During the February 26 Incident, senior army figures resisted acting against the coup attempt. Hirohito threatened to go to a radio station and personally disavow it. Such a broadcast could turn soldiers against generals who had tacitly supported the rebels. The coup attempt had threatened Hirohito himself and killed senior ministers; a minister's brother-in-law was also killed in a case of mistaken identity.
Notable Point · 18:37-19:29
Hirohito's threatened broadcast during the February 26 coup
A threatened imperial broadcast offered a way to break the army leadership's reluctance to suppress the coup.