1.
Military police
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Military police are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In the Second World War, the police of the German Army still used a metal gorget as an emblem. Naval police members are sometimes called masters-at-arms and shore patrol, Military police in Brazil has two meanings. There are provost corps for each of the Brazilian Armed Forces, Army Police for the Army, Navy Police for the Navy, the second type are the civilian preventative police, with military organization comparable to gendarmerie, called the Military Police. Each State has their own Military Police, there is also a joint National Public Security Force, created in 1999. This force is composed of the most qualified State Military Police personnel from all the states and they have the power to arrest anyone who is subject to the Code of Service Discipline, regardless of position or rank under the National Defence Act. If in fact a crime is committed on or in relation to DND property or assets, MP have the power to arrest and charge the offender, military or civilian, under the Criminal Code. It is important to note though that the purpose of the CFMP is not to replace the job of a police officer. MP also have the power to enforce the Provincial Highway Traffic Acts on all military bases in Canada pursuant to the Government Property Traffic Regulations, in Colombia, MPs are very common. They can be seen guarding closed roads, museums, embassies, government buildings, in the National Army of Colombia they are assigned to the 37 Military Police Battalions, wearing green uniforms with the military police helmet. A Naval Police battalion is in service in the Colombian Marine Corps, Each branch of the military of the United States maintains its own police force. The U. S. CGIS primarily investigates and charges those in its own population with serious crimes, such as rape, assault or forgery, Navy, designated as Naval Security Force, primarily responsible for law enforcement and force protection. NSF personnel are led by Naval commissioned officers from the Limited Duty Officer and Chief Warrant Officer communities, additionally, a host installations Security Force are augmented by Sailors on Temporary Assignment of Duty from their parent units, as part of the Auxiliary Security Force. Prior to the 1970s, Master-at-Arms and Shore Patrol were used synonymously to refer to Sailors assigned to law enforcement. Air Force Security Forces —United States Air Force Each service also maintains uniformed civilian police departments and they are referred to as Department of Defense Police. These police fall under each directorate they work for within the United States Department of Defense, for example, the Department of the Air Force Police operate under the Air Provost Marshal. The police officers duties are similar to those of civilian police officers. They enforce the Uniform Code of Military Justice, federal and state laws, the United States Constabulary was a gendarmerie force used to secure and patrol the American Zone of West Germany immediately after World War II
2.
Occupation of Japan
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The Allied occupation of Japan at the end of World War II was led by General Douglas MacArthur, the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers, with support from the British Commonwealth. Unlike in the occupation of Germany, the Soviet Union was allowed little to no influence over Japan and this foreign presence marked the only time in Japans history that it had been occupied by a foreign power. It transformed the country into a democracy that recalled New Deal priorities of the 1930s politics by Roosevelt. Japan surrendered to the Allies on August 14,1945, when the Japanese government notified the Allies that it had accepted the Potsdam Declaration. At Yalta, Stalin made sure Roosevelt was clear on the promise he had made that urged assistance from the USSR on intervening in the war in Japan with the U. S, (On the following day, Emperor Hirohito announced Japans unconditional surrender on the radio. The announcement was the emperors first ever planned radio broadcast and the first time most citizens of Japan ever heard their sovereigns voice. This date is known as Victory over Japan, or V-J Day, and marked the end of World War II, Japanese officials left for Manila, Philippines on August 19 to meet MacArthur and to be briefed on his plans for the occupation. On August 28,1945,150 US personnel flew to Atsugi and they were followed by USS Missouri, whose accompanying vessels landed the 4th Marine Division on the southern coast of Kanagawa. MacArthur arrived in Tokyo on August 30, and immediately decreed several laws, No Allied personnel were to assault Japanese people. No Allied personnel were to eat the scarce Japanese food, flying the Hinomaru or Rising Sun flag was initially severely restricted. This restriction was lifted in 1948 and completely lifted the following year. On September 2,1945, Japan formally surrendered with the signing of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, on September 6, US President Truman approved a document titled US Initial Post-Surrender Policy for Japan. The document set two main objectives for the occupation, eliminating Japans war potential and turning Japan into a nation with pro-United Nations orientation. At the head of the Occupation administration was General MacArthur, who was supposed to defer to an advisory council set up by the Allied powers. Looking back to his work in Japan, MacArthur described the Japanese reactions as acting similar to a boy of twelve and were at odds of putting away their troubled past. On V-J Day, US President Harry Truman appointed General Douglas MacArthur as Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, during the war, the Allied Powers had planned to divide Japan amongst themselves for the purposes of occupation, as was done for the occupation of Germany. The Soviet Union had some intentions of occupying Hokkaidō, had this occurred, there might have eventually been a communist state in the Soviet zone of occupation. However, unlike the Soviet occupations of East Germany and North Korea, even with these measures, millions of people were still on the brink of starvation for several years after the surrender
3.
Okinawa Prefecture
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The larger are mostly high islands and the smaller ones are mostly coral islands. The largest of the islands is Okinawa, the climate of the islands ranges from humid subtropical climate in the north to tropical rainforest climate in the south. Precipitation is very high, and is affected by the rainy season, the islands beyond the Tokara Strait are characterized by their coral reefs. The Amami, Okinawa, Miyako, and Yaeyama Islands have a native population collectively called the Ryukyuan people, the varied Ryukyuan languages are traditionally spoken on these islands, and the major islands have their own distinct languages. In modern times, the Japanese language is the language of the islands. The northern islands are called the Satsunan Islands, while the southern part of the chain are called the Ryukyu Islands in Japanese. Following are the grouping and names used by the Hydrographic and Oceanographic Department of the Japan Coast Guard, the islands are listed from north to south where possible. Nansei Islands Satsunan Islands Ōsumi Islands with, Tanegashima, Yaku, Kuchinoerabu, Mageshima in the North-Eastern Group and they agreed on February 15,2010, to use Amami-guntō for the Amami Islands, prior to that, Amami-shotō had also been used. The English and Japanese uses of the term Ryukyu differ, in English, the term Ryukyu may apply to the entire chain of islands, while in Japanese Ryukyu usually refers only to the islands that were previously part of the Ryūkyū Kingdom after 1624. Nansei-shotō is the name for the whole island chain in Japanese. Japan has used the name on nautical charts since 1907, based on the Japanese charts, the international chart series uses Nansei Shoto. Nansei literally means southwest, the direction of the chain from mainland Japan. Some humanities scholars prefer the uncommon term Ryūkyū-ko for the island chain. In geology, however, the Ryukyu Arc includes subsurface structures such as the Okinawa Trough, the name of Ryūkyū is strongly associated with the Ryūkyū Kingdom, a kingdom that originated from the Okinawa Islands and subjected the Sakishima and Amami Islands. The name is considered outdated in Japanese although some entities of Okinawa still bear the name. In Japanese, the Ryukyu Islands cover only the Okinawa, Miyako, the northern half of the island chain is referred to as the Satsunan Islands in Japanese, as opposed to Northern Ryukyu Islands in English. Humanities scholars generally agree that the Amami, Okinawa, Miyako, there is, however, no good name for the group. The native population do not have their own name, since they do not recognize themselves as a group this size, Ryukyu is the principal candidate because it roughly corresponds to the maximum extent of the Ryūkyū Kingdom
4.
Itoman, Okinawa
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Itoman is a city located in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. The city sits at the tip of Okinawa Island. As of April 2013, the city has an population of 59,605. The total area is 46.63 km², Itoman sits on a flat tableland with craggy rolling hills of Ryukyuan limestone which range between Cape Kyan to the south and Yozadake to the north. The south of the town is known for its sea cliffs around Cape Kyan. Itoman has a history as a fishing port. In the pre-modern period its fisherman ventured as far as the Indian Ocean, records indicate that the fisherman made contact with Australia and New Guinea. By 1908 the village of Itoman numbered 8,000 residents, men of Itoman worked on fishing boats, and women worked at the transport and sale of fish in the prefectural capitol of Naha. In 1918 Naha and Itoman were connected by a horse-drawn tram, the Okinawa Prefectural Railways Itoman Line was established in 1924, and operated until 1945. Itoman was a front of the Battle of Okinawa in World War II. The area saw enormous casualties to both forces and civilians. Itoman is noted for the Himeyuri Butai, a hospital nursing corps of 221 high-school students who committed suicide at the end of the battle. Itoman was established as a town in 1908, in 1961 it absorbed the villages of Kanegusuku, Takamine, and Miwa. Itoman was elevated to city status on December 1,1971, Itoman is administered from the city hall in Shiozaki. The Itoman Board of Education oversees the preschool, elementary, and middle school, community education centers, the Itoman City Council consists of 23 members who serve a four-year term, and are led by a chairperson and vice-chairperson of the council. Fishing remains the industry of the city of Itoman. Japan National Route 331, which connects Naha and Ōgimi along the eastern coast of Okinawa Island, runs through Itoman and connects the city to other municipalities in Okinawa
5.
