Two Enemies Who Saved Each Other

The picture above shows Manuel Roxas of the Philippines and Colonel Nobuhiko Jimbo of the Imperial Japanese Army who was part of the forces that occupied The Philippines during the Second World War. These two men began and ended the conflict on opposite sides and yet each man owed the other his life. Manuel Roxas was a prominent leader in The Philippines before the war, serving for twelve years as the Speaker of the House of Representatives. When the United States of America agreed to grant independence to The Philippines, Roxas served in the convention to draw up the constitution for the new country and he served as Secretary of Finance along with other positions and was a brigadier general in the Filipino army. Elected to the Senate, he was unable to take his seat because of the outbreak of war and when Japanese forces attacked the Philippines he was made liaison officer between the armies of the Commonwealth of the Philippines and the United States of America. Eventually, of course, the American and Filipino forces were defeated by the Japanese troops under the noble General Masaharu Homma and finally surrendered. Roxas was among those taken prisoner.

This was a time of great pain and suffering. General Homma gave orders to treat the Filipinos as brothers and forbid any acts of cruelty, however, there were others who were hate-filled and who did horrible things, sometimes on orders they had forged in General Homma's name. Whenever the general found out about such things, he had the guilty officers reprimanded. A few weeks after the surrender, General Manuel Roxas was taken prisoner and the local Japanese commander, General Torao Ikuta, received an order to execute him. General Ikuta was also an honorable man and was greatly distressed at being given such an order. He sent the order on to a subordinate officer, Colonel Nobuhiko Jimbo. As it happened, Colonel Jimbo was another example of an upright officer. He was also a Catholic, the same as Roxas, and was disgusted by the very idea of murdering him, regardless of military orders which seemed to be genuine. He struggled with his conscience as he was transporting the prisoners.

Roxas and a local governor were both taken by Colonel Jimbo to be executed but the governor pleaded for his life and Colonel Jimbo bravely determined that he could not and would not execute the two men. He went personally to General Ikuta to urge him to spare the two men, regardless of what orders had been issued. It would be barbaric and such orders, he reasoned, had to be some sort of mistake. General Ikuta quickly agreed and had the prisoners hidden away. However, an officer soon arrived from Manila demanding that the executions be carried out and that Colonel Jimbo be court-martialed for his efforts to save their lives. Again, showing great courage and character, Colonel Jimbo was still not prepared to give up and traveled to Manila himself to confront General Homma directly. General Homma was not in his office when Jimbo arrived but he spoke to Homma’s chief of staff who could not believe that the general would give such an order. Jimbo handed him the document which the Chief of Staff suspended and immediately and then confronted the junior general he suspected of being responsible for the false order.

When General Homma returned to his headquarters and learned of the whole situation, he immediately countermanded the execution of Roxas and personally thanked Colonel Jimbo for his brave stand in the cause of justice and humanity. He told the colonel that he would be sure to mention his actions when he returned home and gave his report to the Emperor. Roxas would go on to be the first President of The Philippines after the war. General Homma, however, was not allowed to make his report to the Emperor as his enemies within the army succeeded in having him relieved of command and sent home. Not being allowed to report to the Emperor, as was customary, was done as a sign of his semi-disgrace. He was an unjust action for a general so talented, dedicated and honorable as General Homma. Worse was to come, however, as after the war, General Homma was returned to The Philippines where he was convicted and executed as a war criminal; a case so blatantly unjust that even a number of very prominent Americans spoke out against it and harshly condemned their own countrymen for participating in such a disgraceful act.

The upright Colonel Nobuhiko Jimbo almost suffered a similar fate. He had been transferred to China and was himself arrested at the end of the conflict as a potential "war criminal". In 1946, Filipino President Roxas, however, learned that Colonel Jimbo was being held in prison in northern China awaiting trial and he acted to return the favor the colonel had done in saving his life. Roxas wrote personally to Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, explaining the situation and asking that Colonel Jimbo be given amnesty. The Chinese leader agreed and the following year Colonel Jimbo was released and returned to Japan. He had survived but only because of the timely intervention of the man whose life he had saved. If Roxas had not found out about Jimbo in time, he mostly likely would have been executed in the wave of anti-Japanese hysteria in China in the aftermath of the war. These two men, one Filipino, one Japanese, had started and ended the war on opposite sides and yet each had saved the life of the other. While many seem to enjoy remembering only the cruel and sad events of the war, more emphasis should be given to remembering those like Colonel Jimbo Nobuhiko who risked everything to save the life of one man.

Today in History

It was on this day in 794 that HM Emperor Kanmu moved his official residence from Nara to Kyoto, the "City of Ten Thousand Shrines" and still the spiritual heart of Japan to this day.

Reflections on the Reign of the Emperor

This year marks the Silver Jubilee (as it would be called in the west anyway) of HM the Emperor of Japan who had his formal enthronement ceremony twenty-four years ago today. It was truly an historic event, coming after the 63-year reign of his father, the Showa Emperor, which was the longest reign in Japanese imperial history. Although born in the time of the Empire of Japan, the current Emperor was still only about 12-years old when Japan surrendered in 1945. He did most of his ‘growing up’ during the days of the American occupation and the post-war State of Japan. As such, things were quite different for him compared to past Japanese emperors and on his shoulders rested an immense responsibility. He would be the first monarch to reign after the war, after the empire and under the new constitution and the new place Japan found itself in on the world stage. Fortunately, he had the advantage of a long-reigning father who presided over the most dramatic changes and so the Emperor was able to be brought up in this new atmosphere and fully prepared for his position and what would be required of him by the time he came to the throne in 1989. Since then, he has proven himself to be one of the great monarchial leaders of the world and an example to his own people and to others worthy of emulation.

The past 25 years of the current imperial era have seen high points and low points for Japan but through it all, the Emperor has been exactly the monarch that the situation, and the times, needed him to be. He came to the throne at a time when Japan was undergoing astounding economic success. The country had risen from the ashes of war to become the second largest economy on earth and, for a time, it even looked as though Japan might surpass the economic powerhouse of the United States as the value of the currency rose and investment poured in. However, over-confidence, reckless spending and bad decisions by banks, businesses and the government soon caused the bubble to burst and Japan experienced the infamous “Lost Decade”, which was actually more than a decade, of economic stagnation. Over the many years of difficulties, the Emperor was a symbol of reassurance to the public as well as an example of frugality and simplicity. The Japanese monarchs have long been known for living elegantly but simply and the current Emperor has been no exception. He always set an example of being majestic and dignified without being ostentatious. The public, after the economic bubble burst, took this to heart and began to follow his example; extravagance was no longer fashionable.

On the political front, the long rule of the Liberal Democratic Party (the most conservative mainstream party) came to an end in 1993 but the coalition that replaced it soon collapsed and the LDP made its way back into politics in a bizarre coalition of its own that gave Japan its first socialist prime minister in half a century. Although most remembered today for his high profile apology to the other nations of Asia for the Japanese role in World War II, the election of a socialist prime minister was just the first in a string of disasters Japan had to deal with. His massive amounts of new regulations and entitlements did the economy no good, in 1995 a major earthquake struck Kobe and two months later a cult group carried out a poison gas attack on a Tokyo subway that killed 13 people and injured many, many more. The Emperor responded to such events with a dutiful adherence to his constitutional role and by acting in a kind and compassionate way to give comfort to his people in times of natural disasters. Both of these duties the Emperor would be called on to perform throughout his 25-years on the throne. In terms of politics, the Emperor has remained above the turmoil, never drifting to one side or the other but always on the side of Japan as a whole.

Although the Emperor is not a political figure in that he is not involved in politics or policy making, he is a leader and is undoubtedly the greatest leader Japan has and not simply by virtue of being the Emperor. He has shown more wisdom, moderation and foresight than virtually any political or social leader in Japan in his lifetime. In terms of domestic politics, the Emperor has always been scrupulous about following the rules and sticking to the constitution. This has made him an invaluable source of stability in very politically unstable times. Even when Japan was undergoing rapid turnovers of governments, one after another, there was no collapse in confidence domestically or in foreign countries. Anywhere else where governments came and went so quickly this would cause a panic but not in Japan and that is because, simply by being there, the Emperor has a calming effect. The politicians in Tokyo may bicker and feud but everyone feels that it will all be okay because the Emperor is still in his palace and all is right with the world. The Emperor, going about his duties, closing one Diet session and opening another, is a sign of survival. The Emperor is still there, just as he always has been, so Japan is still here, the country will not cease to exist because politicians cannot come to an agreement.

On the world stage, the Emperor has been, perhaps even more important over these last 25 years. His reign has seen the start of Japan reemerging as a force in world affairs and as a major military power (even if it is not, legally, a formal military). Japan deployed forces (in a non-combatant capacity) abroad for the first time since World War II, showing an increasing willingness to put the past behind them and become more self-sufficient in defense matters. Of course, this has not always been welcomed by those in other countries and bigoted elements at home and abroad (though they despise each other) have both sought to cling to memories of the war and keep Japan shackled to the past, a focus of hostile and suspicious feelings. However, so far, they have been unsuccessful thanks in no small part to the actions of the Emperor himself. In contrast to the narrow-minded chauvinism of the radicals, the Emperor has traveled the world, solidifying relations with allies, renewing old friendships and forming new and better relations with foreign countries as the embodiment of a confident, peace-loving, mature Japan. He has struck just the right note on every occasion, expressing regret for past events but honoring past heroism and sacrifice, acknowledging history but not being enslaved by it. Rather than carry on old grudges, the Emperor has set his focus on strengthening the Japan of today and tomorrow by goodwill and strong friendships in the international community. And, where Japan has been met by bigotry, the Emperor has taken the moral high ground, meeting such animosity with polite kindness, an open mind and an outstretched hand. Such warmth and dignity on his part has served more than once to highlight the immaturity of those powers which cling to bitterness.

While serving as an inspiring example at home and putting the best image of Japan forward around the world, the Emperor has also been a great comfort to his people in times of crisis. At no time was this more evident than in the worst disaster Japan has suffered since the end of the war; the earthquake and tsunami of 2011. The Emperor took the almost unprecedented step of addressing the entire nation personally in a televised message, the nearest thing to which that was ever done before being the address by radio to the people by HM the Showa Emperor in 1945. The Emperor and Empress also made numerous visits to the victims of the disaster, greeting them personally, talking to them, listening to them and comforting them. No one who experienced such a visit or even witnessed one could not have failed to be moved by the genuine sympathy and compassion the Emperor showed to every one of his unfortunate subjects at such a sad and difficult time. Once again, he set the perfect example and the people of Japan came together in a most heart-warming way to help each other, care for each other and to join in resilient determination to rebuild, recover and improve the afflicted area. With the moral leadership that the Emperor provided, everyone could see that the old values many had thought had disappeared in Japan, were still alive and could come back into focus in times of crisis for the country.

Throughout his reign, the Emperor has seen a number of natural disasters afflict his country. There has also been an increase in tension with Japan’s closest neighbors with harsh words and military scares from China, Korea and Russia. This, naturally, has led to Japan placing more emphasis on national defense and this, in turn, has provoked protests from Korea, China and Russia with China and Russia in particular clinging to the memory of World War II and wishing to, in their words, “preserve the post-World War II world order” which of course would include a powerless Japan. However, so far, their efforts to frighten other countries and divide Japan and her closest allies have proven mostly fruitless, thanks in no small part to the Emperor himself. He has always made it clear that he values nothing higher than peace, remembering the horrors and ruination of the war very well himself, and he has always been ready to reach out in friendship to any country. His actions have shown the rest of the world that any tensions, such as between China and Japan, are not being instigated by Japan but by China. The Emperor has also been of immense benefit in strengthening existing friendships with American and European powers as well as forging new and better relations with other Asian countries such as India.

The Emperor cannot keep the peace on his own, but he has set the right example, the right moral tone and been the best sort of ambassador Japan could ever have. He has spread trust and goodwill wherever he has gone and won over people in every country he has visited with his kind smile and genuine warmth. The last 25-years have, in many ways, been difficult for Japan. The country has troublesome neighbors, more national debt than any country in the world, faces a looming demographic crisis and has had to deal with many natural disasters. However, the people have also been coming together like never before, becoming more realistic and more involved in the world community and have shown the talent and creativity to overcome great problems. And through it all they have had the Emperor’s prayers to support them, the Emperor to set a matchless example for them, an Emperor to be their best public face to the world, an Emperor who has comforted them in times of crisis, congratulated them on great achievements and reminded all Japanese people everywhere of their shared history and illustrious national story. In brief, the Emperor has been, in every way, the model monarch and a matchless moral leader for his country and all his people. Congratulations on 25-years on the throne and may the Emperor reign on, until the pebbles grow to might stones. 天皇陛下万歳! 万歳! 万歳!

Today in History

On this day in 1867 the last Tokugawa Shogun formally handed power over to the Emperor, marking the start of the Meiji Restoration.

Remembering Prince Ito Hirobumi

It was on this day in 1909 that Prince Ito Hirobumi, the first Prime Minister of Japan, was assassinated in Manchuria by the deranged Korean An Jung-Geun. The Prince will always have an honored place in Japanese history, having played a crucial role in the establishment of modern Japan. In setting up a new system of taxation, the peerage system, normalizing relations with the Qing Empire and his work to restore order in Korea after the war with Russia, his accomplishments speak for themselves. It is, however, a pity that his assassin is today held up as a hero by bigoted elements in Korea as if he were some sort of hero for independence. The fact that this is mindless bigotry is proven by the fact that the Prince actually opposed the annexation of Korea, fearing it would be too big of a burden on Japan, and preferred it to remain a protectorate while the celebrated murderer of the Prince oddly claimed to revere the Japanese Emperor and to love Japan while his action only accelerated the issue of annexation, being upheld as an example that lawlessness would prevail if Japan did not take control of Korea.

Remembering World War I 第一次世界大戦下の日本

IJN battleship "Suwo"

It was this week in 1914 that the First World War began in Europe between the Allied nations (primarily Great Britain, France, Italy and Russia) and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey). Although it is often overlooked, the Empire of Japan played a significant part in World War I and, as in so many other cases, the conflict had a profound impact on the subsequent history of Japan and how the empire interacted with the world. At the time of the conflict, the Anglo-Japanese alliance was still in place and on August 7, 1914 the British Empire officially asked for Japanese assistance in thwarting the powerful East Asia squadron of the German navy. The Japanese government sent Germany an ultimatum, which the Germans ignored, and so on August 23, 1914 the Empire of Japan declared war on the German Empire. When Austria-Hungary refused to withdraw its cruiser, SMS Empress Elizabeth, from the combat area in China at the German port of Tsingtao, Japan declared war on Austria-Hungary as well.

Japanese forces landing at Tsingtao

Imperial Japanese Naval forces quickly seized control of the German Caroline, Marshall and Mariana islands and laid siege to the German port of Tsingtao. The British also sent a token force to participate in the siege, mostly so as to give them some influence when it came time to determine how the spoils of war would be divided when the conflict was over. The Japanese also launched air attacks from the Wakamiya the first Japanese aircraft carrier (a seaplane carrier) which were the first naval aviation attacks in history. Japanese and British naval forces blockaded the port while troops cut off the port from the rest of China and moved in slowly. At one point, British troops came under fire from their Japanese allies, who had trouble telling them apart from the Germans. To prevent this from happening again, some of the British troops were given kimonos to wear over their uniforms so that the Japanese soldiers would recognize instantly that these were allies and not enemies.

Japanese troops attack Tsingtao

Japanese cavalry cut off the German rear guard and forced them to fall back, giving Japan control of all the approaches to the port. On October 17 a Japanese cruiser was sunk by a German torpedo boat but it was cut off from the port and had to be scuttled by its own crew. On October 31 the Japanese forces on land and at sea began an intense bombardment of the German defenses, recreating their successful tactics from the siege of Port Arthur. On November 6 the Japanese infantry charged the German third defensive line, overwhelming the defenders and forcing the Germans to fall back (there were also a small number of Austro-Hungarian defenders). This success convinced the Germans that their defeat was inevitable and so they asked for terms of surrender. These were decided but when the surrender ceremony was held, the Germans faced the Japanese soldiers in salute but turned their backs on the British soldiers. This outraged the British commander, but nothing could be done about it. Japan gained control of the German port but later turned it back over to China. Japan also was given a mandate over all the German islands north of the equator while Britain (or more specifically Australia) took everything to the south.

However, Japanese forces also served in other areas during the war. The future war hero General Homma, who would conquer The Philippines in World War II, served with the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front. Imperial Japanese Naval forces escorted British troop ships from Asia to the main battlefronts in Europe, clashing with German submarines as far away as in the Mediterranean Sea. When the Sultan of Turkey declared a "jihad" against the Allies and called on all Muslims to revolt and attack the Allied powers, Japanese forces helped to suppress a mutiny by British colonial forces in Singapore. It is also noteworthy that the German troops who were captured by the Japanese all expressed how well their were treated by their captors while being held in prison camps in Japan. They thought that next time, they would want Japan to be on their side and some leaders were not prepared to wait. The infamous "Zimmermann Telegram" which brought the United States into the war spoke not only of Mexico attacking the USA in alliance with Germany but also of Mexico persuading Japan to switch sides and declare war against the Allies. This displayed a fundamental lack of understanding of the Japanese character as anyone in authority in Tokyo would have taken such a suggestion that Japan would betray her allies as a serious insult.

