Tokyo
In the imperial palace, Crown Prince Zokuhito glared furiously at everyone. Clearly, he was in a very bad mood.
The Dutch had gone all the way to the League of Nations to lodge their accusations, yet the Tokyo government still did not know exactly what had happened. They were not even sure whether they had planned the great Indonesian uprising!
There was nothing surprising about that. This was not the first time such a thing had happened; it was merely that this time, the trouble had grown a little bigger.
After 1921, the Japanese government's control over the military had dropped by more than one level. Every year, the military brought down a cabinet. Who truly controlled whom was genuinely hard to say!
Only the Japanese had nerves strong enough for it. In just five years, dozens of coups, large and small, had erupted. Four had succeeded, replacing four cabinets, while all the rest had been suppressed.
The frequency with which the government changed was second only to France. But in France, parliament drove the government out, whereas in Japan, the military got the job done.
In five years, three prime ministers had died, including former ones. Japanese prime minister had become a high-risk profession, and those from civilian official backgrounds truly could not hold up under it!
Did those from military backgrounds fare any better? The answer was no!
The Army Ministry could not completely control the Army, and the Navy Ministry could not completely control the Navy. That was the state of Japan.
Within the military, there were also vast numbers of affiliated intelligence organizations. Many of them were kept secret even from the government. Sometimes, a few officers got carried away and simply set up an intelligence organization of their own.
To put it this way: