Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 1:24:55-1:25:50

Did imperial princes make Japanese command less meritocratic?

Fushimi's royal status is presented as a possible shield against assassination and interservice violence rather than the Japanese command system's central merit problem.

Civil Military RelationsImperial FamilyInterservice RivalryJapanese NavyNaval Leadership
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Question

Did giving the imperial family military power make Japan's high command insufficiently meritocratic?

Short answer

Not chiefly; few princes held such power, and their protected status might even have restrained army-navy violence.

Notes

Japan's command weakness did not arise primarily from excessive numbers of imperial officers. Few royal-family members held power comparable to Fushimi's. Their protected status could even be useful because army and navy factions could not casually assassinate them. Royal relatives at the head of both services might have been able to curb the lethal interservice rivalry through family authority. Fushimi's status was an institutional constraint with possible benefits as well as costs.