World War I Allied leaders

Yet, once the war was over, it was the Empire of Japan that felt very insulted by her fellow Allies. At the peace conference in Versailles, the Japanese delegation was practically ignored. Japan was accused of asking for too much even though most of what Japan had actually taken during the war, such as the vast tracts of the Russian Far East during the Siberian intervention, were all handed back to their previous owners. Japan also felt insulted by the Allied refusal to include a clause in the peace treaty affirming racial equality. The Empire of Japan was given permanent seat on the council of the League of Nations but this same body quickly displayed an anti-Japanese bias just as it was in the aftermath of the war that the British Empire broke off its alliance with Japan in favor of better relations with the United States and when Britain and America made agreements to limit naval armaments that put Japan at a distinct disadvantage compared to the other major naval powers. As with a number of other countries, the outcome of World War I helped set in motion the events that ultimately ended in the outbreak of World War II.

Remembering HM Emperor Uda 宇多天皇

Today is the memorial for His Majesty Emperor Uda, who departed this life on July 19, 931. Known for his piety and sincerity, Emperor Uda was the 59th Emperor of Japan, known for the advice he left behind for others to follow. While others sought to increase the independence of the Imperial Family, Emperor Uda focused on study and promoting the benefits of virtue and good government. He enforced justice by freeing those from prison who had been wrongfully accused, reviewed tax collection to ensure it was being done fairly and took steps to protect the property rights of the peasants. He abdicated in 897.

Today in History

It was on this day in 1936 that the autonomous state of Mengjiang was formed in Inner Mongolia with the support of the Imperial Japanese Army. This is something everyone should familiarize themselves with more because it is relevant to events today in northeast Asia. For many years, with republican chaos in China and the growing threat of expansionist communism from Russia, important people in the Empire of Japan had been working for forge closer ties and build a pan-monarchist alliance between Japan, Manchuria and Mongolia. It was only natural for Japan to support Prince Teh and the loyal people of Inner Mongolia in their hope of reunited the Mongol people. This matters to Japan today, whether many people realize it or not. There has been, lately, an increasing outcry by aggressive elements in China to occupy and absorb Mongolia (which is to say, Outer Mongolia, the independent republic, as Inner Mongolia has already been absorbed). Right now the people of Inner Mongolia are in danger of losing their culture and eventually their existence as they are being drowned out in a sea of Han Chinese moving into Inner Mongolia. Outer Mongolia is next on the menu of many Chinese expansionists. If and when this happens, Mongolia will have to make its case for independence and that will go back to the fall of the Great Qing Empire and the start of revolutionary republicanism in East Asia.

Mongolia had never been a part of China, both were, however, part of the Great Qing Empire. This came about when the last Yuan Dynasty Emperor, Ligden Khan, handed over his authority to the Qing Dynasty Emperor of Manchuria. So, Manchuria and Mongolia were joined in a personal union as the Emperor of Manchuria was also the Great Khan of the Mongols. Later, the Qing Emperor became the ruler of all of China so that China and Mongolia were both included in his imperial realms but Mongolia did not belong to China. When the 1911 Revolution broke out that ended the Qing Dynasty reign, none of the countries outside of China had any part in it. If China wanted to become a republic, it should have had no bearing on any other countries. That is why Tibet and Mongolia both reacted quickly to reassert their independence. The last Qing Emperor was still, legitimately, the Great Khan of the Mongols but, of course, he was a child being held in the Forbidden City in Peking and neither he nor anyone in Mongolia could do anything about that. That is why, in the absence of the Great Khan, the Mongols looked to their supreme religious figure for leadership and made the Bogd Gegeen the Bogd Khan or 'Holy King' of Mongolia and he ruled until being suppressed by the Soviet-backed communist takeover.

The Soviet-backed regime of Choibalsan in Outer Mongolia, just like the Chinese rule over Manchuria, was illegitimate. In 1931 the Japanese Kwantung Army occupied Manchuria in the wake of the incident near Mukden and eventually the Empire of Manchuria was restored under the legitimate monarch. This had meaning for the Mongols as well and gave them hope. Mongolian was one of the officially recognized languages of Manchukuo and the Emperor was titled as Emperor of Manchuria and Mongolia, showing that the Mongols had not been forgotten and that, ultimately, their independence was to be restored (if Japan had won the Greater East Asian War). Prince Teh and the Emperor were close friends (possibly distant relatives) and Imperial Japanese forces were quick to assist him in setting up the autonomous government for Mengjiang as a prelude to reuniting all the Mongols into their own state, either together with Manchukuo or as a separate state in personal union with the Emperor who was, at the same time, Emperor of Manchukuo and Great Khan of the Mongols.

Today, as Communist China casts a hungry eye on Outer Mongolia, this history becomes extremely relevant and Japan can help make the case. It is likely an issue that the Chinese government does not want to bring up because the truth of history clearly shows that, not only do they have no legitimate right to Mongolia but the same could be said for Manchuria and Tibet as well (the case could also be made for Xinjiang but that is a more complex situation). Japan and all free countries should support the independence of the Mongols in the face of Red Chinese aggression and all loyal monarchists should also unite in support of the restoration of traditional, legitimate governments in northeast Asia. Only then can ideological hatreds (all of which have foreign origins) be put to an end and East Asia come into balance, peace and tranquility.

Today in History

It was on this day in 1582 that Lord Oda Nobunaga was forced to take his own life by a traitorous subordinate, Akechi Mitsuhide. Most remember Nobunaga as the man who reunited by conquest 1/3 of Japan, building the foundation for the later work of Hideyoshi and Tokugawa. He was a ruthless, brilliant warrior who was instrumental in making Japan a united, powerful nation. He was also open to innovation, made use of western weapons, even wore western clothes at times and was a protector and patron of some of the first Christians in Japan, the Jesuit Catholic missionaries. He even helped them establish the first Christian church in Kyoto even though he was not a religious man. After his death, his servant Toyotomi Hideyoshi took revenge for his fallen master, defeated his enemies and reunited Japan, building on the long years of work and warfare of Lord Oda Nobunaga.

Japanese Submarine Victory at Midway

田辺弥八

It was on this day in 1942, at the end of the Battle of Midway, that a certain Japanese submarine struck a heavy blow against the United States Navy and elevated one Japanese sub commander to the status of an underwater ace. The man was Lieutenant Commander Yahachi Tanabe and his boat was the Kaidai class, series 6, submarine I-168. Deployed to the island of Midway, the I-168 circled in from the south and first only observed the island from a distance, taking note of the air defenses and overall state of readiness. On the night of June 5, the I-168 surfaced near Midway and fired six shells from her deck gun at the island before being spotted and forced to submerge again. American aircraft were quickly dispatched to sink the I-168 but their attacks were unsuccessful. The submarine surfaced and on June 6 received orders to close in and attack the crippled American aircraft carrier USS Yorktown (CV-5). It was the order to carry out the attack that would prove to be the most successful strike by a Japanese submarine during the war.

伊号第一六八潜水艦

The USS Yorktown had already been damaged in the Battle of the Coral Sea, which had been a tactical victory for Japan, but the emergency of the Battle of Midway forced her back into action. During the battle, Yorktown was hit by Japanese dive bombers but kept the damage under control and was able to continue on. Then, the massive ship was hit by torpedo planes and suffered extensive damage and the crew were ordered to abandon ship. However, it was expected that it could be salvaged, repaired and return to the fight in the future. American destroyers prowled all around the carrier, picking up the crew and making preparations to pull the ship back to Hawaii for repairs. That, however, is when they were spotted by Lt. Commander Yahachi Tanabe on the bridge of I-168. He had orders to finish off the carrier so that it could not threaten Japan again and he was determined to carry out those orders successfully. The approach alone would take a great deal of skill and nerve even for a veteran sailor in order to get into a favorable firing position but Commander Tanabe was more than equal to the task.

雷撃されたヨークタウンとハマン（再現）

Lieutenant Commander Tanabe Yahachi was a native of Kagawa Prefecture on Shikoku Island who graduated from the naval academy in 1928 and he had been through extensive torpedo and dive training. I-168 submerged and slowly crept forward toward the massive American aircraft carrier. All the debris in the water from the battle made it very dangerous but it also helped I-168 to hide itself as none of the American destroyers noticed the submarine approaching. Commander Tanabe passed right underneath the cordon of destroyers and positioned himself in just the right spot with the USS Yorktown and the destroyer USS Hammann right in his sights. Taking careful aim through the periscope, he fired off a spread of four torpedoes, sending two into the Yorktown (a third missed) and one into the Hammann. The Hammann shuddered under the massive explosion and sank in less than five minutes. The Yorktown was mortally wounded but was so tough a ship that it still lasted until the following day when it finally sank beneath the waves. This was the biggest success of the otherwise unfortunate Battle of Midway for Japan and it left the United States with only two aircraft carriers in the Pacific Ocean at the time.

Of course, in the immediate aftermath of the attack, the I-168 came under fierce attack by the other American destroyers that had been guarding the Yorktown. Three US Navy destroyers pounded the I-168 with more than sixty depth charges, inflicting some serious damage. However, the crew were able to keep it under control and the submarine escaped. Later, after being able to come to the surface, I-168 was spotted and fired on by American ships but, once again, managed to escape. The submarine limped back to Japan but arrived to a hero’s welcome. Ultimately, like all the other boats of her class, the I-168 did not survive the war but was sunk in 1943 with all hands off the island of New Hanover by an American destroyer. However, Lieutenant Commander Yahachi Tanabe was lucky enough to survive the war. He was promoted to Commander, made an instructor and worked in company management after the war until his retirement. He died on April 29, 1990 at the age of 84 but he will always be remembered as one of the greatest Japanese submarine commanders in history for his stunning attack on the last day of the Battle of Midway.

Japanese Solidarity with Other Monarchies

At the main weblog, the subject was recently raised of solidarity and cooperation between monarchies. In its time, the Empire of Japan had a more praiseworthy record in this regard than many others. In the days when more successful countries had a proper, upright, national pride it was not uncommon for a country to defend its own monarchy more zealously than most today, but to take a risk to support another or most especially to help bring about the restoration of a fallen monarch to their legitimate throne was something which required the courage of heroes. Japan was one of the few to undertake such action. Here is a brief record of those occasions:

The Empire of Manchukuo: Of course, the most prominent is the restoration of the last Qing Emperor to his ancestral throne in Manchuria. If the Han Chinese did not want to continue the Great Qing Empire, that was their own business but they certainly had no right to those countries outside China which had only come together because of the personal union with the Manchu Emperor. That included such examples as Mongolia, Tibet and Xinjiang, which, it should be noted, Japan supported independence for as traditional monarchies. Prince De Wang of Mongolia was backed as leader of the Autonomous Inner Mongolian government, Tibet had been contacted by Japan but was under a regency as the recently discovered 14th Dalai Lama was still a child and in Xinjiang there was a plan to see a son of the Turkish Ottoman Empire restored to a throne closer to that of his ancestral homeland by making Prince Abdul Karim the Sultan of East Turkestan but that never came to be due to the war situation.

The Kingdom of Malaysia: The area that is today the Kingdom of Malaysia was not united to the same degree at the time of the Greater East Asian War. When the Imperial Japanese forces drove out the British, all the existing monarchies were maintained, even those which had been the most supportive of Britain. The only changes were those who had been unjustly deprived of their legitimate thrones and replaced by others who were reliably pro-British. Japan corrected this injustice by restoring Sultan Ali Shah of Terengganu (pictured above) and Sultan Musa Ghiatuddin Riayat Shah of Selangor. There was some talk of merging Malaysia and Indonesia into a "Greater Indonesia" but nothing ever came of the idea, partly because the status of these areas was never firmly settled. Indonesia was particularly problematic as those who first showed the most willingness to cooperate with Japan later proved untrustworthy.

The Monarchies of Indochina: Throughout Indochina, Japan supported the existing, legitimate monarchies and never took action against a legitimate monarch even if they were anti-Japanese. In Cambodia, King Norodom Sihanouk declared independence but his friendliness with socialists and even radical communists was concerning but his position remained sacrosanct. The precaution taken was the appointment of the staunchly anti-communist Son Ngoc Thanh as his prime minister (also a supporter of the pan-Asian movement). In the Kingdom of Laos there was the situation for Japan of a monarch who was adamantly pro-French, King Sisavang Vong. He was, therefore, simply sidestepped as Japan worked with the very popular, pro-independence nationalist Prince Phetsarath Ratanavongsa (pictured above). In Vietnam the most pro-Japanese royal was Prince Cuong De who had lived in Japan for years advocating for an end to French rule. However, the reigning monarch, Emperor Bao Dai, also supported independence and Prince Cuong De was not power-hungry. He was happy just to see his country independent and supported Bao Dai in declaring the independence of the Empire of Vietnam. In the Kingdom of Thailand, the monarch was largely absent but supported nonetheless and it would be the last time Thailand ever had any territorial gain. Burma was the only republic in the region and even that may not have lasted long. Japan supported the independence leader Dr. Ba Maw who was the son of a court official and strong Burmese monarchist so, in time, it is entirely possible that the Burmese monarchy might have been restored if Japan had won the war.

First Shanghai Incident

It was today in history, 1932, that the First Shanghai Incident occurred, also known as the January 28 Incident when forces of the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy (Shanghai Expeditionary Army) clashed with the Nineteenth Route Army, and later the Fifth Army of the Kuomintang faction of the Republic of China. Many people have a distorted and one-sided view of this incident. For them, the story is that the Shanghai Incident was orchestrated by the Empire of Japan in order to distract from the establishment of the independent state in Manchuria (best known as Manchukuo, which is actually just Manchuria in Chinese) but this explanation does not bear up to close scrutiny. In the first place, why would Japan need anyone to be distracted from Manchuria at all? No country and not the League of Nations were even thinking of taking any sort of action in response to the establishment of an independent Manchuria even though many opposed it for the example it set of peoples in Asia gaining their independence. Certainly no one forgot about Manchuria after the incident in Shanghai, so the reasoning does not make sense on the face of it. Secondly, we have the facts and the basic facts are that a group of Japanese monks were attacked by the Chinese near a factory and that after a mob disturbance this factory was burned down after which the Imperial Japanese forces intervened in Shanghai.

The usual, anti-Japanese explanation of this is that these monks were attacked by Chinese who had been paid to do so by a Japanese agent for the sole purpose of provoking an incident. However, again, this makes no sense and, if it matters to anyone, is also a totally unproven allegation. Even those who make this claim state that the five monks who were attacked were members of a very nationalistic sect, so what they are trying to argue is that the aggressively nationalistic Japanese military hired the Chinese (who they supposedly hated and looked down on) in order to attack their own "aggressively nationalistic" Japanese monks? It really stretches the limits of reason. It sounds somewhat similar to the modern-day "truthers" who claim that the President of the United States destroyed the World Trade Center in New York just to have an excuse to wage war against Islamic radicals. It is rather too incredible to be believed. However, if one cuts away the unsubstantiated rumors and allegations one is left with some simple facts: it was Japanese monks who were attacked by the Chinese and it was a Chinese reaction that prompted the public disorder which finally compelled Japan to intervene. Those are the facts and no one actually disputes them.

Five hundred Japanese marines were sent ashore to restore order and protect Japanese lives and property against the Chinese who had attacked them in the wake of the destruction of the towel factory. The local Chinese authorities then escalated the incident by declaring martial law and when the Chinese and Japanese forces clashed, more Japanese reinforcements were sent and both sides were pulled into an all-out battle for Shanghai. The Japanese forces were led by General Shirakawa Yoshinori (left) a veteran and distinguished officer. On the other hand, the Chinese 19th Route Army was not considered reliably loyal to the Kuomintang, had been trained by Soviet advisers and was considered radically leftist by even the Republic of China ruling faction. They were also aided by criminals of the notorious Chinese "Green Gang" that operated in the Shanghai underworld. Later, when they could not defeat the Japanese, they sent in better troops were trained and equipped by Nazi Germany. It should also be pointed out that, at the time, those neutral powers present in the international section of Shanghai were almost unanimously in support of the Japanese and blamed the incident on the Chinese for having provoked Japan and brought ruin down on the city. Remember also that these "neutrals" were mostly Europeans and Americans who were not well disposed toward Japan at the time and would not have been the sort to have given Japan the benefit of the doubt and yet almost as a whole, those who were there at the time and place that the incident happened believed that it was the fault of the Chinese and not Japan.

Finally, some have also said that the Japanese rejected efforts to make peace and end the fighting. This is, at best, a misleading half-truth. The Japanese forces rejected a demand to cease-fire from a delegation sent by the League of Nations which did not speak for China and which had nothing to do with the conflict. On the other hand, when the Japanese offered a cease-fire if the Chinese would withdraw their troops to a safe distance beyond the city it was the Chinese authorities who rejected it, ensuring the the destruction of Shanghai would continue. Finally, however, a peace was agreed to and Shanghai became a "demilitarized zone" with Chinese and Japanese armed forces withdrawn. Again, if this was all planned and staged by the Japanese, and they agreed to the peace, one would have to ask what Japan gained from it? Things went back to the way they had been before for the most part. Obviously, the facts show that the First Shanghai Incident was an unfortunate event that cannot be blamed entirely on Japan. If local Chinese groups and officials had acted differently there is no doubt that it never would have happened.

Japan: Champion of Monarchy in the Far East

If there is one thing that warms my mad monarchist heart, it is seeing existing monarchies supporting each other and, just as if not more importantly, giving aid to the monarchist cause in countries overrun by republicanism. In our own time we have seen countries pull together out of a shared devotion to their own republican political ideology (liberal democracy on one side, communism on the other) but in recent years there has been very little of this from monarchial countries. It has happened in the past, such as when Tsar Alexis of Russia cut off all trade with England after they cut off the head of their King, when the Prussians sent troops to aid the royalist Orange Party in the Netherlands under attack by republican forces  and when the crowned heads of Europe came together to declare war on republican France after the regicide of King Louis XVI, not excluding the British who had long been the traditional enemy of the Kingdom of France. We saw it when Tsar Nicholas I sent troops in to crush rebellion against the Austrian Empire in Hungary because it was recognized that revolution and republicanism are cancers that spread easily. There were other times, when such solidarity was called for but never achieved such as when the Queen mother of Spain (and the German Kaiser) called for monarchial solidarity against the United States in the Spanish-American War but such cooperation was not forthcoming.

Japanese troops in Siberia

Once the twentieth century really got going, however, things seemed to change. Suddenly, the common bonds of monarchy seemed to be set aside in favor of agreements and alliances that (it was thought) would be more beneficial to the countries in question, though this was invariably not the case. The Orthodox and autocratic Russian Empire, probably the most devotedly monarchist power in Europe, allied itself with the very liberal French Republic. During World War I, monarchies made war on each other as never before and (since so many fell as a result) as they never would again, dragging the United States into European affairs in the process. There was not a great deal of monarchial solidarity displayed by the Allies (two of the major participants being republican France and America) and while there was more on the side of the Central Powers, even there Germany made the terrible mistake of, albeit very reluctantly and temporarily, making use of the communists in taking the Russian Empire down to get Russia out of the war. The aftermath saw even more bad decisions being made, such as the British Empire putting sanctions on the Kingdom of Italy while signing a naval treaty with Nazi Germany or breaking off their alliance with the Empire of Japan in favor of one with the United States of America. Remember that by the terms of that treaty, Japan was pledged to help defend the British Empire in Asia whereas, even after Britain and America became war time allies in World War II, the U.S. government under Franklin D. Roosevelt made it clear that he wanted the British Empire to be dismantled.

In the midst of this unfortunate trend, although it can sometimes seem like few notice the facts sitting right in front of them, it was the Empire of Japan that was the rare exception, supporting the principle of monarchy and giving aid to monarchists of other nations -even former enemies. The Japanese were well aware of the dangers of revolutionary republicanism and had been for longer than most probably realize. During the period when Japan began to withdraw from isolation, the first to go overseas to Europe learned about the French Revolution and some began to advocate something similar once they returned home. Thankfully, the Japanese public was too staunchly faithful to the Emperor and the whole concept was too distastefully foreign for this to ever get very far but the imperial government recognized that this ideology was a danger that had to be resisted. Japan had looked on with alarm at the triumph of republicanism in China after the 1911 Revolution and the Empire of Japan had dealt with at least pseudo-republicans in the past such as on Taiwan in the First Sino-Japanese War and with some of the rebels who opposed the Meiji Restoration.

When the Empire of Japan first emerged onto the world stage, monarchy was still dominant in the world and the only close neighbors of Japan; Korea, China and Russia, were all monarchies as well. Some conflict was probably inevitable. As Japan modernized, the need for resources grew greater and one early source of vital food imports was Korea. However, Korea was a vassal of China and the Chinese were not too pleased with the increased Japanese involvement in Korea and had a long history of being rather contemptuous toward Japan, mostly for refusing to recognize Chinese supremacy. The first two external wars fought by the Empire of Japan after the Meiji Restoration were, if you reduce it to the most simplistic level, over Korea. First they drove the Chinese out but were robbed of much of their victory when Russia, France and Germany ganged up on the Japanese, forcing them to give back some of their winnings. Russian power was expanding in the region and Japan offered to accept Russian dominance in Manchuria (Chinese power being on the decline) if the Russians would stay out of Korea. Their offer was not accepted and the Russo-Japanese War basically determined whether or not Korea would be a part of the Empire of Japan or the Russian Empire. The Japanese were victorious and in 1910 the short-lived “Great Han Empire” (Korea) was annexed by Japan.

There is still a great deal of bitterness over this whole period on the part of Korea, some of it completely understandable and some of it incredibly petty. However, restricting ourselves to just the situation of the monarchy, the Japanese were much more careful than other powers in ensuring that the monarchial principle was not damaged. The Korean monarch was reduced in rank to what most Korean monarchs had always been but retained that title, remained in his palace and along with the aristocracy, received generous payments from Japan to allow them to live the lifestyle they had become accustomed to. Keep in mind, according to the modern Korean republics (or at least the south anyway) these were the inveterate enemies of Japan and the Japanese annexation, yet, this is how they were treated. The Korean crown prince was educated in Japan and treated like a son by HM the Meiji Emperor (in fact, some felt he was treated better than the Emperor’s own son). Members of the Korean Royal Family continued to hold prominent positions throughout the remaining years of the Empire of Japan. It was a far cry from the British exiling the last Mughal Emperor to Burma, the French exiling the monarchs of Vietnam or Madagascar to far away countries or even the United States in Hawaii imposing republicanism and abolishing all royal titles.

The last Emperor of China

The next major conflict for the Empire of Japan was the First World War, which Japan joined on the Allied side because of their treaty with Great Britain. The Japanese secured the capture of the biggest German base in the Far East and provided warships to escort troop ships from British possessions in Asia and Australia to the European battlefront. Toward the end of the conflict, republicanism and in particular communism became a more prominent concern for Japan. The two largest and most powerful neighbors of Japan, China and Russia, both fell into republican chaos and civil war. In both cases, the Empire of Japan responded by supporting the loyal monarchists wherever possible, even though these people represented the two empires that had previously been the enemies of Japan. In the face of the encroaching forces of communism in Russia and the republican chaos in China, however, that did not matter. Japan began to support and protect the last Emperor of China after his expulsion from the Forbidden City as well as Qing loyalists who hoped for his restoration. The Japanese sent the largest expeditionary force of any of the Allied nations that intervened in the Russian Civil War and the Empire of Japan was quick to support the White Russian forces in the field and even after they had been forced into exile, mostly in Manchuria.

Along with supplying White Russian exiles with a safe haven, money, guns and military supplies, the Empire of Japan also provided sanctuary, support and security for the last Emperor of China and Qing Dynasty loyalists. Ultimately, as we know, the Japanese also made possible his restoration to his ancestral throne in Manchuria with the establishment of the Empire of Manchukuo. The importance of this should not be shrugged off. How rare is it that an overthrown monarch is ever able to regain their throne, even if only a part of the realm they once ruled? And this was not just for a few years but for more than a decade. It was also from their base in Manchuria that Japanese forces gave aid and assistance to the monarchists of Inner Mongolia who wished to see the communist client-state in Outer Mongolia overthrown and all Mongols reunited under a restored monarchy. The Mongol prince at the head of this effort was Prince Demchugdongrub (aka Prince De Wang) and his family. The Prince was a distant relative and long-time friend and supporter of the last Manchu Emperor and, for years, the Japanese had tried to coordinate a monarchist alliance of the Japanese, Manchu and Mongol peoples across northeast Asia. This was the reason behind the (short-lived) arranged marriage of the Japanese-raised Manchu Princess Kawashima Yoshiko to the Mongol Prince Ganjuurjab whose father would be a general in the Inner Mongolian Army of Prince De Wang.

Japanese troops enter Saigon

Even during World War II, the Empire of Japan promoted monarchy wherever possible. The earliest ally of Japan in southeast Asia was the Kingdom of Thailand and in Indochina the Japanese supported Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam becoming independent monarchies again while always respecting the reigning monarchs whether they were friendly toward Japan or not. In Vietnam, for example, the Prince Cuong De had long-established and friendly ties with Japan whereas the reigning monarch, Emperor Bao Dai, had spent much of his life in France. Yet, the Japanese worked with the reigning monarch and supported those sects who were monarchist (the Hoa Hao and Cao Dai for example) while the United States (short-sightedly) supported the communist-led Viet Minh. In Laos, the King was pro-French and so the Japanese worked with a prince who favored independence yet made no effort to depose or harm the pro-French King. In the states of Malaysia, the Japanese restored two monarchs who had unjustly been deprived of their thrones but never removed any reigning monarch even those that supported Britain over Japan. After driving the British forces out of Burma, the first instinct of the Japanese was to restore the native monarchy under a grandson of the last King Thibaw and it was only when they found no support for such an initiative that they turned to Dr. Ba Maw. Even then, when he was installed as head of state he did so with much of the ceremony of the old Kingdom of Burma which some took as a sign that he might have restored the monarchy eventually with himself as king which there was nothing to prevent him from doing given that Burma had no royal succession law and traditionally the throne went to whoever could take it. To further tantalize, Dr. Ba Maw was the son of a royal official to the last of the Burmese kings, and a staunch monarchist who opposed the British out of his loyalty to the Royal Family of Burma.

Of course, I know there will be those who doubt the sincerity of the Japanese in these events as there are many anti-monarchy and/or anti-Japanese people who would decry anything Japan did for any reason. I am sure some would say that Japan only did this because it served Japanese interests. My only response to that is to ask, “So?” Do you really expect any country to act against their own interests? Do you expect a nation at war to give aid to those who oppose them and support their enemies? Would anyone expect that? Of course not. Thankfully, as a monarchy, it was in the interest of Japan to support monarchy and that just happened to be in the best interest of all those involved as well, in my view certainly. Others, monarchist opponents perhaps, might ask, ‘well, why didn’t Japan try to make the whole of China a monarchy again, or make The Philippines a monarchy?’ or, in other words, impose a monarchy on people who did not desire one. The obvious answer is that Japan was trying to solve problems, not create new ones by trying to impose a form of government on people who did not want it. However, to any who would downplay the pro-monarchy policies of the Empire of Japan, I have a simple question, “Who did more?” That is all. If what they did was not enough to be praiseworthy for proponents of monarchy, show me a country that did more. I would be glad to hear about it and give them all due praise as well. As for the Empire of Japan, the record speaks for itself. Some, I am sure, may be unable to get beyond old grudges but as a pan-monarchist if for no other reason, I for one will always have a heartfelt salute for the Empire of Japan, champion of monarchy from Russia to southeast Asia.

Battle of Sekigahara

On this day in history, in the year 1600, was fought the Battle of Sekigahara. It was this battle which secured the dominance of Tokugawa Ieyasu and enabled him to eventually rise to become Shogun of Japan. This victory by the Tokugawa forces ushered in a new era of peace and stability as the unified Japan came firmly under the political leadership of the Tokugawa shogunate. That leadership would remain in the family for several centuries until the last shogun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu, was displaced by the Meiji Restoration when political authority was returned to the Emperor.