Tear gas
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Tear gas, formally known as a lachrymatory agent or lachrymator, is a chemical weapon that causes severe eye, respiratory, and skin irritation, pain, vomiting, and even blindness. In the eye, it stimulates the nerves of the gland to produce tears. Common lachrymators include pepper spray, CS gas, CR gas, CN gas, nonivamide, bromoacetone, xylyl bromide, syn-propanethial-S-oxide, lachrymatory agents are commonly used for riot control. Their use in warfare is prohibited by international treaties. During World War I, increasingly toxic lachrymatory agents were used, tear gas works by irritating mucous membranes in the eyes, nose, mouth and lungs, and causes crying, sneezing, coughing, difficulty breathing, pain in the eyes, and temporary blindness. With CS gas, symptoms of irritation typically appear after 20–60 seconds of exposure, with pepper spray, the onset of symptoms, including loss of motor control, is almost immediate. There can be variation in tolerance and response, according to the National Research Council Committee on Toxicology. The California Poison Control System analyzed 3,671 reports of pepper spray injuries between 2002 and 2011, severe symptoms requiring medical evaluation were found in 6. 8% of people, with the most severe injuries to the eyes, respiratory system and skin. The most severe occurred in law enforcement training, intentionally incapacitating people. Lachrymators are thought to act by attacking sulfhydryl functional groups in enzymes, one of the most probable protein targets is the TRPA1 ion channel that is expressed in sensory nerves of the eyes, nose, mouth and lungs. As with all non-lethal, or less-lethal weapons, there is risk of serious permanent injury or death when tear gas is used. This includes risks from being hit by tear gas cartridges, which include severe bruising, loss of eyesight, skull fracture, skin exposure to CS may cause chemical burns or induce allergic contact dermatitis. When people are hit at close range or are severely exposed, use of tear gas in warfare is prohibited by various international treaties that most states have signed. Police and private use is not banned in the same manner. Armed forces can legally use tear gas for drills and for riot control, first used in 1914, xylyl bromide was a popular tearing agent since it was easily prepared. The US Chemical Warfare Service developed tear gas grenades for use in control in 1919. Certain lachrymatory agents are used by police to force compliance. In some countries, another common substance is mace, the self-defense weapon form of mace is based on pepper spray, and comes in small spray cans, and versions including CS are manufactured for police use
6.
Japan
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Japan is a sovereign island nation in Eastern Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies off the eastern coast of the Asia Mainland and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea, the kanji that make up Japans name mean sun origin. 日 can be read as ni and means sun while 本 can be read as hon, or pon, Japan is often referred to by the famous epithet Land of the Rising Sun in reference to its Japanese name. Japan is an archipelago consisting of about 6,852 islands. The four largest are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, the country is divided into 47 prefectures in eight regions. Hokkaido being the northernmost prefecture and Okinawa being the southernmost one, the population of 127 million is the worlds tenth largest. Japanese people make up 98. 5% of Japans total population, approximately 9.1 million people live in the city of Tokyo, the capital of Japan. Archaeological research indicates that Japan was inhabited as early as the Upper Paleolithic period, the first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other regions, mainly China, followed by periods of isolation, from the 12th century until 1868, Japan was ruled by successive feudal military shoguns who ruled in the name of the Emperor. Japan entered into a period of isolation in the early 17th century. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan is a member of the UN, the OECD, the G7, the G8, the country has the worlds third-largest economy by nominal GDP and the worlds fourth-largest economy by purchasing power parity. It is also the worlds fourth-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer, although Japan has officially renounced its right to declare war, it maintains a modern military with the worlds eighth-largest military budget, used for self-defense and peacekeeping roles. Japan is a country with a very high standard of living. Its population enjoys the highest life expectancy and the third lowest infant mortality rate in the world, in ancient China, Japan was called Wo 倭. It was mentioned in the third century Chinese historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms in the section for the Wei kingdom, Wa became disliked because it has the connotation of the character 矮, meaning dwarf. The 倭 kanji has been replaced with the homophone Wa, meaning harmony, the Japanese word for Japan is 日本, which is pronounced Nippon or Nihon and literally means the origin of the sun. The earliest record of the name Nihon appears in the Chinese historical records of the Tang dynasty, at the start of the seventh century, a delegation from Japan introduced their country as Nihon
7.
