A Different Taisho

Emperor Taisho, son of Meiji and father of Hirohito, reigned for just under fifteen years and saw Japan endure World War I and the rise of proto-fascism. He was also thought to be intellectually delayed due either to an early infection or lead exposure. Supposing he excels in intelligence instead of lags (at least an average of Meiji and Hirohito) and still married Kudo Sakato, what does his reign look like and how much longer would he live without these exposures? What consequences does this Francophonic Emperor have on World War II, if any?
 
Emperor Taisho, son of Meiji and father of Hirohito, reigned for just under fifteen years and saw Japan endure World War I and the rise of proto-fascism. He was also thought to be intellectually delayed due either to an early infection or lead exposure. Supposing he excels in intelligence instead of lags (at least an average of Meiji and Hirohito) and still married Kudo Sakato, what does his reign look like and how much longer would he live without these exposures? What consequences does this Francophonic Emperor have on World War II, if any?
Probably comparatively little. The thing was the Meiji Emperor, who was particularly interested in the political scene for a Japanese Emperor, was still in practice circumscribed by the genro. There is nothing to suggest that a saner Taisho Emperor would be any different. Not to mention a lot of the protofascism came towards the beginning of the Showa era, and was in large part a reaction to both Taisho Democracy and the Great Showa Financial Crisis.

For the most part, he would play the part of a modern Japanese monarch - 95% of the time he would sign what thd genro or the Cabinet told him to sign, and by all the kami he was going to do it.
 
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