DBWI: Yamato Dynasty Survives World War II

[brokenrobot00]

The Japanese Imperial Family was abolished after Japan surrendered to the allied powers at the very end of the Second World War. This was a major stumbling block during the negotiations and caused some serious setbacks and stumbling blocks for negotiatiors on both sides. In fact originally General MacArthur was in favor of keeping the Emperor on the throne but changed his mind as the United States Army fought their way closer to the home islands themselves, feeling the institution was too closely associated with Japan's history of militarism. Though this ruffled some of the feathers among allied nations with royal families. In the end though it was agreed that a trial of Hirohito was necessary to show the Japanese public that no man was above the law and that Royals were not divine and could make mistakes. In the end Emperor Hirohito surrendered himself out of fear war would be renewed and the Japanese people and culture would be obliterated, he was later tried and executed.

There was some popular support among the Japanese negotiating team for Hirohito's 12 year old son Akihito to inherit the throne with his mother Kojun acting as regent. The Allies flat out refused this and an offer for a cadet branch of the family to assume the throne. In the end Japan became a republic. Is there a point of divergence that would allow the Yamato Dynasty to survive the war? What would a surviving Japanese Imperial family look like? Would they have any remaining political power? How would they adapt to the 21st century?

 

[novussa]

well it would avoid the massive rebellion and and the many assantions of presidents that happend.

 

[overoceans]

well it would avoid the massive rebellion and and the many assantions of presidents that happend.

Yeah, the period of royalist military uprisings that went on for about a decade after the execution certainly took their toll on Japan's political establishment. I wonder how some of those people would have governed, had they lived long enough to make it to power and/or stay in office for more than a brief period.

The effect on domestic American politics would have been interesting. OTL, the royalists established one of the greatest foreign-policy lobbies to ever grace Washington, and were able to sell themselves to a faction of the American Right as the true force of anti-Communism in Japan, with assurances that if THEY ever got into power, they'd outlaw the Communist and Socialist parties, not like those fellow-travellers in the various Liberal parties.

So in the ATL, we'd be spared the comedy show of patriotic American politicians getting up in the House and the Senate to make weepy pleas on behalf of royalist thugs who made the redcoats of 1776 look like Ben Franklin.

 

[novussa]

japan with its monarchy would probaly have a stronger economy instead of nearly third World economy beacuse of all uprsising that made Vietnam look preatty.

 

[Admiral Bloonbeard]

japan with its monarchy would probaly have a stronger economy instead of nearly third World economy beacuse of all uprsising that made Vietnam look preatty.

OCC : No, just no... Japan had been a first world nation for 50 years already. This is a DBWI, not a fantasy ASB thread. When Italy abolish it’s monarchy, did it became a third world nation?

 

[Captain Poplar]

I would say that the last hurrah for the Yamato dynasty has been the accidental death of Prince Takamatsu, second brother of Hirohito, in that plane crash over Korea in 1942. It is now quite documented that he was against the war with the Western Allies and might have been an acceptable replacement for the reigning emperor. Prince Chichibu, a radical himself, only escaped death penalty because he was terminally ill during the Tokyo trials and Hirohito's last brother was too young anyway. Still, the bloody last battles in Indonesia and Kyushu just before the atomic bombings of Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Nagoya made impossible for the Japanese establishment to avoid a complete dismantlement of the pre-war government system and royalty.

 

[ejpsan]

The surviving members of the Imperial Family were permanently banished and exiled from Japan, ironically the only country that would take them was the United States where the Family settled in the San Francisco Bay Area which is the reason that American right has ties to the Monarchy.
The Imperial Palace was turned in to a museum chronicling the war time atrocities by Japan until Japanese nationalists destroyed the Palace in the '70s.

 

[Changundramon]

Meddling so heavily in Japanese politics must be one of the worst American foreign policy blunders, ever. An attempt to instill "Western" values backfired hard, and Communists who wanted Japan to be peaceful, told the U.S. to leave, after getting into power. Nationalists didn't exactly want the U.S. to stay, either. So, there was an uneasy "truce" until Japan was cleared of U.S. troops. After that, the vicious conflicts started.

 

[brokenrobot00]

The Royalists rebellions ended up creating their own worst enemy. Those generals don't fear the Japanese Army so much as the militia and paramilitary organized to counter them. In the late 70's and early 80's a group of Japanese college students went to Belfast inspired by the IRA and wanting to fight the Imperialist influence in their neighborhoods back home in Tokyo. That group would eventually become the Guardians of the Republic (rough translation.) They adopted the tactics and philosophies and ran wild with them. Once they returned they really expanded quickly throughout the nation too. Basically in every prefecture within 2 years. Cities became even more divided on political lines. When the recession hit in the late 80's times got really dark with fighting in the streets and really didn't end until the 90's

You know what I find so weird about the ongoing conflict between Royalists and Republicans in Japan, the fact that it effects things that aren't even related to it. It's not just newspapers and television stations reporting with whatever bias their ownership has it, touches on everything in the culture and creates this divide and everyone is keeping their eyes open to see what decisions you make. I was in Tokyo last year and suggested to some local friends I met that we could go see a baseball game one afternoon. I then got a 45 minute lecture about how no Republican Swallows fans would ever step foot in that Royalist hellhole the Tokyo dome or attend a game where the opposing team was owned by an Imperialist. This is wide spread to the point they have ticket packages that reflect these choices. So I suggested Sumo matches instead, same story. Professional wrestling, another hour being told that Japanese Strong Style vs Kings Road Style was literal. Movies? Don't even get me started on the Godzilla vs. Gamera debate. Beer and karaoke? There's a list of safe songs and preferred brands. I went back to my hotel sat at the bar and chatted with some others about how we were happy to be Gaijin.

 

[SealTheRealDeal]

I wonder if this would butterfly the Joseon restoration in Korea?

 

[Tales Weaver]

I wonder if this would butterfly the Joseon restoration in Korea?

It didn't lasted due to republican revolution. Rather, i think best case for this is Hohenzollern restoration in Germany post-WW2. It was a best move that they made. However, Poland has been divided in two.

 

[SealTheRealDeal]

It didn't lasted due to republican revolution. Rather, i think best case for this is Hohenzollern restoration in Germany post-WW2. It was a best move that they made. However, Poland has been divided in two.

Yeah but that didn't last either due to the excessive power of the Junkers. I think Germany calls itself a "noble republic" or some eclectic rubbish like that.

 

[overoceans]

The surviving members of the Imperial Family were permanently banished and exiled from Japan, ironically the only country that would take them was the United States where the Family settled in the San Francisco Bay Area which is the reason that American right has ties to the Monarchy.

Heh. Akihito certainly tried to maintain a dignified presence in the Bay Area, but those lumpen-royalist emigres who tagged along with him were a real clown show. They went around in the late 60s, smashing up left-wing rallies(most of which had nothing to do with Japanese issues), while shouting royalist slogans in Japanese.

They finally overplayed their hand when they tried to unfurl a Rising Sun flag at some pro-Panthers rally in Oakland, which unfortunately for them, caught the attention of some American Legion goons who had also shown up to counter-protest the Panthers. The whole thing degenertated into a Reactionary vs. Reactionary brawl, with several of the Legionaires ending up with busted ribs. The Panthers and their leftist allies were just laughing their heads off at the whole thing.

Rumour has it that after all this went down, Governor Reagan called up Akihito and reminded him that, on the pecking order of American sympathies, the Legion ranks a lot higher than a bunch of "[insert warime racial slur]s" who can't even speak English. Whatever the merits of that story, it is true that the extracurricular activities of the patriotic emigres ceased immediately thereafter.

 

[Whiteshore]

Anyways, your thoughts on how the Americans played up the Ezo Republic during their occupation of Japan, arguing the Ezo Republic proved Japanese culture is compatible with a republican system of government?

 

[Whiteshore]

Rather, i think best case for this is Hohenzollern restoration in Germany post-WW2. It was a best move that they made.

Or the narrow vote in Italy to preserve the Kingdom of Italy after the war (it helped Mussolini proclaimed an 'Italian Social Republic' as a German puppet state after the King kicked him out). In both Germany and Italy, the monarchies helped unite the country after the trauma of the Second World War.

 

[brokenrobot00]

As involved as the Yamato family is in American politics it's rumored they're even deeper in bed with the Brazilian government. Brazil has the largest population of Japanese people outside of Japan itself and the Royal Family wields a lot of influence there. Though they don't speak about it in public it's thought they were very supportive of the 64 coup and the following dictatorship. There was funding coming out of San Francisco though the source was never really disclosed.

 

[Whiteshore]

Brazil has the largest population of Japanese people outside of Japan itself and the Royal Family wields a lot of influence there. Though they don't speak about it in public it's thought they were very supportive of the 64 coup and the following dictatorship.

And probably influenced the monarchism of said junta as the junta in Brazil restored the Empire of Brazil during their dictatorship.

 

[Bubbykins]

Then maybe we could avoid the uprising by Al-Shinriko that happened last year. Also, the US was foolish to bring up an Ainu nation that was a republic in name only as an excuse to meddle in Japanese politics. No wonder the British far-right calls us a "foolish colony", we can't even avoid following an alternate timeline's propaganda!

OOC: Al-Shinriko is an Islamist version of Aum Shinriko that came about due to the butterfly effect.

 

[Password]

Rumour has it that after all this went down, Governor Reagan called up Akihito and reminded him that, on the pecking order of American sympathies, the Legion ranks a lot higher than a bunch of "[insert warime racial slur]s" who can't even speak English. Whatever the merits of that story, it is true that the extracurricular activities of the patriotic emigres ceased immediately thereafter.

I'm surprised you remember so much about a California governor whose only claim to fame is being defeated badly in the Republican primaries. But I suppose if that bigot had won, the whole country would have lurched to the right.