1930 (Showa 5) Japan's military nationalization and wing advocacy system by army soldiers Sakurakai with the aim of national remodeling to Gunbatsu organization Was born.
The radical group of the Sakurakai is Shumei Okawa . 1931 (Showa 6) The March and October incidents, which are attempted coups, will occur.
This coup plan, which could lead to the military's seizure of power, was a factor in the runaway of the prewar military.
What is the March Incident?
The masterminds of the March Incident were the members of the Sakurakai and the right-wing groups Shumei Okawa and Konosuke Shimizu , who were composed of mid-level executives of the Army. was.
The purpose of the coup is to incite the people to block the parliament and defeat the Hamaguchi Osachi Cabinet . It was to make Kazushige Ugaki, the Minister of the Army, the prime minister. As a result, the coup d'etat was not carried out because the consent of Ugaki, who was carried up by the Prime Minister, was not obtained because the opinions were divided within the Army.
It is correct that the coup plan came to light and appropriate dispositions were taken in light of military regulations, but due to the involvement of military leaders in the plan, proper dispositions were not taken. The attempted coup d'etat will lead to the later October incident and the February 26 Incident.
Background of the March Incident
October Incident regardless of the March Incident In the background of the series of incidents such as the February 26 Incident, the lives of the people were in dire straits due to the repeated depressions.
Also, it was a time when the power of the military was temporarily weakened due to disarmament, but on the other hand, party politics stalled . Various factors such as will lead to the rise of the military later.
Political party politics failure and repeated depressions
The basic goal of national sovereignty activities should be politically the people ] And Sakuzo Yoshino who advocated Minpon Shugi 1925 in the Taisho democracy where the people's political consciousness increased against the background of General Election Law enforced in It was an era when the politics of political parties changed due to the expansion of voting rights.
However, Japan was in a depression due to a decrease in exports after World War I. In addition, in a circle 1923 The Great Kanto Earthquake struck, and the bills were scorched during the reconstruction, causing a financial crisis . Then the Japanese economy has cooled to the bottom.
It was 1929 that made a catch-up. The Great Depression has put an end to Japan's economy.
The negative chain continues, and the Hamaguchi Cabinet's lifting of the ban on gold is Showa Depression . National bad harvest Combined with this, people's poverty will increase, causing social problems such as selling themselves. On the other hand, in the government of Japan, corruption was rampant within the political party politics, the political parties were squeezing each other, and the political affairs were stagnant.
There is always a squeeze between political parties, and it is no wonder that people's complaints explode.
Army complaints due to disarmament
After World War I Was born with a global trend of disarmament. 1921 to 1922 Washington Naval Treaty With this as an opportunity, the Navy's disarmament will proceed.
Due to the demands of the Imperial Diet and the front of the Navy, the Army will not go as it is and will start disarmament.
1922 and 1923 Yamanashi Disarmament , the first disarmament of the Army Was done, 1925 Ugaki Army Reduction for the purpose of restructuring the military and the cost of disaster recovery after the Great Kanto Earthquake. Will be done. This Ugaki military contraction is Kazushige Ugaki, Minister of the Army , who was raised as a candidate for prime minister in the March Incident. It got its name because it was done by.
As mentioned above, disarmament occurred in the midst of disarmament in party politics, so there were various backlashes within the Army.
Formation of Sakurakai
As I wrote at the beginning, the Sakurakai, which is the center of the March Incident, was formed in September 1930.
As a secret society centered on elite officers from Army War College, they will make a leap forward with the aim of overthrowing party politics and establishing a military dictatorship.
Inside, it was divided into destructive, construction, and centrist groups, but among them, a group centered on radical emergence.
The radical group will connect with Shumei Okawa, who was the representative of the right-wing group, and plan to overthrow the nation.
Progress of the March Incident
The March Incident is a attempted case of a military coup. Therefore, the plan itself has been attempted.
This plan is based on Sakurakai's mid-level army executives and Shumei Okawa and Konosuke Shimizu . Planned by. In addition, it seems that there was support from the upper ranks of the Major General and Lieutenant General of the General Staff.
March Incident Plan Contents
It was planned that Daikosha, a right-wing group represented by Shimizu, would attack the Metropolitan Police Department and use 300 artificial shells borrowed from Lieutenant General Hashimoto of the General Staff Headquarters by Okawa and Shimizu to cause turmoil in Tokyo.
And the Social Democratic Party's Kanichiro Kamei and Katsumaro Akamatsu They planned to mobilize the masses to push the crowd into the ongoing Imperial Diet, and to block the parliament and resign the Hamaguchi Cabinet because of the protection of the parliament, with Kazushige Ugaki as the prime minister.
However, there are many oppositions in the military that it is too early, so it may be faster for Prime Minister Hamaguchi to resign without causing an incident. It seems that there was also a view that.
In addition, despite trying to cause such a large-scale incident, it was difficult to carry out without careful planning. Therefore, it was withdrawn the day before the plan was executed.
Subsequent effects of the March Incident
After the March Incident, Japan gradually began to move into war, and the military began to rise.
In addition, Kazushige Ugaki, who was scheduled to be carried as prime minister, later became governor-general of Korea, and in 1937 there was a big death in the cabinet, but due to the military minister's active military officer system, he became a miscarriage of the cabinet and eventually became the prime minister. I will finish without becoming.
The coup d'etat, which threatens national security, required strict punishment, but with the involvement of Army executives, the incident was concealed.
Various coup incidents were planned in the early Showa period, triggered by the March Incident, and will follow the October incident in October of the same year.
Occurrence of the October incident
The influence of Sakurakai had a strong influence even after the March Incident.
September 1931 in this situation Liutiaohu Incident Manchurian Incident Will occur.
The government's policy at this time was to not expand the series of incidents without enlarging them, but the army coups dissatisfied with this decision, and Shumei Okawa and socialist Ikki Kita, who were involved in the March incident, dissatisfied with this decision. A collusion coup is planned.
This is the October incident is.
The plan is to mobilize the military and assassinate the prime ministers . .. Then, the current cabinet was overthrown and a military government was established with Vice Admiral Araki as prime minister . was. However, the plan ended unsuccessfully when information was leaked to the central part of the Ministry of the Army's General Staff Headquarters and the central items of the plan were arrested.
As a result, Sakurakai is dismantled However, even in the October case, the pursuit of responsibility became vague, and the punishment was as sweet as resignation and transfer.
As a result, the collapse was achieved, and the Wakatsuki Cabinet changed to the Inukai Cabinet.
Then, after the Army Military Academy Incident, the February 26 Incident, which can be said to be the culmination of those incidents, proceeded to the assassination of Prime Minister Tsuyoshi Inukai, the military runaway began, and Japan proceeded to the stairs to war. Will go.