Muv-Luv Alternative - The Political Map and History of Imperial Japan

Complete analysis of the political climate that led to every conflict in Muv-Luv Alternative, starting with the real life shared historical moments, and their parallels in the alternate history of the Muv-Luv universe. This article contains spoilers for Muv-Luv Alternative and Muv-Luv Total Eclipse (Teito Moyu) so tread with caution.

The Tokugawa period (Real History) - 1603–1867

Tokugawa period, also called Edo period, (1603–1867), the final period of traditional Japan, a time of internal peace, political stability, and economic growth under the shogunate (military dictatorship) founded by Tokugawa Ieyasu.

As shogun, Ieyasu achieved hegemony (The social, cultural, ideological, or economic influence exerted by a dominant group) over the entire country by balancing the power of potentially hostile domains (Tozama) with strategically placed allies (Fudai) and collateral houses (Shimpan).

His strategies of control and stability included keeping the feudal domanial lords, or daimyos at bay in the Tokugawa administrative capital of Edo, freezing social order and prohibition of mobility between the four classes (warriors, farmers, artisans, and merchants) and preventing peasants, who made up 80 percent of the population, from engaging in nonagricultural activities so as to ensure a stable and continuing source of income for those in positions of authority.

Another aspect of the Tokugawa concern with political stability was fear of foreign ideas and military intervention. Colonial missionaries from Spain and Portugal were expelled, and complete ban on Christianity was exercised. Moreover, in issuing these orders, the Tokugawa shogunate officially adopted a policy of national seclusion. From 1633 onward Japanese subjects were forbidden to travel abroad or to return from overseas, and foreign contact was limited to a few Chinese and Dutch merchants still allowed to trade through the southern port of Nagasaki.

The national economy expanded rapidly from the 1680s to the early 1700s due to the emphasis on agriculture production that was strengthed by military stability and rule. While merchants and to a lesser extent tradesmen continued to prosper well into the 18th century, the daimyo and samurai began to experience financial difficulties. Their primary source of income was a fixed stipend tied to agricultural production, which had not kept pace with other sectors of the national economy. Several attempts at fiscal reform were made by the government during the late 18th and 19th centuries, but the financial strain on the warrior class increased as the period progressed.

During its final 30 years in power the Tokugawa shogunate had to contend with peasant uprisings and samurai unrest as well as with financial problems. These factors, combined with the growing threat of Western encroachment, brought into serious question the continued existence of the regime, and by the 1860s many demanded the restoration of direct imperial rule as a means of unifying the country and solving the prevailing problems. The powerful southwestern tozama domains of Chōshū and Satsuma exerted the greatest pressure on the Tokugawa government and brought about the overthrow of the last shogun, Hitosubashi Keiki (or Yoshinobu), in 1867. Less than a year later the Meiji emperor was restored to supreme power.

For more insight on the Western influence or encroachment into Japanese affairs, Please refer to the topics of Perry Expedition, Treaties imposed upon Japan, Collapse of the Japanese economy and Foreign military interventions against sonnō jōi from the Bakumatsu. Bakamtsu is a term referes to the final years of the Edo/Tokugawa period.

The Meiji Restoration (Real History) - 1868

Meiji Restoration, in Japanese history, the political revolution in 1868 that brought about the final demise of the Tokugawa shogunate (military government) – thus ending the Edo (Tokugawa) period (1603–1867) – and, at least nominally, returned control of the country to direct imperial rule under Mutsuhito (the emperor Meiji). In a wider context, however, the Meiji Restoration of 1868 came to be identified with the subsequent era of major political, economic, and social change – the Meiji period (1868–1912) – that brought about the modernization and Westernization of the country.

The restoration event itself consisted of a coup d’état in the ancient imperial capital of Kyōto on January 3, 1868. The perpetrators announced the ouster of Tokugawa Yoshinobu (the last shogun) – who by late 1867 was no longer effectively in power – and proclaimed the young Meiji emperor to be ruler of Japan. Yoshinobu mounted a brief civil war that ended with his surrender to imperial forces in June 1869.

