Anti-monarchism in Japan

Anti-monarchism in Japan (天皇制廃止論, Ten'nōsei haishi-ron, lit. "Emperor system abolition theory") or anti-Emperor system (反天皇制, Han ten'nōsei) was a minor force during the twentieth century.^{[citation needed]}

History

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, 1925 and 1932 Emperor Hirohito survived assassination attempts.^[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 National Diet in 1949 because of Emperor Shōwa's presence.^[5] The Japanese Communist Party continued to be antagonistic after Emperor Shōwa's death in 1989.^[6]

During the Imperial visits to Otsu, Japan in 1951, and Hokkaido in 1954, Communist posters and handbills antagonistic to the Imperial Family Members were plastered in the cities.^[7][8]

In 1951, three thousand students in Kyoto University protested against Emperor Shōwa's continued reign.^[9]

See also

• Japanese dissidence during the Shōwa period
• Assassination attempts on Hirohito
• Aki no Arashi
• Hantenren

References

1. "PLOT AGAINST THE MIKADO. ALLEGED ANARCHIST ASSOCIATION. AMONG JAPANESE IN AMERICA". Evening News. 17 January 1908.
2. "Kōtoku Shūsui". Encyclopædia 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. February 23, 1946.
5. "Anti-Hirohito Diet Boycott". The Sydney Morning Herald. March 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. November 16, 1951.
8. "Hirohito, Wife Tour Island". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. August 9, 1954.
9. "3,000 Leftist Students Heckle Japanese Emperor". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. November 13, 1951.

External links

• "Remove Hirohito, Tokyo Reds Ask". The Pittsburgh Press. October 10, 1945.
• "REMOVE HIROHITO IS CRY OF FREED JAP COMMUNISTS". Toronto Daily Star. October 10, 1945.
• "Anti-Russian Organization Rises In Japan; Red Liaison Officer Says That American Occupation Too Soft". Times Daily. October 9, 1945.
• "COMMUNISTS OUT TO GET HIROHITO". The Spokesman-Review. November 13, 1945.
• "CAN"T HAVE DEMOCRACY AND HIROHITO, JAPS SAY". Toronto Daily Star. October 4, 1945.
• "MacArthur Ousts High Jap Official, Fires Police Heads". The Daily Times. October 3, 1945.
• "BAN FREEDOM FOR JAP REDS". The Milwaukee Sentinel. October 3, 1945. Archived from the original on April 29, 2016. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
• "JAPAN TO URGE TRADE OF SILK FOR VITAL FOOD To Ask Permission for Barter System; Communists Would Get Rid of Mikadoism". The Montreal Gazette. October 4, 1945.
• "Japanese Communists Censure Hirohito Tours". The Tuscaloosa News. March 4, 1946.