Tokyo Uprising (No New Deal)

Tokyo Uprising
	Part of the Cold War
	; Japanese protestors clash with Kempeitai forces in Tokyo (June 1950)
Date	April 7th, 1950 - January 28th, 1951
Location	Honshu, Hokkaido
Result	Taisei Yokusankai overthrown, 1951 Japanese Constitution Adopted, Socialist Republic of Hokkaido Proclaimed
Belligerents
Commanders and leaders

The Tokyo Uprising (Japanese: 東京蜂起) also known as the Summer Uprising or the Japanese Civil War, was a 7-month period of internal conflict fought between the Japanese resistance against the ruling authoritarian Taisei Yokusankai government from June of 1950 until January of 1951.

Background[]

At the conclusion of the Second World War, the United States under Robert Taft agreed to a conditional surrender offered by the Japanese with the condition being that the Taisei Yokusankai and other government and military officials remain in power. Taft accepted the deal, believing it unnecessary to drag on the war for any longer than it needed to be fought, though this decision angered Prime Minister Churchill and many figures in the US military. The Treaty of Tokyo would be signed by representatives from the allied powers and the Japanese Government on March 9th, 1946. The Treaty of Tokyo would see the Japanese cede Korea to the Soviet Union, Okinawa and Edogawa to the United States, and would withdraw from China, the Philippines, and Indonesia.

Signing the Treaty of Tokyo would anger many Japanese nationalists who fervently supported the war effort and felt the Taisei Yokusankai's acceptance of surrender was treasonous. The end of the war also left the Japanese economy in shambles with Japan geopolitically isolated and with no foreign investors to help rebuild the destroyed Japanese infrastructure. As a result, several factions within Japanese society including the working class, Japanese students, disgruntled veterans, portions of the military, and the Japanese nobility all remained hostile to the Taisei Yokusankai government. During this period of hostility, tension between the Imperial House of Japan and the Taisei Yokusankai began to escalate as the Nobility remained resentful for losing the war the Taisei Yokusankai started while the Taisei Yokusankai believed that the monarchy's perceived neutrality in the war effort hindered the military.

As the economic situation in Japan continued to deteriorate throughout the late 1940s to early 1950s, Emperor Hirohito, in an unprecedented event, seemed to vocally denounce the Taisei Yokusankai in an address on April 7th, 1950. This denunciation came as a shock to the Japanese people as it was perceived that the emperor was above the common politics of the Japanese nation. The denunciation also proved extremely damaging to the already dwindling reputation of the Taisei Yokusankai and many took the emperor's denunciation as grounds for protesting.

Hirohito in dress uniform — Hirohito, Emperor at the time of the Tokyo Uprising

Course of the War[]

Initial Uprising[]

Protests would erupt in the Akasaka ward of Tokyo. The protests would quickly turn violent when pro-government Kempeitai would open fire on the protestors, killing 13 and injuring 30. The bloodshed in Akasaka would be heard throughout the rest of the country, further harming the reputation of the Taisei Yokusankai as "butcherers of the Japanese people". Despite efforts by the government to violently crack down on the protests, the protests would only grow in size and would drastically outnumber the Kempeitai by late April. It was believed that weapons were being smuggled from the American army base in Edogawa to assist the rioters. With the riots becoming armed, clashes against the Kempeitai became more brutal as both sides would take casualties fighting in the densely populated inner wards of Tokyo.

By May of 1950, many members of the Kempeitai as well as Japanese veterans defected to the side of the protestors which left the remaining loyalist forces in Tokyo overwhelmed. By June, the Imperial Diet was overrun, and recently reinstated Prime Minister Hideki Tojo would be captured and killed. In his place, Emperor Hirohito would appoint Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni as Prime Minister in his place. However, the Taisei Yokusankai disputed Higashikuni's appointment, and the Taisei Yokusankai would appoint Kuniaki Koiso as "Prime Minister" as the government relocated to Saitama. Tokyo officially fell on June 28th, 1950 after the last Taisei Yokusankai holdout in the ward of Nerima would surrender. After the fall of Tokyo, the war shifted from an uprising to a civil war between the pro-Higashikuni government in Tokyo, called the Tokyo Government, and the pro-Taisei Yokusankai in the city of Saitama, called the Saitama Government.

Battle for Saitama + Fall of the Taisei Yokusankai[]

Upon the capture of Tokyo and the proclamation of a new government by Hirohito, the Tokyo Government would gain international recognition from the global anti-Communist bloc and the London Treaty Organization. As a result, weaponry and supplies were able to be supplied to the Tokyo Government in bulk by August of 1950, with the Saitama Government being cut off from supplies due to their inland position. With no international or domestic support, the Taisei Yokusankai's last stronghold in Saitama would be overwhelmed on December 27th, 1950 after months of brutal fighting in the prefecture of Saitama and the city of Saitama itself.

Even after the fall of the Taisei Yokusankai and the surrender of "Prime Minister" Hitoshi Imamura, many soldiers still loyal to the Taisei Yokusankai would continue guerilla warfare in the mountains of Saitama.

Soviet Invasion of Hokkaido[]

In the years before the Tokyo Uprising, the Soviet Navy had been amassing its forces in the Okhotsk Sea since seizing the Sakhalin upon the end of the second world war. With the collapse and fracturing of the Japanese military in mid-1950, the Soviet Navy based in the Okhotsk Sea would mobilize and begin an amphibious landing on the Japanese Island of Hokkaido on October 5th, 1950. The amphibious landing would consist of 20,000 soldiers and would successfully land in the city of Wakkanai, capturing the surrounding areas by October 9th, 1950. The United Nations General Assembly would condemn the Soviet occupation of Hokkaido, however the cominform and the international Communist bloc would largely back the Soviet actions in Hokkaido.

With the Japanese military fragmented and outnumbered 6 to 1, the Soviet Union would eventually capture the city of Sapporo after heavy fighting on November 30th, 1950. The Socialist Republic of Hokkaido would be proclaimed on January 7th, 1951, with backing from the Communist Party of Japan which had experienced political persecution by the Japanese government. However, Hokkaido would never be fully recognized by the United States or LTO and would not gain representation at the United Nations.

East Asia 1951 No New Deal — Geopolitical map of East Asia (1951)

Aftermath[]

Following the fall of the Taisei Youkanai, the United States and newly formed Tokyo government would begin to pursue an alliance as the Soviet Influence in Eastern Asia would only continue to spread. The United States would authorize the Wagner Doctrine to be extended to Japan, resulting in Japan receiving US aid in rebuilding and liberalizing throughout the 1950s. This would result in a post-war economic miracle occurring in Japan. The Japanese-American alliance would emerge in the 20th century as one of the United States' strongest alliances in the Pacific Ocean.

Tokyo Uprising (No New Deal)

Contents

Background[]

Course of the War[]

Initial Uprising[]

Battle for Saitama + Fall of the Taisei Yokusankai[]

Soviet Invasion of Hokkaido[]

Aftermath[]

See also:[]

Sources Cited:[]

Related Pages[]