From: miklg@acuson.com (Michael Goldman )
Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan
Subject: Re: Communism within Japanese militarists
Date: 2 Sep 92 23:07:47 GMT
Organization: Acuson; Mountain View, California

mrc@Tomobiki-Cho.CAC.Washington.EDU (Mark Crispin) writes:

>There is some basis for the argument of Communism among Japan's militarists.
>In a statement of his opinion to the Imperial Throne in February 1945, Prince
>Konoye noted:
>	`Sad though it is, I believe that Japan has already lost the war.
>	...that which we have most to fear is not defeat itself but, rather,
>	...a Communist revolution...  The more I think about the the more I
>	feel that conditions...are rapidly progressing toward such an
>	eventuality.

>	`That which we have most to fear is the national renovation movement
>	of the militarists.  A great number of young military men seem to
>	think that Communism is compatible with Japan's imperial system -- a
>	view which...constitutes the keynote of their renovation argument.

	The only thing I can think of that resembles "Imperial
	communism" would be the writings of Kita Ikki, who was the
	ideologue for the Army coup in 1936.  He was shot (executed) by the
	Army in 1937.  His thoughts were that the peerage would be abolished,
	the Emperor would give up his lands, the Diet would give him a
	(big) stipend, the Army would keep out undesirables from the
	Diet, and everyone would live in peaceful harmony.  In broad
	outline it is closer to Naziism, but since "Nazi" is short for
	National Socialism, there is a definite leveling idea
	common throughout all these.  (Replace Emperor with Fuhrer and
	the writings could be by Goebbels.)  I have no knowledge of any
	resurgence of these ideas and I can't help thinking that
	Konoye was getting in the record that the emperor and his
	ministers were anti-Communists as a defense ready-made for the
	Americans.  By 1943, the war was lost, by 1945 it was time to
	get ready for war crimes trials.  If you have any evidence
	that this figured in the invasion of China, I'm sure we'd all
	be interested.

>	`It is immaterial whether we call this revolution-minded group
>	right-win or left-wing, for in reality the right-wingers are nothing
>	more than Communists masquerading in the dress of the national
>	polity-ists.  Our ignorant and simple-minded military men are putty
>	in thier hands.  [Lit. `Our ignorant and simple-minded miliarists will
>	be made to dance by them.']

	(At this point, I imagine Konoye turning to his defense lawyers
	and saying 'Am I going too fast for you?')  I recall Konoye
	committed suicide, but his common knowledge (deleted) from above
	is flame material if someone seriously posted it on the net.

>There are other reasons to believe this.  In the early 1930's, the German
>Communist Party did its best to torpedo the Social Democratic government,
>knowing full well that their doing so would eventually lead to a Nazi regime.
>They did so under direction from the Comintern, which believed that a Nazi
>government would be so disasterous that the country would collapse and
>Communism could fill the resulting power vacuum.

	I don't doubt that, and it might have been a strategy pursued
	by the Communists in Japan, but I simply haven't read any
	professional historian that hasn't said very clearly that the
	Communists and other leftists were very successfully repressed
	by the Japanese gov't from very early on.  This includes 
	Beasley who goes to some detail to point out the
	indeffectiveness of Japanese leftists.  They were more "gauche than
	sinister."
	
>Viewed in this context, the actions of the Japanese
>militarists make perfect sense; to cause mischief and create a power vacuum in
>China, as well as drain Japanese resources in an imperialistic venture.  All
>of these would create an environment in which a Communist revolution could
>take place, and preferable Communists more pliable to USSR leadership than
>Mao.

	A creative and idiosyncratic theory.  Any evidence to support
	it?

	- Michael Goldman

-- 
"History teaches us that men and nations behave wisely once they have
exhausted all other alternatives." - Abba Eban
	Disclaimer:  All views are solely my own & not the views of Acuson.
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Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan