leftovers or Chinese tanks, were outclassed by the American armaments, sitting ducks for target practice of the new Jets of the USAAF. Furthermore, Japan became an aircraft carrier for heavy bombers, unleashing several tons of bombs in the North and Eastern parts of Korea during "Operation Sunstroke" in July, infamous for the use of incendiary weapons on Pyongyang.
The Nagasaki affair ended with limited concessions, those were insufficient for the communists who demanded the exit of American forces which used Japan as a strike base against Asia, after the relentless counter offensive of Paik's government in Korea the JCP would receive new directives from Beijing, the new center of Asian Socialism. On the 6th of August 1956, a General Strike was called following an incident between the police and a local strike of miners, but there were few illusions amongst the members of the government as to why this strike was called. That was when the Japanese government finally cracked down on the growing communist movement, partially out of fear of a greater crackdown coming from the United States and that they would suffer the same fate as Korea. The General Strike was declared illegal and Kuribayashi's police was sent in to raid the offices of the Communist Party, finding out several links connecting it's leaders to Maoist China. Prime Minister Ishibashi signed up the official ban of the Communist Party as a threat to National Security, proving itself to be a subversive and hostile element to social peace and order. Many reminisced about how similar it was to the actions of Pre-War Japanese government, but few could deny that the growing Communists could end up overthrowing the government if given more time and momentum.
Between 1956 and 1958, Japan would watch the end of the Korean conflict at their doorstep and the polarization of the nation's politics between the Socialist Party and the National Liberal Party being solidified. Labor unrest would cause a wave of protests and riots in the same year the Communists were banned, it was called the "August Storm" due to the escalation of the protests as it became an explosion of dissatisfaction, jobs that never returned, houses that were not rebuilt, years that were not recovered, promises that were not fulfilled. Many feared this was the Japanese version of Paik's coup triggering a civil war, the communists avowed to keep on fighting and indeed many communist cells joined up in the terror attacks committed by nationalists and even fought nationalist cells. Students would go on a mass strike across the nation, the discontent finally led to the resignation of Ishibashi's government and a new general election, as well as several concessions being given to the Protesters, although the ban on the Communist Party continued.
Unsurprisingly, the Socialists won that year with the election of Inejirō Asanuma, a very controversial figure that showed how the Japanese left pivoted towards anti-Americanism following the Nagasaki Affair in 1955. Asanuma, one of the leading figures of the Farmer-Labor party pre-war, always kept being in the forefront of the JSP, but he gained momentum after Katayama's pacifism was largely discredited by the Korean War. Controversially he was a man that was once part of the Taisei Yokusankai, the Imperial Rule Association, the single political entity that governed Japan between 1940 and 1946 when Anami's coup dissolved the Diet and enacted martial law suspending the constitution after the failure of Suzuki's government in protecting Hirohito and Japan itself from invasion. Asanuma, despite being a critic of militarism, was not a friendly figure towards American interests. Huey Long had just been elected for a third term and, despite the fact the two shared some views on social policy, they grew to have a terrible relationship after the Prime Minister went to visit President Long in Washington and felt insulted for being left waiting due to an error of Long's secretary. Naturally the meeting went from bad to worse with little coming in terms of results, Asanuma returned to Tokyo and faced the challenges at home of bringing back stability to Japan. His government lasted only 5 months.
On the 29th, after a week of protests, the soldier was charged with murder and sentenced to 30 years of imprisonment, the government in Japan also announced a revision of the Treaty of Kyoto with the American government, removing several restrictions such as the prohibition of Japan to have a Navy or Air Force, as well as an armaments deal. The Bank of America granted low interest loans to the Japanese government as well. The public declaration appeased most of the moderates, but both the far left and the far right were still dissatisfied with the continued American presence in Nagasaki. The protests dwindled but the resentment had remained, the Police Commissioner hoped that it was enough but it was not, Japan was a rotting nation, consumed more and more each day by a threat too insidious to be beaten in the open. Ishibashi's government broke it's truce with the Communist party and both went back to being at odds with one another, furthermore many nationalists within the Diet stood in opposition to Ishibashi as he failed to reclaim the port of Nagasaki, a symbol of humiliation compared to Macau and Hong Kong in China or Goa in India, it just so happened that two of those places would be targeted soon enough.
