Kyūjō incident

Lieutenant General Takeshi Mori (森 赳, Mori Takeshi, 25 April 1894 – 15 August 1945) commanded the Japanese Empire's First Imperial Guards Division at the very end of World War II. He was murdered by Major Kenji Hatanaka during the Kyūjō Incident.

Major Kenji Hatanaka (畑中 健二, Hatanaka Kenji) (28 March 1912 – 15 August 1945) was a Japanese military officer and one of the chief conspirators in the Kyūjō incident, a plot to seize the Imperial Palace and to prevent the broadcast of Emperor Hirohito's surrender speech to mark the end of World War II.

Yoshihiro Tokugawa (徳川 義寛, Tokugawa Yoshihiro, November 7, 1906 – February 2, 1996) was a Japanese political figure of the mid to late 20th century. The grandson of Tokugawa Yoshikatsu, the last lord of Owari han, he served as Grand Chamberlain of Japan from 1985 to 1988, serving as the Emperor of Japan's personal adviser. Yoshihiro was famous for saving the recording of Emperor Hirohito's surrender address from destruction by army officials who wished to continue the war during the Kyūjō Incident.

Michinori Shiraishi (白石通教, Shiraishi Michinori) (1 December 1910 – 15 August 1945) was a Lieutenant Colonel (Chūsa (中佐)) in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. He was brother-in-law to General Takeshi Mori, commander of the First Imperial Guards Division, in charge of defending Tokyo and the surrounding region.

Jirō Shiizaki (椎崎二郎,Shiizaki Jirō) (30 September 1911 – 15 August 1945) was a lieutenant colonel in the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II. He served as a member of the staff of the domestic affairs section of the Military Affairs Bureau's War Affairs Section. Shiizaki was one of several members of that staff to participate in a coup (the Kyūjō incident) in the early morning of August 15, 1945, the day the Emperor would declare Japan's surrender.

Lt. Col. Masataka Ida (井田正孝, Ida Masataka) (5 October 1912 – 6 February 2004) was a young Lieutenant Colonel in the Military Affairs Section of the Japanese Ministry of War, at the end of World War II. He had been stationed on Formosa (Taiwan), but was ordered back to Tokyo early in 1945. Along with Major Kenji Hatanaka and a few others, he was one of the chief conspirators in a plot to overthrow the government of Prime Minister Kantarō Suzuki; they wished to see the institution of martial law under War Minister Korechika Anami. The plan changed, however, into a plot, engineered by Major Kenji Hatanaka, to seize the Imperial Palace and prevent the broadcast of the Emperor's surrender speech. Lt. Col. Ida took part in this plot only briefly, trying to talk Hatanaka out of it by the end. Not many know about his attempted 'coup', which, although it failed, came dangerously close to lengthening the war, and altering the face of modern history.

The Kyūjō incident (宮城事件, Kyūjō Jiken) was an attempted military coup d'état in the Empire of Japan at the end of the Second World War. It happened on the night of 14–15 August 1945, just before the announcement of Japan's surrender to the Allies. The coup was attempted by the Staff Office of the Ministry of War of Japan and many from the Imperial Guard to stop the move to surrender.