The Shōwa Political Crisis, July 1940: The Imperial Japanese Army Courts a Breach with its Sovereign

Abstract

This article examines a criminally understudied moment in modern Japanese military and political history. It is well known that the Imperial Japanese Army, in July 1940, toppled the cabinet of Prime Minister Yonai Mitsumasa. Yet, the damage thereby inflicted on the army’s relationship with the emperor remains virtually unnoticed. So, too, are the army’s subsequent efforts at repairing its relationship with its emperor. By exploring these issues, this article enters the long-standing and polarized debate concerning the Shôwa Emperor’s role in Japanese aggression in the 1930s and early 1940s.