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I recently read that, according to declassified CIA documents, there was a plot by Japanese nationalists to assassinate Japanese PM Shigeru Yoshida in 1952 and replace him with Ichirō Hatoyama (who would eventually become PM anyway) in the hope that he would rearm Japan. Obviously the plan never went ahead, and the article did mention that the conspiracy, despite apparently having 500,000 sympathisers, was riddled with leaks and internal fighting, but what if they had gone through with the plan.
There are three possible outcomes I can think of, each of which I'm interested to hear what people have to say about them:
The coup succeeds and Hatoyama is installed. Does he fulfil the dreams of the nationalists, and how does the reintroduction of government by assassination affect postwar Japanese politics?
The coup fails. How does the government react? Quite a few of those involved had been war crime suspects and ex-purgees. Does the government reinstate and expand the purge?
The coup fails, but Yoshida is killed and Hatoyama is implicated by association. Does this create a power vacuum in Japanese politics, and who fills it. What other effects does this have on Japanese politics?