In Korea, Colonel Paik's government started to gain material advantage in 1956 as the United States ramped up it's weapons delivery following the fall of Kaesong, as well as doubling the amount of "Advisors", many of them officers experienced in facing guerrilla tactics during the Invasion of Japan. Operation Ripper, which involved around 40 thousand American troops and over the triple of Koreans, was the response to a large operation in the East Coast by Kim's forces to capture Pusan, one of the main port cities of Korea. With an overwhelming advantage in air power being unleashed, as well as the use of demoralizing weapons such as Napalm, the shock and awe tactics of the Korean-American troops repelled the Communists from much of the southern part of the Peninsula, at Pyeongchang, over 30 thousand prisoners were made as many of the armored forces held by the communists, mostly Japanese leftovers or Chinese tanks, were outclassed by the American armaments, sitting ducks for target practice of the new Jets of the USAAF. Furthermore, Japan became an aircraft carrier for heavy bombers, unleashing several tons of bombs in the North and Eastern parts of Korea during "Operation Sunstroke" in July, infamous for the use of incendiary weapons on Pyongyang.
The Nagasaki affair ended with limited concessions, those were insufficient for the communists who demanded the exit of American forces which used Japan as a strike base against Asia, after the relentless counter offensive of Paik's government in Korea the JCP would receive new directives from Beijing, the new center of Asian Socialism. On the 6th of August 1956, a General Strike was called following an incident between the police and a local strike of miners, but there were few illusions amongst the members of the government as to why this strike was called. That was when the Japanese government finally cracked down on the growing communist movement, partially out of fear of a greater crackdown coming from the United States and that they would suffer the same fate as Korea. The General Strike was declared illegal and Kuribayashi's police was sent in to raid the offices of the Communist Party, finding out several links connecting it's leaders to Maoist China. Prime Minister Ishibashi signed up the official ban of the Communist Party as a threat to National Security, proving itself to be a subversive and hostile element to social peace and order. Many reminisced about how similar it was to the actions of Pre-War Japanese government, but few could deny that the growing Communists could end up overthrowing the government if given more time and momentum.
Between 1956 and 1958, Japan would watch the end of the Korean conflict at their doorstep and the polarization of the nation's politics between the Socialist Party and the National Liberal Party being solidified. Labor unrest would cause a wave of protests and riots in the same year the Communists were banned, it was called the "August Storm" due to the escalation of the protests as it became an explosion of dissatisfaction, jobs that never returned, houses that were not rebuilt, years that were not recovered, promises that were not fulfilled. Many feared this was the Japanese version of Paik's coup triggering a civil war, the communists avowed to keep on fighting and indeed many communist cells joined up in the terror attacks committed by nationalists and even fought nationalist cells. Students would go on a mass strike across the nation, the discontent finally led to the resignation of Ishibashi's government and a new general election, as well as several concessions being given to the Protesters, although the ban on the Communist Party continued.
Unsurprisingly, the Socialists won that year with the election of Inejirō Asanuma, a very controversial figure that showed how the Japanese left pivoted towards anti-Americanism following the Nagasaki Affair in 1955. Asanuma, one of the leading figures of the Farmer-Labor party pre-war, always kept being in the forefront of the JSP, but he gained momentum after Katayama's pacifism was largely discredited by the Korean War. Controversially he was a man that was once part of the Taisei Yokusankai, the Imperial Rule Association, the single political entity that governed Japan between 1940 and 1946 when Anami's coup dissolved the Diet and enacted martial law suspending the constitution after the failure of Suzuki's government in protecting Hirohito and Japan itself from invasion. Asanuma, despite being a critic of militarism, was not a friendly figure towards American interests. Huey Long had just been elected for a third term and, despite the fact the two shared some views on social policy, they grew to have a terrible relationship after the Prime Minister went to visit President Long in Washington and felt insulted for being left waiting due to an error of Long's secretary. Naturally the meeting went from bad to worse with little coming in terms of results, Asanuma returned to Tokyo and faced the challenges at home of bringing back stability to Japan. His government lasted only 5 months.
