Since this means Prince Chichibu (sp?) will become the new Emperor, what will the consequences be for Japan? Or Takamatsu, since Chichibu was allegedly involved in the Feb. 26 "Incident".
Benefits of Brotherhood: Hirohito abdicates
- Thread starter RogueBeaver
- Start date
Attempted ultra-nat coup by Tokyo garrison. Hirohito's abdication would of course be in 1945/6.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_26_Incident
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_26_Incident
wormyguy
Banned
Yes, but they're occupied by the Americans during 1945/46. It was a hard enough sell to the American public keeping Hirohito in power, replacing him with someone else after he abdicates is going to be nigh-on impossible.
Germaniac
Donor
I don't see it happening. Hirohito was believed that he was appointed by the hisgher powers, much more so then even russia. Even if he was captured he would not abdicate.
However, even if he was to abdicate he would pass the thrown onto another pro military man. His brother was as Pro war as he was(which was decent enough to continue the war)
However, even if he was to abdicate he would pass the thrown onto another pro military man. His brother was as Pro war as he was(which was decent enough to continue the war)
But what do the American public have to do with it? It's not like the American public is going to vote in a referendum on it and then there is the fact that the entire surrender of Japan was predicated on the acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration, which contains the specific point:
Just because the Americans are occupying Japan doesn't mean it will become a republic. It didn't in OTL and in fact it should have been harder for Hirohito to stay in power than anyone else if the American public really had their way since the majority of them either wanted him personally tried, executed, or removed from power. Despite that he hung around because of the terms of the surrender and the Potsdam Declaration. If he abdicated and was replaced by someone who wasn't associated with starting Pearl Harbour why on earth would Americans not want that? Some Americans did.
Plus it kind of makes it hard to have a government "established in accordance with the freely expressed will of the Japanese people" if the American public is going to be allowed to have ultimate say over this form of government.
What would happen after the occupation anyway? Surely if MacArthur forced a republic on Japan (extremely unlikely considering the relationship he developed with Japan) all that would happen is that come 1951 after the occupation ends, then Japan's republican government has a referendum on restoring the monarchy which is won by a significant majority (since republicanism was very weak in Japan and probably only supported by the Japanese communists - not exactly the group the Americans are going to look to for support in any post-occupation government). So the monarchy would be restored and the Japanese republic would just be one of those interludes in a monarchial state, rather like the English Interregnum/Commonwealth and the restoration of the Spanish monarchy in 1975 after Franco's death (although officially Spain had been restored as a kingdom since the end of the Spanish civil war in the 1930s).