The leaders of the restoration were mostly young samurai from feudal domains (hans) historically hostile to Tokugawa authority. Those men were motivated by growing domestic problems and by the threat of foreign encroachment. The latter concern had its origins in the efforts by Western powers to “open” Japan, beginning in the 1850s after more than two centuries of near isolation, and the fear that Japan could be subjected to the same imperialist pressures that they observed happening in nearby China. They believed that the West depended on constitutionalism for national unity, on industrialization for material strength, and on a well-trained military for national security. Adopting the slogan “Enrich the country, strengthen the army” (“Fukoku kyōhei”), they sought to create a nation-state capable of standing equal among Western powers. Knowledge was to be sought in the West, the goodwill of which was essential for revising the unequal treaties that had been enacted and granted foreign countries judicial and economic privileges in Japan through extraterritoriality.

The goals of the resotration was a to reenable a worldwide search for knowladge for these purposes, and the first action taken was relocating the imperial capital from Kyoto to Edo, and dismantling of the old feudal regime.The administrative reorganization had been largely accomplished by 1871, when the domains were officially abolished and replaced by a prefecture system that has remained in place to the present day. New monetary and tax systems were established, and a national system of education was devloped, which initially put emphasis on Western learning.

Economic and social changes paralleled the political transformation of the Meiji periodm, butWholesale Westernization was somewhat checked in the 1880s, however, when a renewed appreciation of traditional Japanese values emerged. Such was the case in the development of a modern educational system that, though influenced by Western theory and practice, stressed the traditional values of samurai loyalty and social harmony. Those precepts were codified in 1890 with the enactment of the Imperial Rescript on Education (Kyōiku Chokugo). The same tendency prevailed in art and literature, where Western styles were first imitated, and then a more selective blending of Western and Japanese tastes was achieved.

By the early 20th century the goals of the Meiji Restoration had been largely accomplished. Japan was well on its way to becoming a modern industrialized country. The unequal treaties that had granted foreign powers judicial and economic privileges through extraterritoriality were revised in 1894, and, with the Anglo-Japanese Alliance of 1902 and its victory in two wars (over China in 1894–95 and Russia in 1904–05), Japan gained respect in the eyes of the Western world, appearing for the first time on the international scene as a major world power. The death of the emperor Meiji in 1912 marked the end of the period, although several of the important Meiji leaders carried on as genro in the new regime (1912–26) of the Taishō emperor.

The Annulment of The US-Japan Treaty (Muv-Luv Alternative History)

1944 - The End of the Second World War

The Allies (The US, The UK, and The USSR) are victorious over the Axis (Germany, Italy, and Japan). Although Germany was able to temporarily occupy almost all of Europe, America dropped two atomic bombs on Germany, after the European counter-offensive, securing victory for the allies. Ideological clashes that became apparent during the war split the world into the Western and Eastern blocs, centered around the US and the Soviets respectively. The two powers enter the Cold War.

Global frameworks such as the United Nations (UN), the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Warsaw Treaty Organization (WTO) become established. The Empire of Japan is defeated, but is spared an unconditional surrender after reconciling with the Allies. However, Japan becomes a semi-vassal state, and was essentially placed under US control. Japan is then introduced into the global political climate of the Cold War as one of America’s most valued allies in the Far East, and commences post-war reconstruction.

The NATO and WTO global frameworks and the Germany situation are further explored in the Schwarzesmarken entry.

1950 - The Japan-US Security Treaty

As part of this treaty, the American occupation forces become the USFJ (United States Forces Japan), strengthening the influence of the US in the far east. Accepting their state of military dependence on the US, Japan pushes for the recovery of the nation’s strength through competing in space development programs with the US, among other things like the Akebono Program for gaining knowledge about the TSF development from the west..

The Japanese distrust towards the US

• First Reason: The lack of TSF supply in 1974 due to the US prioritizing reinforcing the most threatened front, the European front, and as a result, less importane was placed on the Japanese front. This led Japan to start developing it’s own weapons domestically and become a military world power.
• Second Reason: The US proposal of using G-bombs due to the stangnation of Alternative 3 results in 1988 was met with heavy opposition fron Eurasian Countries. However, the US continued to push for the plan of using G-bombs and quickly resolve the war in addition to aquiring funding for which would be name later the Alternative 5 plan.