It was not an electoral defeat or crisis that killed Asanuma's government, but his own death. The Prime Minister went to Sendai as part of an annual celebration for the victims of the Nuclear attack when a radical nationalist climbed up on the stage and used a Samurai short sword to stab Asanuma, while the instigator was detained, the leading figure of Japanese Socialism died on the way to the hospital, with a new election being called. Kuribayashi would be involved in the investigation of the attack, the teenager was sentenced to life imprisonment that was reduced to 30 years after he collaborated in denouncing his cell, a small group of Ultranationalists named the "Gashadokuro", named after the spirit in tales that became popularized after the war. Their symbol was a skeleton, said to be formed out of the bones of unburied, restless soldiers and starved civilians, a grim picture of the post-war years in Japan. The Gashadokuro group was tracked down by the police, but when near capture the members of the cell all committed suicide, something hardly unheard of amongst the fanatical nationalists. The 1957 elections led to the victory of the Socialists again, this time under the leadership of a returning Tetsu Katayama.
The war reached an unsatisfying conclusion for both sides in Korea for now, after the counter offensive of Paik's government, much of the east coast was recaptured, but when the threat of a direct Chinese intervention came, a negotiated ceasefire split the peninsula in half between the Southern Nationalists and the Northern Communists. Kim and Paik's dispute was left to be concluded in another time as the persecutions of Christian churches drew attention once more towards Europe where the Germans were beginning to mobilize according to reports from the MI6 and Russian Intelligence. Mao was satisfied with the Korean regime serving as a buffer for now, his focus was directed mostly towards Mongolia and Macau, where the People's Republic would strike within two years. Over 3 million Koreans perished after 4 years of grueling conflict all across the Peninsula, both sides entrenching themselves for the inevitable confrontation in the future.
Meanwhile, Katayama's return to the forefront of National Politics happened at a time where he had to face the increased resentment towards the United States and his own Pacifist ideals, it was for sake of his own legacy that he had to rule Japan with a steady hand. Homelessness was reduced in his government and the government made great investments in infrastructure to reach pre-invasion levels, he also attracted investments from Washington by using the Rusk Report as a basis for a new Nippon-American relationship. Indeed several American companies showed interest in investing on Japanese territory, with the fall of the Zaibatsu after the war and the enormous supply of cheap manpower, many of them could compensate the losses suffered when they were hit by Huey Long and his anti-corporative stance. Offshoring was a viable alternative, if one were to assume the risks of investing in Japan and were willing to pay the taxes imposed by Long's government, but calculations at companies such as Ford Motors proved that this was worth the shot. By 1959, unemployment in Japan had dropped under 11% for the first time since the end of the occupation, however at the cost of these jobs being mostly low-paying, many in degrading conditions and with a "generous" relaxation of the labor law codes to foreign companies approved on the Diet, with Katayama going against much of his own party in that move.
Any hopes and negotiations between 1957 and 1958 between the Japanese and American governments over the return of Nagasaki were dashed in May 1958 when the Ural War started, quickly the ports of Anchorage and Nagasaki were the main stops of American ships headed to Vladivostok, millions of tons of food and armaments had to be delivered, while also the USAAF used Japanese Airfields as stop points to transport personnel and equipment to Russian cities such as Novosibirsk and Irkutsk. Traffic intensified, runaways had to be expanded and at many times at the expense of Japanese houses, if anything the Ural War only increased the impression amongst many in Japan that the nation had been reduced into an American colony where Japanese labor could be exploited at low prices in undignified jobs, where Japanese land could be used for American mining companies to exploit, where American soldiers could have their way and be left undisturbed by Japanese authorities, and Japanese harbors were nothing more than refueling stations for American ships.
The war reached an unsatisfying conclusion for both sides in Korea for now, after the counter offensive of Paik's government, much of the east coast was recaptured, but when the threat of a direct Chinese intervention came, a negotiated ceasefire split the peninsula in half between the Southern Nationalists and the Northern Communists. Kim and Paik's dispute was left to be concluded in another time as the persecutions of Christian churches drew attention once more towards Europe where the Germans were beginning to mobilize according to reports from the MI6 and Russian Intelligence. Mao was satisfied with the Korean regime serving as a buffer for now, his focus was directed mostly towards Mongolia and Macau, where the People's Republic would strike within two years. Over 3 million Koreans perished after 4 years of grueling conflict all across the Peninsula, both sides entrenching themselves for the inevitable confrontation in the future.
Meanwhile, Katayama's return to the forefront of National Politics happened at a time where he had to face the increased resentment towards the United States and his own Pacifist ideals, it was for sake of his own legacy that he had to rule Japan with a steady hand. Homelessness was reduced in his government and the government made great investments in infrastructure to reach pre-invasion levels, he also attracted investments from Washington by using the Rusk Report as a basis for a new Nippon-American relationship. Indeed several American companies showed interest in investing on Japanese territory, with the fall of the Zaibatsu after the war and the enormous supply of cheap manpower, many of them could compensate the losses suffered when they were hit by Huey Long and his anti-corporative stance. Offshoring was a viable alternative, if one were to assume the risks of investing in Japan and were willing to pay the taxes imposed by Long's government, but calculations at companies such as Ford Motors proved that this was worth the shot. By 1959, unemployment in Japan had dropped under 11% for the first time since the end of the occupation, however at the cost of these jobs being mostly low-paying, many in degrading conditions and with a "generous" relaxation of the labor law codes to foreign companies approved on the Diet, with Katayama going against much of his own party in that move.
Any hopes and negotiations between 1957 and 1958 between the Japanese and American governments over the return of Nagasaki were dashed in May 1958 when the Ural War started, quickly the ports of Anchorage and Nagasaki were the main stops of American ships headed to Vladivostok, millions of tons of food and armaments had to be delivered, while also the USAAF used Japanese Airfields as stop points to transport personnel and equipment to Russian cities such as Novosibirsk and Irkutsk. Traffic intensified, runaways had to be expanded and at many times at the expense of Japanese houses, if anything the Ural War only increased the impression amongst many in Japan that the nation had been reduced into an American colony where Japanese labor could be exploited at low prices in undignified jobs, where Japanese land could be used for American mining companies to exploit, where American soldiers could have their way and be left undisturbed by Japanese authorities, and Japanese harbors were nothing more than refueling stations for American ships.
July 26th, 1959, it was a Sunday, it was raining in Nagano when Kuribayashi was returning home after a meeting that morning in the Imperial Palace. The Prime Minister was not there, rather he met only with Akihito himself, the Emperor was peaceful that day, although he shared concerns about security that had to be discussed with the High Commissioner, at least that was his excuse. Constitutionally he could not make political statements, there was a council to watch him and the diet too, but he was considered a friend of Tadamichi Kuribayashi, perhaps a mentor some may call, and concerns over the security of the Royal Family were understandable reasons for these meetings ever since the death of the boy's uncle Nobuhito. The Emperor did discuss politics in private with the former General, away from prying eyes, he confessed many concerns on the direction Japan was taking, he expressed doubts. Today, they had talked of the boy's father, the Showa Emperor, was he really a man who advocated for peace? One who was willing to work with the Americans? The General said so, he did not know much of Hirohito but he knew that the Emperor always had the greatest concern for the people, he had hoped with peace the country could be spared of further suffering. The face of the young Emperor was a hard one to read, but he thanked the General for his presence and he was left to return home in Nagano for the day, taking the train there.
