Misaligned Priorities
The situation in Japan had gone from bad to worse since the defeat of the navy off the coast of southern California and then Hawaii. The subsequent surrender of their ground forces in California several months later was a defeat that nearly brought down the government. As it stood, the people of Japan had been demonstrating on an almost daily basis, pleading for an end to the war. The populace was angry with their government for getting them involved in the World War, and they were infuriated by the alignment with China over their traditional ally, the United States.
Foreign Minister Hirohita had just finished a holographic meeting with his Chinese counterpart about the latest protests happening in Tokyo. The Chinese were getting nervous that the government might not be able to maintain law and order, and had offered to send additional troops to Japan, if needed.
Minister Hirohita felt nervous after the conversation. He thought to himself, “I need to talk to the Prime Minister about this. He needs to put down these protesters before the Chinese decide to intervene. I better go find him.”
Unaware and aloof, PM Hata was walking in the gardens behind his residence, enjoying the late summer morning before his day began. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Minister Hirohita walking towards him. “Prime Minister, I have an urgent matter that I need to discuss with you,” he said as he approached the PM, bowing.
“You are disturbing me before our morning meeting. What is so important that it could not wait for our scheduled meeting?” the PM asked, perturbed that he had been interrupted.
Hirohita did not care if he had broken protocol or if the PM was irritated. The country was starting to fall apart around them — this was not the time to focus on routine and personal comfort.
“Sir, I just spoke with the Chinese Foreign Minister, Fang Yung. The Chinese are not pleased at all with our handling of the protesters. They are concerned that we are losing control of things in the cities.” Minister Hirohita spoke with a bit more sternness in his voice than he probably meant to show. He was growing frustrated with the PM’s lack of concern for the situation.
“Hirohita, you are getting yourself too worked up over these protesters,” replied Hata nonchalantly. “People are frustrated, but they were peaceful. There is no threat to the government. Please calm yourself…the people are just upset about the reduced rations. They are young, and they are venting their frustrations. Nothing more. Japan will continue to stay the course with our allies. Now, leave me, and we will continue our discussion during our scheduled meeting.” With that, the PM turned around and continued his walk, leaving his foreign minister speechless.
Unbeknownst to the leaders of Japan, several high ranking military leaders and the Chief of Police for the city of Tokyo were quietly planning a coup to seize control of the government and sue for a separate peace with America. That Saturday evening, nearly two million protesters were gathered in various locations throughout Tokyo, while millions more gathered in other cities across the country, calling for an end to the war.
At the behest of the Chinese, PM Hata had ordered the military into the cities to disperse the protesters and work with the police to restore order. While the military was moving to secure the cities, units loyal to the coup leaders had also silently moved soldiers near the various Chinese forces in Japan, insisting that they were there to protect them from the protesters. The following day, at 0300 in the morning, forces loyal to the former general Tenaka (one of the generals that the PM had relieved of command when he refused to accept the Chinese alliance) were set to strike.
Five heavily armed soldiers walked down the hallway leading to the PM’s residences and ordered the two security guards to stand down or be killed. Seeing that they were heavily outgunned and out-numbered, they placed their weapons on the ground and were quickly apprehended without incident. The soldiers continued to move down the hall and burst through the Prime Minister’s bedroom door, awaking him from his sleep.
Hata instinctively sat up in bed, and demanded, “What is the meaning of this?”
One of the soldiers grabbed him by his pajama shirt and summarily threw him face-down on the floor, zip-tying his hands. His wife, who woke up when her husband was slammed to the floor, screamed in horror to find armed men had intruded their bedroom. Another soldier shouted at her, “Be quiet, or we will arrest you, too!”
“I demand to know what you are doing!” the PM shouted at the soldiers.
One of the men lifted the PM back to his feet and turned him around just as General Tenaka walked into the room. “Prime Minister Hata, they are acting on my orders. You are hereby under arrest and being charged with treason. I am assuming control of the government until a new election can be held,” General Tenaka said forcefully. He then signaled for the soldiers to bring the PM with them. The group walked out of the bedroom and headed towards the armored vehicles that were waiting out front to take them to a more secured facility.
All throughout the country, soldiers loyal to General Tenaka began detaining Hata loyalists and those that supported the war against America. As Tenaka’s men were making arrests across the country, the units that had been placed near the Chinese forces moved quickly to disarm and detain them peacefully. One Chinese Commander suspected that something fishy was going on when several of his units stopped responding to his calls, and he ordered his forces to full alert. A quick standoff ensued, and his forces eventually surrendered once several Japanese attack helicopters showed up. By the early hours of Sunday morning, most of the government officials who had supported PM Hata or been outspoken backers of the war had been arrested.
General Tenaka broadcasted a message to the people of Japan, informing them of the coup and letting them know that he had assumed control of Japan. He encouraged the people of Japan to rally around him and his forces and support an end to the war and the occupation of Chinese forces in Japan.
People took to the streets in joy and celebration that morning. Many of the military units who had not initially involved in the coup quickly lined up to support General Tenaka. The few military units who remained loyal to Prime Minister Hata stood down and were quickly arrested. Even though those men did not want to support the coup against the government, they were not willing to take up arms against their fellow Japanese citizens, and they went into custody peacefully.
General Tenaka announced to the world that Japan was withdrawing from its military alliance with China and Russia, and requested that all foreign troops leave Japan peacefully. He also asked for an end to hostilities between Japan and the United States while a more formal ceasefire deal could be worked out.
The response from China was swift and brutal. The PLAAF and PLA launched a series of cruise missile attacks against multiple Japanese air force bases in the south of Japan. These assaults quickly followed them up with an airborne assault of the Island of Okinawa. Chinese forces also began to move soldiers in to secure Kumamoto, to act as a buffer between the East China Sea and mainland China.
In reaction, General Tenaka immediately ordered the forces loyal to him to fight the Chinese invaders. Despite the recent Japanese betrayal of America, Tenaka also boldly asked for the United States to come to their aid.
Geepers, Reapers