In 1998: The Annulment of the Japan-US Security Treaty, Immediate Withdrawal of US Troops in Japan

Busy with the construction of the Sadogashima Hive, the BETA’s invasion of the Nagano prefecture grows stagnant. At the same time, the US unilaterally annuls the Japan-US Security Treaty, and withdraws troops in Japan immediately. The US claims the annulment is due to the IJF’s repeated disregard for orders.

As the Imperial government was fiercely opposed to the use of G-Bombs and nuclear weapons, their view was that the US had used this as an excuse to avoid the death of its own personnel from the resulting close quarters combat (Which was the main developmental philosophy of the Japanese TSFs). However, the UN and senior government officials recognized that the annulment of the security treaty and America’s increasing pressure on the 5th plan were related.

Japan was already a grand military power by the time and was incorporated into the UN for its military and economic achievements, along with Australia for it’s siginifance in providing food resources, but their right to Veto was halted for 20 years.

• Third Reason: The tragedy of Operation Gwangju in Asia 1998, in which Lieutenant General Ayamine Shukaku priortized aiding locals who were refusing to evacuate, at the cost of causing significant confusion within the chain of command in the UN forces. The UN forces requested for the Lieutenant General to be handed over to the international military tribunal, but instead Prime Minister Sakaki pleaded for Japan to Judge him by domestic law and keep Japan’s political stability. This would later plant the seed for future conflicts with the UN, like the 12-5 Incident.

• Fourth Reason: Operation Lucifer in 1999. A large-scale counter-offensive, second only in size to Operation Palaiologos (Schwarzesmarken), commences. Its primary strategic goal is capturing the Yokohama Hive and reclaiming the island of Honshu.

During the final stages of capturing the Yokohama Hive, after extensive naval cross-bombardment from the Sea of Japan and the Pacific Ocean, the US, who had been the rear guard of the operation deploy two G-Bombs, without notifying their allies. This destroys the monument of the hive, and eliminates all surrounding BETA, largely deciding the battle. UN and COSEAN tactical armored forces, supported by naval bombardments, chase down the remaining BETA, which had started retreating to the continent. They deal a significant blow to the BETA, and achieve a historic and decisive victory.

However, the actions of the US only stirred up greater anti-US resentment in the Japanese population.

The Emperor, The Shogun and The Five Regent Families (Real History)

The Emperor is not the Shogun

The title of shogun, or general, was first bestowed on military commanders in the 700s who were asked to recruit soldiers for some specific campaign. Once the campaign was over, the title of shogun reverted back to the emperor. The temporary shogun was always a member of the imperial family.

The administration of a shogun is called Bakufu (幕府) in Japanese and literally means “government from the curtain.” The shogun’s officials were collectively referred to as the Bakufu (幕府, “tent government”); and they were the ones who carried out the actual duties of administration, while the Imperial court retained only nominal authority

However, in the late 1100s, the shogun Minamoto Yoritomo maneuvered to make the title of shogun permanent and hereditary, meaning that it would remain in his family generation after generation. A shogunate in Japan is like a dynasty in China. The term refers to both the rulers and the period during which they ruled.

At the time, Japan was beset with rival factions, and a strong military power was needed to keep the warring parties in check. The emperor was a child and Yoritomo conspired with the regent (the official who rules when a child occupies a hereditary office) to abolish the emperor’s right to choose his own shogun.

Without this power, the emperor was at the mercy of the shogun because the shogun controlled the military. In practice, the emperor became ruler in name only and the shogun, or members of powerful families ruling in the name of the shogun, held the real power through the military. This continued through three dynasties of shoguns. In the 1800s, Japan moved beyond its feudal society and began to modernize.

Five regent houses

The Five Regent Houses (五摂家; go-seike or go-sekke) is a collective term for the five families of the Fujiwara clan. The leaders of these families monopolized the position of Sekkan in the Japanese Imperial Court in Kyoto between the 12th and 19th century. The five houses are Konoe, Takatsukasa, Kujō, Ichijō, and Nijō.

What is the position of Sekkan?

In Japan, Sesshō (摂政) was a title given to a regent who was named to act on behalf of either a child Emperor before his coming of age, or an empress regnant. The Kampaku (関白) was theoretically a sort of chief advisor for the Emperor, but was in practice the title of both first secretary and regent who assisted an adult Emperor. For much of the Heian period (794–1185), the sesshō and kampaku were the effective rulers of Japan, with little, if any, effective difference between the two titles, and several individuals merely changed titles as child Emperors grew to adulthood, or adult Emperors retired or died and were replaced by child Emperors. The two titles were collectively known as sekkan (摂関), and the families that exclusively held the titles were called sekkan-ke (sekkan family). After the Heian period, shogunates took over the power.

Both sesshō and kampaku were styled as denka (or tenga (殿下) in historical pronunciation; translated as “(Imperial) Highness”), as were Imperial princes and princesses.

Why did the offices of Shogun and Emperor never merge, or the Shogun go and claim Imperial rule?

The imperial clan claimed descent from the goddess Amaterasu, this was the cause for the position to be strictly hereditary, but in the Fujiwara tradition, the clan descended from another ancient Kami known as Ame-no-Koyane. Thus, the Shogun was not eligible to be Emperor, and despite his great military power would probably not have been accepted as such if he had simply declared himself Emperor.

The office of Shogun needed to legitimize their military governments with the backing of Japan’s ancient civic laws and emperors, as they were in the end, technically an Imperial appointment. Also both the imperial family and the most leading clans have several braches so they would not run out of back up heirs if the main line imperial line fails. For example, the Tokugawa Clan’s senior (Shogunate) line went extinct on four occasions: The fourth, seventh, thirteenth and fourteenth shoguns all had no issue. In each case, the Shogunate Line was preserved via adoption from a cadet branch, putting further restrictions on the Shogun’s position.

In other words, The office of Shogun did not confer power, but rather legitimized it. Keeping the family name alive was a also very important consideration, as a clan might expand its power by “inheriting” another domain. This typically involves a junior son changing his name to the inherited clan’s, rather than merge everything into the main title. The inherited clan thereafter became “part of the family”, so to speak, despite the different surnames.

In reality, the preferred historic method of gaining power is to marry into the royal family while maintaining your own lineage of temporal power. The best example is the Fujiwara clan, who for centuries monopolized the powerful positions of Sesshō and Kampaku. They entrenched their position by marrying into the Imperial Family as Empress Consorts and Crown Princesses.

This was imitated by the early samurai regimes too. Taira no Kiyomori married his daughter Tokuko to the Takakura Emperor. Even Minamoto no Yoritomo, who overthrew the Taira regime and established the Kamakura Shogunate, attempted to have his daughters married into the Imperial Family - he was only thwarted because both daughters died young.

The Light and Shadow of the Japanese Imperial Government (Muv-Luv Teito Moyu History)

The restoration faction and the Edo Shogunate restored imperial rule by uniting (Not complete overthrowing of the Shogunate system), and would together immediately work on reorganizing the national forces in response to the approaching threat of foreign powers after the new government was formed, following a period of turmoil.

In 1867, the Shogunate family and anti-Shogun daimyo united for a common cause to overthrow the pro-western government, and established the restoration of imperial rule with a new Shogun and the 5 Regent Houses of Koubuin, Ikaruga, Saionji, Kujo, and Takatsukasa. When the Japanese surrendered in 1945 at the end of World War II, they were allowed to keep their imperial government intact, although their power over the nation was lessened, compared to the Japanese government that was created to run the nation with a democracy system through the Imperial diet.

While this was underway, they established the Imperial Royal Guard – an independent and armed organization separate to the IJF (Imperial Japanese Army), which would be dedicated to guarding the Emperor and the Shogun, who had full authority to act in the Emperor’s name.

The Shogun acts with all authority on behalf of the Emperor of Japan whom the Shogun is also tasked with protecting. The organization which ensures this protection is the Imperial Royal Guard. On the other hand, the IJA and Imperial Mainland Defense Force protect not only the country, as suggested by their name, but also the lives and property of citizens during times of emergency. In order to achieve these goals, the IJA will sometimes be forward deployed overseas while the MDF remains as the rear guard. Meanwhile, the Royal Guard acts as the force for final stage operations and is kept furthest back to protect the Emperor and the Shogun.

More details on military structure of Japan here.

The Status of Warrior Houses

Prejudice against the Royal Guard

Since their goals concern the protection of the Emperor and Shogun, the Imperial Royal Guard’s missions are extremely limited and are kept as top secret. Because of this, much of the truth about them is isolated from the nation’s citizens and mass media. Apart from a certain period during the Taisho era, this had never been treated as a significant problem. However, with the loss in the war against the US, the situation completely changed.

Following the democratization and military reforms that were terms in the peace treaty, the mass media began to highlight the exclusivity of the Royal Guard and started to build momentum behind a negative attitude towards them, by calling them old-fashioned feudalists and segregationists. Since then, biases against the Royal Guard have been ingrained in many citizens.

The truth behind the sudden change in mass media was caused by America’s strategy to divide and weaken the nation, which was concealed in the terms of the peace treaty.
The coverage, which was blatant and arbitrary, as well as being based of resentful and emotional perspectives, was so shameless that it would not normally have been accepted. But the citizens, seeking a group to take responsibility for losing the war, found an easy scapegoat in the Royal Guard, which had a hardline anti-foreigner stance.

The Shogun’s position also had essentially become an empty title after the organizational reforms in the US-Japan peace treaty. The masses also continued attack the Royal Guards for being a “privileged class” during the BETA invasion, and they latched onto these ideas as an outlet for the stress resulting from the uncertainty imposed on them.

America, with its hopes of rebuilding their anti-Japan/anti-Asia strategy after the annulment of the US-Japanese Security Treaty, could be seen as central to the revival of the anti-Royal Guard sentiment. It was an excellent opportunity to not only restrain the Royal Guard, which was the flag bearer of a hard anti-US stance, but to also solve the post-war mistake of failing to disband the warrior houses.

However, what deserves more of a mention are the movements of the domestic powers. The biggest reason why the Americans’ engineering of domestic mass media was tolerated was due to the under-the-table conflicts between several ministries regarding the allocation of budget. The Ministry of Defense manages the army, which is forwards deployed to the continent, and MDF, which would face the BETA head on, in the event of an invasion. For some time, they had been appealing their lack of budget. When considering the impending invasion of the mainland by the BETA, there was nothing strange about being resentful of the Shogunate, which possessed the Royal Guard, which was allocated funds far exceeding their scale.

In response to these agitations, the Royal Guard kept the moral high ground. They didn’t justify themselves, or rebuke the emotionally charged and unreasonable claims for equality from those who themselves bore no responsibilities. Although this stance was based on the principle of always acting virtuous, the mass media took advantage of it by claiming that the Royal Guard was out of touch with and ignored the citizens, resulting in an even worse national sentiment against them. Just as the citizens had themselves done, the Royal Guard also held too tightly onto their beliefs, and had thus neglected the real nature of the citizenry.

The Disadvantages of the Old System

The statuses of houses of the former Bakufu were in fact decided at the Battle of Sekigahara (The unofficial beginning of the Tokugawa shogunate). However, the permanent settlement of the households’ statuses had never been institutionally recorded, and there had in fact been many instances of punishments resulting in their destruction, and house statuses being changed as rewards.

It was during the transitionary period of the new government after the transfer of power back to the Emperor, the Taisei Hokan (transfer of power back to the Emperor) (大政奉還), where these changes were most significant.

