Will the symbolic emperor system of Japan proceed to self-destruction? GHQ policy and the birth of "Mako Komuro"

2021/10/21

The "symbol emperor" clause of the men's hereditary, which stipulated sovereign residents, was forcibly attached to the beginning of the current Constitution of Japan, came into effect on May 3, 1947. Today, 74 and a half years later, it seems that this malformed symbolic emperor system has begun to collapse. It was the marriage turmoil of Prince Akishino's eldest daughter that clearly showed this. The birth of "Mako Komuro" can be said to be the result of a legitimate struggle of adult girls who want to live freely as a citizen, freed from the imperial shackles that can be said to be the essence of anachronism. The strange Komuro bashing centered on the weekly magazine is because it is a "marriage that cannot be understood by the taxpayers". As a result, the people of the imperial family were further bound by the provision of Article 1 of the current Constitution that "the status of the emperor (member of the imperial family) is deriving his position from thewill of the people with whom resides sovereign power." Current unmarried imperial members will be frightened by complaints that "the marriage is not based on the understanding and consensus of the people." It is highly possible that Prince Akishino's son(15), who is second in succession to the throne, will be reluctant to marry, and it will be rare for a woman to marry him, who is forced to give birth to a successor.

■ Symbolic emperor for occupation of Japan by United States

Why did the United States preserve the emperor system in a twisted manner, albeit as a symbol of the occupation of Japan? That is because they wanted to make the most of the emperor system for the occupation of Japan. The U.S. side has decided that it is best to use the authority of Emperor Showa, who reigned as a god, in order to facilitate the disarmament of Japanese troops at home and abroad and to suppress resistance to the U.S. forces stationed in the Japanese people.

As researchers such as Masanori Nakamura, the author of "The Road to the Symbolic Emperor System-Ambassador Glue and Surroundings-" pointed out, it was confirmed before the announcement of the Potsdam Declaration. A detailed examination of "how the emperor was used to occupy Japan" is omitted here, but the decision to preserve the emperor system by the U.S. rulers at that time facilitated greatly the execution of the General Headquarters, the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (GHQ)'s occupation policy toward Japan. There is no doubt that it was useful.

Furthermore, Emperor Showa played a major role in the process of the Japan-US Security Treaty, which was signed in parallel with the conclusion of the Peace Treaty in 1951 (Japan's independence in 1952), and the anti-communist military fortification of the Japanese archipelago.

After the signing of surrender in Tokyo Bay on September 2 from the Jewel Voice Broadcasting on August 15, 1945, Emperor Showa visited Douglas MacArthur on September 27 for the first time. Even after the new constitution was enforced in 1947 and it was decided that he would not be involved in any politics as a symbolic emperor, Emperor Showa frequently met with MacArthur and asked MacArthur for a security system that regulated postwar Japan. The number of interviews is estimated to be at least 10 times.

Narahiko Toyoshita, the author of "The Establishment of the Security Treaty-Yoshida Diplomacy and Emperor's Diplomacy-", said that Emperor Showa, who fears the abolition of the emperor system due to communism in Japan, said in an informal meeting with MacArthur that "Japan is a threat of Soviet communism. I want you to protect me from it. "

With the full-scale Cold War after 1947, the interests of the United States, which wants to make Japan a military base against the Soviet Union, and the interests of the Showa Emperor clan and its surroundings, which is to prevent Japan from communizing by concluding the Japan-US Security Treaty, are in agreement. "Maintaining the imperial rule" led to the permanent conversion of Japan into a military client state of the United States.

■ Popularization of the Emperor System- "Near the People"

However, the imperial family after the defeat was forced to work hard to survive. Emperor Showa also gained new charisma as a human emperor through the human declaration and domestic pilgrimage. Successors raised after the war are in a difficult position.

Emperor Heisei, who must acquire new charisma, continued to "search for a way to be a symbolic emperor," as he said in his abdication. With the catchphrase "close to the people," he continued his journey to the disaster-stricken areas and memorial services for the war dead, trying to "coexist" the popularized emperor system with postwar democracy.

However, the Emperor's clause of the current Constitution states, "The emperor is a symbol of Japan and a symbol of Japanese national unity, and this position is based on the consensus of the Japanese people who have sovereignty." It's just.

No matter how you repeat this article, the "symbolism and activities" sought by Emperor Heisei cannot be justified. Activities such as visits to disaster-stricken areas and memorial trips to the war dead are justified as long as they are recognized as "symbolic activities" based on "the understanding and consensus of the people." Even the act of state in Article 7 of the Constitution is reminded "for the people." Upon abdication during his lifetime, the words of Emperor Heisei said, "Thank you very much to the people." "People's understanding" is even a curse for imperial members.

The marriage between Mr. Komuro and Akisino's eldest daughter, Prince Akishino, who continued to be bashed, became a serious challenge for maintaining the symbolic emperor system, which is solely supported by "the understanding and consensus of the people."

On the imperial side, the cancellation of all official wedding events and the withdrawal of lump sum payments were unavoidable means of stopping the progress of the collapse of the symbolic emperor system. On the side of the Komuro's couple, who are like children of postwar education, they would not have been able to sacrifice themselves to maintain the symbolic emperor system.