On the train, he inspected new files on a rebel cell, one led by a supposed Baron of the Empire. There was little in there that made him be concerned at first, so many groups that were so similar, he could understand why many in the youth were frustrated, sometimes he himself was, but all it took was to remember the days of the war thirteen years ago to make him feel grateful for what he had. He was getting old, wearing glasses to see better this new information when he saw a familiar name. The group was founded in Nagasaki was it not? They had contacts with the local Yakuza, many of their members did have association with leading gangs all over Kyushu. This group was far greater than he thought, their motto was once associated with the Imperial forces of the Boshin War, Sonno Joi, "Revere the Emperor and Expel the Barbarians". He was about to close down the file, setting it aside to when they arrived home, he realized the reference to Onryo, spirits in the Shinto mythology said to be formed after an act of great pain and sorrow, which lived to exact a furious revenge on those who wronged them. Some of these groups liked to use Shinto mythology as a morale tactic, many used the spirit of Emperor Sutoku as an example, that the spirit of Hirohito or Yasuhito still lived for vengeance.
The Cupbearer, he had been killed by a Yakuza gang in Nagasaki, one whose leaders were very well connected with this group, but one thing above all troubled him, he only knew of one Baron who once served as a military commander during the war in Nagasaki, he knew him because Baron Takeichi Nishi, a known equestrian medallist who went further down into ultranationalism after the war. He had been convinced by Kuribayashi to surrender his armored corps, the largest intact one on the island, but ever since the harsh occupation and the years since, they have become distant with his former friend considering him a passive and weak man who betrayed Japan when they should have fought to the death. Worse, Nishi, with his famed reputation, had become close with the Emperor in the post-war years, presenting to him with his own prized horse Uranus. If that dangerous man was so close to the Emperor, then Akihito was in danger, but Kuribayashi would not arrive at home alive to bring his discovery back to Tokyo. An explosion was heard and then the train derailed, with the elder being knocked to the ground and trying to reach for his gun when he woke up and only heard the war cry of "Banzai" before he was shot there on the floor.
Akihito knew that had to be done, Kuribayashi had discovered too much, besides his removal was the last step on his plan for the change that Japan would go through. Elections were coming up and his prized horse was set to win, once he did and was able to appoint a new High Commissioner, the Constitution would be worth nothing more than the Treaty of Tokyo was, he would be free, Japan would be free. It was necessary, he had confirmed it himself today as he had that final conversation with his old friend, despite wanting peace, despite calling for peace, despite wanting to protect the people and end the bloodshed, the Americans still killed his father, they still killed his uncle, they still plundered and raped his land and people for over a decade and called it "Peace". Communists threatened all that was good, all the values and millenarian traditions, yet Japan was being forced to remain weak. But hardly did Kuribayashi realize how he lost control of his police, they no longer respected him, they had no loyalty to him, the expansions in 1955 and 1956, as well as the concessions given by their "generous" overlords, allowed for the Police Force to become an army in all but name, a large force that held the monopoly on violence. And with the support of the patriotic societies that for years held out against the invaders and their sellouts in the diet, the Imperial Army would rise once again at the moment when all eyes were set on Europe. This war served his purpose, Washington and Beijing alike set their eyes to Germania, and they were too busy to keep their eyes on Tokyo. They had to bide their time, do this steadly, but the suffering of his people, the humiliation on them, on his family, on him, all of that would be avenged, just as Emperor Meiji did.
A sun may set, but it always rises again.