The house standings of the old system (Shinpan, Fudai, and Tozama) were maintained in principle, but the warrior house system fell into a temporary state of chaos due to the changes in house statuses (including the lowering of standings), which were based upon how much they contributed to the restoration or how useful they were. This led to discrimination, harassment, political and economic trade hindrances between warrior families, and a large number of warrior houses, unable to bear the dissatisfaction of the changes to the house standings or the institutional reforms, would abolish their houses to lower themselves to civilian status.

As a result of their achievements in weapons manufacturing, the Takamura house (Teito Moyu) were allowed to visit Edo Castle and were promoted from Tozama to Fudai during this era. This measure was taken to ensure that houses with technical skills that were useful for the new government would remain within the Royal Guard’s influence. Any warrior house who achieved rapid economic growth during this period would be discriminated at by none other than the Royal Guard warrior houses that didn’t achieve economic success, and the press coined them with the term ‘New Zaibatsu Warrior
Houses’ that still has some derogatory tones until today.

The US’s Intervention in the reform of Japan

The reforms made after the loss of the war strongly reflected the intentions of the allies, but more specifically, those of the US. America feared the nebulous ‘spirit of the Japanese people’, which they had glimpsed during combat. They considered this cultural aspect to be madness, and sought to destroy it from its roots. And so, they set their sights on weakening the essence of the Royal Guard, which was both at the forefront of the anti-US sentiment and was also the symbol of the samurai spirit. Of course, this would be carried out in humiliating ways, with acts such as turning the Shogun and the functions of the Supreme Military Council into empty titles.

At the same time, the US dealt with warrior houses dissatisfied with the reforms by opening several policies, including those to lift the bans on entering economic spheres, so that the samurai essence would be diluted, with these houses devoting themselves to economic success. This also had the effect of separating the citizenry from the wealthy, privileged class, by creating a more negative national sentiment against them.

As previously mentioned, America’s intentions had succeeded in many aspects, but they had completely failed in one. However, at the very least, they had successfully placed shackles on the Royal Guard by lowering the significance of the Shogun. Even the Shogun, Saionji Tsunemori, acknowledged this as he spoke at the Royal Guard operations command headquarters in the basement of Nijo Castle, during the defense of the Imperial Capital. It was also due to this crisis that those of the next generation, from radical conservation groups that honored tradition, would advocate for a paradigm shift.

A New Hope emerges

The Royal Guard is a conservative organization entrenched in tradition and conventions. However, in 1998, they caught up with social trends, and the male chauvinist tradition has, at least officially, been quelled. In fact, since the post-war reforms, there have even been female Surface Pilots, and gender discrimination has been forbidden in every position. However, this is only within the organization of the Royal Guard. The warrior houses themselves still foster their conventions and customs. In particular, regarding the heads of warrior houses, having a female as the heir is accepted in principle, but there are still many difficult hurdles for women to overcome.

This was clearly demonstrated in the scene where Takamura Masatada announced Yui as the next house head. Due to the fact that even the high ranking fudai warrior house of Takamura faces strong opposition, there’s no need to explain the situation for the Five Regent Houses, which are in even higher positions. But in fact, the current head of one of the Five Regents, the Koubuin House, is Yuuhi, who is far removed from distinguished military or diplomatic service, and is in fact, still a young girl. Also, Kyoko, the head of the Takatsukasa House and the cousin of Yui’s mother, is first in line to inherit the family estate. Even though she does excel in combat, this is still unexpected of a woman.

**How was this possible in the Koubuin and Takatsukasa Houses?
**The answer mostly likely rests in the bureaucratization of the Five Regents, and political bargaining. Both houses had adopted organizational defense measures that were concerned with the future of their houses.

Historically, there has not been a case of a female being the Shogun, or even being nominated for the position, for it was both an implicit and absolute convention. Considering the combat situation of the continent at the time, there is no doubt that the members of the Five Regents had foreseen the possibility of a BETA invasion of Japan while either the current or next Shogun held office.

