Hirohito Assassinated in 1932

Yeah, this seems like a bad plan. A Korean nationalist killing the Emperor would enrage most of the Japanese population, and would do nothing to advance the cause of Korean decolonization.

Anyway, if Emperor Showa dies, who becomes the new Emperor? If it is Akihito (Heisei), he'll need a regent--he is still just a kid. It would be interesting if you could get Prince Higashikuni as the regent. He tried to set that up late in WWII, so he could end the war. If he becomes Regent, he might use what power he has to prevent the war against the western powers. Of course, he wasn't opposed to the war against China (he personally authorized the use of poison gas there), but it's better than nothing. Unfortunately, it could go the other way--you might see the militarists use the lack of any real power from a child Emperor to take even more power away from the civilian government.

Wikipedia said:
Prince Higashikuni remained steadfast in his opposition to the war with the Allied powers, and was part of the conspiracy (with Prince Asaka, Prince Takamatsu, and former Prime Minister Konoe) which finally ousted Tōjō in July 1944 following the fall of Saipan to American forces. The American researchers with SCAP also found out that he had planned towards the end of the war to depose Hirohito, placing the minor Akihito on the throne instead, governing the country with himself as regent.
 
Yeah, this seems like a bad plan. A Korean nationalist killing the Emperor would enrage most of the Japanese population, and would do nothing to advance the cause of Korean decolonization.

Anyway, if Emperor Showa dies, who becomes the new Emperor? If it is Akihito (Heisei), he'll need a regent--he is still just a kid. It would be interesting if you could get Prince Higashikuni as the regent. He tried to set that up late in WWII, so he could end the war. If he becomes Regent, he might use what power he has to prevent the war against the western powers. Of course, he wasn't opposed to the war against China (he personally authorized the use of poison gas there), but it's better than nothing. Unfortunately, it could go the other way--you might see the militarists use the lack of any real power from a child Emperor to take even more power away from the civilian government.

Akihito wasn't born until December 1933 (so, conceived around March). Therefore, in January 1932, Hirohito has no crowned heir. I think Prince Chichibu becomes Emperor.
 
Akihito wasn't born until December 1933 (so, conceived around March). Therefore, in January 1932, Hirohito has no crowned heir. I think Prince Chichibu becomes Emperor.
Thanks for the info.
Ugh, I don't like that guy. He was as radical as most of the 1936 rebels. If he becomes Emperor, the Empire of Japan might join the Axis even earlier.
 

Sumeragi

Banned
Prince Chichibu was the heir presumptive until the birth of Prince Tsugu (future Tenno of the Era of Heisei). It would very interesting what would have happened, since Prince Chichibu is a real paradox: He was as liberal and open as the Pro-British he was, yet also strongly advocated having the Tenno have direct power, mostly to counter the various clique who held power in Japan. What people should know that the ranting of the military about rescuing the Tenno from his "corrupt subjects" was half-truth: Japan was, and still is, run by a close group of various cliques who do most of the politics behind the "black veil". While the military itself was also part of this, it did have a certain loyalist bend when calling for uprisings to "rescue the Tenno".


But then, most people don't see that and think Prince Chichibu was some kind of fascist radical: he wasn't.


Sort of feeling uneasy about discussing my distant relatives like this >_>
 
Yeah, in January 1932, Hirohito's successor is Prince Chichibu (Yasuhito).

@Enigmajones - In 1924, then-23-year-old Crown Prince Hirohito was not yet Emperor, as Emperor Taisho (Yoshihito) was still alive. Yasuhito would then become Crown Prince as the eldest living son of the Emperor.

Top Fives (including Emperor):
1923: Yoshihito - Hirohito - Yasuhito - Nobuhito (Prince Takamatsu) - Takahito
1926: Hirohito - Yasuhito - Nobuhito - Takahito - ... (no uncles, great-uncles, or great-great uncles... Japan has serious succession issues...)
1933: Hirohito - Akihito - Yasuhito - Nobuhito - Takahito (Prince Mikasa)
1935: Hirohito - Akihito - Masahito (Prince Hitachi) - Yasuhito - Nobuhito
1953: Hirohito - Akihito - Masahito - Nobuhito - Takahito
1960: Hirohito - Akihito - Naruhito - Masahito - Nobuhito
1964: Hirohito - Akihito - Naruhito - Masahito - Nobuhito
1965: Hirohito - Akihito - Naruhito - Fumihito (Prince Akishino) - Masahito
1989: Akihito - Naruhito - Fumihito - Masahito - Takahito
2006: Akihito - Naruhito - Fumihito - Hisahito - Masahito
 

Sumeragi

Banned
Yeah, in January 1932, Hirohito's successor is Prince Chichibu (Yasuhito).

@Enigmajones - In 1924, then-23-year-old Crown Prince Hirohito was not yet Emperor, as Emperor Taisho (Yoshihito) was still alive. Yasuhito would then become Crown Prince as the eldest living son of the Emperor.

He knows, since I advised him on the matter for his TL.
 
But then, most people don't see that and think Prince Chichibu was some kind of fascist radical: he wasn't.


On 9 February 1939, Chichibu attended a lecture on bacteriological warfare, given by Shiro Ishii, in the War Ministry Grand Conference Hall in Tokyo.[2] He also attended vivisection demonstrations by Ishii.[3]

He witness and knew about this:

Prisoners of war were subjected to vivisection without anesthesia.[11][13] Vivisections were performed on prisoners after infecting them with various diseases. Scientists performed invasive surgery on prisoners, removing organs to study the effects of disease on the human body. These were conducted while the patients were alive because it was feared that the decomposition process would affect the results.[11][14] The infected and vivisected prisoners included men, women, children, and infants.[15]
Prisoners had limbs amputated in order to study blood loss.[11] Those limbs that were removed were sometimes re-attached to the opposite sides of the body.[11] Some prisoners' limbs were frozen and amputated, while others had limbs frozen then thawed to study the effects of the resultant untreated gangrene and rotting.
Some prisoners had their stomachs surgically removed and the esophagus reattached to the intestines.[11] Parts of the brain, lungs, liver, etc. were removed from some prisoners.[11][13][16]


Working together with a man that gives Josef Mengele a run for their money in the worst human ever department should be considered a radical in some fashion.
 

Sumeragi

Banned
Working together with a man that gives Josef Mengele a run for their money in the worst human ever department should be considered a radical in some fashion.
You seem to have concluded that vivisections mentioned were human vivisections: They weren't. All meetings with Ishii were done in Tokyo, where if any sort of human vivisection was done would have created not a too subtle outrage.

Ishii was personally known to Prince Chichibu, and also demonstrated a water purification device which filtered urine into water to the Showa Tenno. A man of Ishii's scientific caliber (ignoring moral values, that is) was of high consideration to Japan, and combined with his knowledge on biological warfare obtained during his studies in Europe, would have had access to the Imperial Family.

Of course, whether the Imperial Family had direct information about the activities of Unit 731, and if so, to what extent, cannot be verified since records were burned before the US troops landed. What can be known is that it is certain there was no direct "working together" on Unit 731.
 
Top