Recent comments in /f/history

Initial_E t1_iy1b859 wrote

If the only way the imperialists could be tamed is through abject failure then things don’t bode well for the future of humanity. Can you imagine raising an army to fight an internal war to overcome your own countrymen to prevent the army going to war?

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Gemmabeta t1_iy1b477 wrote

> Yosuke Matsuoka

He was the guy that announced that Japan is leaving the League of Nations (after being condemned for conquering Chinese Manchuria) in an incendiary speech.

Also:

> Following his return to Japan, Matsuoka announced his resignation from the Rikken Seiyūkai and his intent to form his own political party modeled after the National Fascist Party in Italy.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y%C5%8Dsuke_Matsuoka

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Red_dragon_052 t1_iy1atdd wrote

The Japanese were sending out diplomats for the US constantly prior to Pearl Harbor, partly it was in earnest, but it soon became a cover for the coming attack. The US only really had 1 demand too end the oil embargo, Japan needed to leave China and stop murdering millions, which Japan was not willing to do. Instead they decided to expand their wars of aggression.

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ATNinja t1_iy19hio wrote

>Churchill made plenty of decisions regarding war without being a military man.

Churchill did serve in the british military. Pretty sure he was in south Africa for the boer wars.

But maybe you meant active duty military?

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RiddlingTea t1_iy18xfi wrote

I mean civilian as in not actively part of the military—Churchill made plenty of decisions regarding war without being a military man.

And my point was more that peace with the US was genuinely desired on good terms. That Tojo deposed Konoe for failure in peace talks implies success was desirable.

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Scerus t1_iy17ck2 wrote

The previous government was hardly led by civilians, Prince Konoe preceded Tojo and transformed Japan further into a totalitarian state. Kanoe had also overseen the invasion of China in 1937 during his previous spell in office. Tojo deposed him because Kanoe's government had failed to reach an agreement with the Americans.

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k20350 t1_iy1771r wrote

All the while butchering and slaughtering millions of Chinese.. 3.9 million is the estimate pre and during WWII. That's not even counting the countless war crimes committed against civilians and opposing soldiers on their march across the Pacific

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RiddlingTea t1_iy14oc4 wrote

Tojo only became PM in Oct 41 though. I think the existing civilian administration at this time would have been amenable to peace talks, but the question is how much power the civilian administration had as opposed to the will of the army.

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