Even if the BETA were to be repelled, the resulting situation for the Shogun may play out like the loss of the war to the US, since they would bear the damage, and hence responsibility of having the mainland turned into a battlefield. When considering the circumstances surrounding the Royal Guard, as previously mentioned, it should be very easy to understand why this would be the case. And so, by instating female heads of their houses, the Koubuin and Takatsukasa houses made a double-barreled political decision that would not only dispel the negative impression of being a male-dominated culture, but would also protect their houses against becoming the next Shogun house.

However, this decision would end in granting the Koubuin House the unwanted honor of ‘producing the first female Shogun’, and this would later greatly sway the fate of the Empire several years later. Behind Koubuin’s ascension to the Shogun house was much influence from the involvement and frustrations of Ikaruga Takatsugu, an individual who strove for a paradigm shift. (Total Eclipse)

Td:lr

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What is the core problem behind the 12-5 Incident in Muv-Luv Alternative?

In the light of everything mentioned before, The Coup D’état happened because the position of the shogun was starting to be reduced to nothing more than empty title, as the imperial diet and the military were asserting their ability to act independently, by taking advantage of having been granted the Shogun’s impunity. Another reason being the increasing influence of the US in the Far East, and weakening the Japanese military as a result from that. (Yuuhi is the shogun, not the emperor, hence her status directly affects the military situation of Japan, this point was later corrected in writing, and the reason for it is now elaborated in this article). The one in position is still revered and idolized because they are still considered a direct representative of the emperor, and by hereditary extension, a descendent of the sun god, Amaterasu.

The US was trying to gain a political initiative over the empire, which was proceeding with alternative 4, and to do so the US used the CIA to instigate a coupe from behind the scenes, then take full credit for resolving the coup situation. 

The concerned people about that formed a nonpartisan group called the strategic studies group, led by Captain Sagiri Naoya, aimed at restoring the original nature of the imperial system, the coup had sensed the US was using theme, but it was thought they were going to reveal the contradictions and problems of the existing regime by taking advantage of the CIA’s involvement, so this incident would not only involve the internal affairs of the empire, but also the speculations of the US and the conflicts regarding the alternative program.

The Coup’s goal was to receive a direct statement from the shogun, in order to avoid an armed conflict, and to achieve a swift reform of the system. The imperial government would not allow a political vacuum to occur as a result of the coup, so they were forced to try and swiftly suppress it. On the other hand, the US and pro alternative 5 senior officials in the UN were trying to accomplish several national interests by intervening in the incident. By weakening the Japanese military, they could recover their influence in the Far East, and also interfere with alternative 4. There are many traces of them leading the situation into chaos. The Coup also criticized the government harshly which had accepted US and UN support to resolve the situation.

How the Shogun’s escape transformed the situation at the 12-5 Incident?

With the successful escape of the shogun, and the surrender of all forces taking part in the coup, the 12-5 Incident came to a conclusion. Eight days later the provisional government disbanded, and on the same day a new cabinet was formed. 

Pro-US right wingers were exposed and swept out of the core of the political system, and the military and the government’s liberal interpretations of the Shogun’s authority and their abuse of power in the name of the shogun were rectified, hence restoring the nation to its original constitutional monarchy, and restoring the shogun’s powers.

The fact that 207th platoon consisting of Japanese Surface Pilots had saved the shogun gave positive impression of the UN to the empire’s national sentiment, changing the relationship between the UN forces in Japan and the IJF to one that was more favorable. The collaboration between the UN and the IJF also served as an unexpected exercise for the later operation 21st.

However, the number of loses was by no means small, not just for the nations involved, but for humanity as a whole. In consideration of the emergency situation, many of the personnel connected to the coup were pardoned and allowed to return to duty, but the ill feelings between them and the IJF persisted for a long time.

On the other hand, the US had intervened in the incident with a firm stance, but failed to take advantage of the political power vacuum. Instead, they did nothing more than help the alternative 4 advocacy groups. 

This had become the starting point for the breakthroughs of Alternative 4, which would eventually lead to Operation 21st. This incident also rectified the meaning of the shogun’s political and symbolic meaning for all the Japanese people. The shogun’s words “you must not avoid dirtying your own hands” left a big impact on Shirogane Takeru.

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