Anti-monarchism in Japan

Anti-monarchism has been a minor force in Japan in the twentieth century.

In 1908, a letter allegedly written by Japanese revolutionaries denied the Emperor's divinity, and threatened his life.^[1] In 1910, Kōtoku Shūsui and 10 others plotted to assassinate the Emperor.^[2] In 1923, and 1925, Hirohito survived assassination attempts that involved Japanese.^[3]

After World War II, the communists were antagonistic to the Emperor. The Japanese Communist party demanded the abolition of the emperor system.^[4] They boycotted the formal opening of the Japanese Diet (parliament) in 1949 because of the presence of Hirohito.^[5] The Japanese Communist Party continued to be antagonistic after Hirohito's death.^[6]

During the Royal visits to Otsu, Japan in 1951, and Hokkaido in 1954, Communist posters and handbills antagonistic to the Royal Family Members were plastered in the cities.^[7][8] In 1951, three thousand students in Kyoto University protested against Emperor Hirohito.^[9]

See also

• Japanese dissidence during the Shōwa period
• Assassination attempts on Hirohito

External links

• "Remove Hirohito, Tokyo Reds Ask". The Pittsburgh Press. Oct 10, 1945.
• "REMOVE HIROHITO IS CRY OF FREED JAP COMMUNISTS". Toronto Daily Star. Oct 10, 1945.
• "Anti-Russian Organization Rises In Japan; Red Liaison Officer Says That American Occupation Too Soft". Times Daily. Oct 9, 1945.
• "COMMUNISTS OUT TO GET HIROHITO". The Spokesman-Review. Nov 13, 1945.
• "CAN"T HAVE DEMOCRACY AND HIROHITO, JAPS SAY". Toronto Daily Star. Oct 4, 1945.
• "MacArthur Ousts High Jap Official, Fires Police Heads". The Daily Times. Oct 3, 1945.
• "BAN FREEDOM FOR JAP REDS". The Milwaukee Sentinel. Oct 3, 1945.
• "JAPAN TO URGE TRADE OF SILK FOR VITAL FOOD To Ask Permission for Barter System; Communists Would Get Rid of Mikadoism". The Montreal Gazette. Oct 4, 1945.
• "Japanese Communists Censure Hirohito Tours". The Tuscaloosa News. Mar 4, 1946.

References

1. "PLOT AGAINST THE MIKADO. ALLEGED ANARCHIST ASSOCIATION. AMONG JAPANESE IN AMERICA.". Evening News. 17 January 1908.
2. "Kōtoku Shūsui". Encyclopedia Britannica.
3. Masako Gavin, Ben Middleton (Aug 21, 2013). Japan and the High Treason Incident. Routledge.
4. "Japanese Communist Party Asks End of Feudal System". Berkeley Daily Gazette. Feb 23, 1946.
5. "Anti-Hirohito Diet Boycott". The Sydney Morning Herald. Mar 21, 1949.
6. "JAPAN'S ROLE: A MILESTONE; Hirohito's Death Puts Focus on New Identity". The New York Times. January 8, 1989.
7. "Horrified Citizens Scrub Walls of Opposition As Hirohito Visits". Eugene Register-Guard. Nov 16, 1951.
8. "Hirohito, Wife Tour Island". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Aug 9, 1954.
9. "3,000 Leftist Students Heckle Japanese Emperor". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Nov 13, 1951.