On the train, he inspected new files on a rebel cell, one led by a supposed Baron of the Empire. There was little in there that made him be concerned at first, so many groups that were so similar, he could understand why many in the youth were frustrated, sometimes he himself was, but all it took was to remember the days of the war thirteen years ago to make him feel grateful for what he had. He was getting old, wearing glasses to see better this new information when he saw a familiar name. The group was founded in Nagasaki was it not? They had contacts with the local Yakuza, many of their members did have association with leading gangs all over Kyushu. This group was far greater than he thought, their motto was once associated with the Imperial forces of the Boshin War, Sonno Joi, "Revere the Emperor and Expel the Barbarians". He was about to close down the file, setting it aside to when they arrived home, he realized the reference to Onryo, spirits in the Shinto mythology said to be formed after an act of great pain and sorrow, which lived to exact a furious revenge on those who wronged them. Some of these groups liked to use Shinto mythology as a morale tactic, many used the spirit of Emperor Sutoku as an example, that the spirit of Hirohito or Yasuhito still lived for vengeance.
The Cupbearer, he had been killed by a Yakuza gang in Nagasaki, one whose leaders were very well connected with this group, but one thing above all troubled him, he only knew of one Baron who once served as a military commander during the war in Nagasaki, he knew him because Baron Takeichi Nishi, a known equestrian medallist who went further down into ultranationalism after the war. He had been convinced by Kuribayashi to surrender his armored corps, the largest intact one on the island, but ever since the harsh occupation and the years since, they have become distant with his former friend considering him a passive and weak man who betrayed Japan when they should have fought to the death. Worse, Nishi, with his famed reputation, had become close with the Emperor in the post-war years, presenting to him with his own prized horse Uranus. If that dangerous man was so close to the Emperor, then Akihito was in danger, but Kuribayashi would not arrive at home alive to bring his discovery back to Tokyo. An explosion was heard and then the train derailed, with the elder being knocked to the ground and trying to reach for his gun when he woke up and only heard the war cry of "Banzai" before he was shot there on the floor.
Akihito knew that had to be done, Kuribayashi had discovered too much, besides his removal was the last step on his plan for the change that Japan would go through. Elections were coming up and his prized horse was set to win, once he did and was able to appoint a new High Commissioner, the Constitution would be worth nothing more than the Treaty of Tokyo was, he would be free, Japan would be free. It was necessary, he had confirmed it himself today as he had that final conversation with his old friend, despite wanting peace, despite calling for peace, despite wanting to protect the people and end the bloodshed, the Americans still killed his father, they still killed his uncle, they still plundered and raped his land and people for over a decade and called it "Peace". Communists threatened all that was good, all the values and millenarian traditions, yet Japan was being forced to remain weak. But hardly did Kuribayashi realize how he lost control of his police, they no longer respected him, they had no loyalty to him, the expansions in 1955 and 1956, as well as the concessions given by their "generous" overlords, allowed for the Police Force to become an army in all but name, a large force that held the monopoly on violence. And with the support of the patriotic societies that for years held out against the invaders and their sellouts in the diet, the Imperial Army would rise once again at the moment when all eyes were set on Europe. This war served his purpose, Washington and Beijing alike set their eyes to Germania, and they were too busy to keep their eyes on Tokyo. They had to bide their time, do this steadly, but the suffering of his people, the humiliation on them, on his family, on him, all of that would be avenged, just as Emperor Meiji did.
A sun may set, but it always rises again.
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Seems like Akihito's gonna attempt to revive the Japanese Empire. Whether he succeeds or not is unknown. Also, why do i feel his takeover of Japan is that "big moment in August" that was teased in the last Ural War chapter? In that, the Americans are gonna be distracted in giving their supplies to Russia by having one of their 2 main ports in delivering said supplies disrupted. I doubt Akihito's gonna try it that soon though. Anyways can't wait for the "Six-Days War but 8 years early" chapter. Wonder whether a Korean War chapter will come after that.
Also, I know the alternate history ideas based on events that happened in this TL thing is over, but what would have happened if Kuribayashi survived and was able to bring the information he had to Tokyo?
Also, I know the alternate history ideas based on events that happened in this TL thing is over, but what would have happened if Kuribayashi survived and was able to bring the information he had to Tokyo?
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