Wage a revolution in Imperial Japan.

As per the title. Under the condition that the imperial family should no longer serve as the head of the state at the end of the revolution.

It can either be a democratic or communist revolution, but the former is preferred.
 
Technically this is Imperial Japan—opposition to government tacitly supporting President Goldwater's nuclear war in China and Indochina increases until the US encourages a neo-Imperial coup. The regime quickly falls to a socialist-communist revolution.

Or a more classic option is Japan loses a war with the US in the aftermath of a Central Powers victory. That could do it.
 
Toppling the Emperor is hard. But I think if the US intentionally put the entire Imperial House of Japan on trial for whatever reason and saw it put down there'd definitely be a few terrorist attacks that support an "Imperial Restoration".
 

LordKalvert

Banned
Toppling the Emperor in a democratic revolution is impossible- the Emperor was too much a symbol of nationalism and willing to play the puppet of whatever group grabbed power. Any democracy movement would take the simple solution of figurehead monarch- the monarchy was, after all, popular.

A social revolution is much easier- the same divisions of society exist in Imperial Japan as everywhere.

Have the Japanese lose the Russo-Japanese War and the Russians imposing terms severe enough to cause widespread suffering. Then the elite tries to push the burden of the defeat onto the lower classes. Could be enough to spark a social revolution

Won't work after WWII because the American occupation would lead any revolt to be nationalistic and the Emperor the perfect leader of the revolution
 
Toppling the Emperor in a democratic revolution is impossible- the Emperor was too much a symbol of nationalism and willing to play the puppet of whatever group grabbed power. Any democracy movement would take the simple solution of figurehead monarch- the monarchy was, after all, popular.
The "popularity" of the Emperor among commoners, as opposed to the reverence to Monarchy among the Sumarai class, was a modern invention. It was instilled only with the new, western style education system. So was the imposition of the moral codes of the Sumarais, or bushido, upon all specters of the society.

The Neiji government was only able to do so after a violent attack against the true religion of Japanese lower class: Buddhism.

Won't work after WWII because the American occupation would lead any revolt to be nationalistic and the Emperor the perfect leader of the revolution
The immediate post war period saw rampant leftist and communist movements.
 
Top