Fujiwara no Hirotsugu rebellion
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The Fujiwara no Hirotsugu Rebellion was an unsuccessful Nara period rebellion led by Fujiwara no Hirotsugu in the Japanese islands, in the year 740. Hirotsugu, dissatisfied with the powers, raised an army in Dazaifu. The Fujiwara no Hirotsugu Rebellion is sparsely documented and most of what is known about it, including dates, derives from a single historical source. Completed in 797, this is one of the imperially commissioned Six National Histories and it is a valuable document for historians, though not all dates in it should be considered exact. Together they held four out of ten positions of this important council which was placed directly under the emperor, in addition, the Fujiwara were related with the emperor as both Shōmus mother and his consort Empress Kōmyō, were daughters of Fujiwara no Fuhito. In 735 a devastating smallpox epidemic, which killed about one third of the Japanese population, broke out on Kyushu. While most victims were from the populace of western and central Japan, by 737. Emperor Shōmu was spared, but by the 8th month of 737 ten officials of rank or higher were dead. The death of their top figures and heads of the four Fujiwara branches considerably weakened the influence of the Fujiwara clan, the following appointments brought about a shift in power towards nobles closely related to the emperor and away from non-imperial clans such as the Fujiwara. In 737 Prince Suzuka, brother of Prince Nagaya, was appointed to Chancellor, in the beginning of the following year, Tachibana no Moroe, half-brother of Empress Kōmyō, took the position of minister of the right that had been held by Muchimaro before his death. The only Fujiwara in the council at the time was Muchimaros son, in addition, all the clans that had opposed the Fujiwara Four such as the Ōtomo, the Saeki or the Agata Inukai were Moroe backers. Unlike under the Fujiwara Four, the Emperor was not opposed by a strong faction anymore as members of this new council originated from various clans. Kibi no Makibi and Genbō were promoted to important posts, despite lacking prestigious family backgrounds, both had spent 17 years in Tang China and returned to Japan in 735. Makibi who had several important Confucian texts to Japan would advise the Emperor on the latest continental developments in legal codes, warfare. He was promoted to a rank and became Imperial professor at court. In 736, 2nd month, the monk Genbō who had returned more than 5000 Buddhist scrolls and commentaries was given a large plot of land, eight servants. When the plague reached the court in 737, he was asked to perform healing rituals for the imperial family, several Fujiwara were exiled to posts in distant provinces. Fujiwara no Hirotsugu, the oldest son of Umakai and nephew of Empress Kōmyō, was the leader of the Shikike branch of the Fujiwara family
8.
Shimabara Rebellion
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The Shimabara Rebellion was an uprising in what is now Nagasaki Prefecture in southwestern Japan lasting from December 17,1637, to April 15,1638, during the Edo period. It largely involved peasants, most of them Catholic Christians and it was one of only a handful of instances of serious unrest during the relatively peaceful period of the Tokugawa shogunates rule. In the wake of the Matsukura clans construction of a new castle at Shimabara, taxes were drastically raised, religious persecution of the local Catholics exacerbated the discontent, which turned into open revolt in 1637. The Tokugawa Shogunate sent a force of over 125,000 troops to suppress the rebels and, after a siege against the rebels at Hara Castle. In the wake of the rebellion, the Catholic rebel leader Amakusa Shirō was beheaded, Japans national seclusion policy was tightened and official persecution of Christianity continued until the 1850s. Following the successful suppression of the rebellion, the daimyō of Shimabara, Matsukura Katsuie, was beheaded for misruling, becoming the only daimyō to be beheaded during the Edo period. In the mid-1630s, the peasants of the Shimabara Peninsula and Amakusa, dissatisfied with overtaxation and suffering from the effects of famine and this was specifically in territory ruled by two lords, Matsukura Katsuie of the Shimabara Domain, and Terasawa Katataka of the Karatsu Domain. Although the rebellion is portrayed by historians as a religious uprising. Those affected also included fishermen, craftsmen and merchants, as the rebellion spread, it was joined by rōnin who once had served families, such as the Amakusa and Shiki, who had once lived in the area, as well as former Arima clan and Konishi retainers. As such, the image of a peasant uprising is also not entirely accurate. Shimabara was once the domain of the Arima clan, which had been Christian, as a result, the Arima were moved out in 1614 and replaced by the Matsukura. He also built a new castle at Shimabara, as a result, he placed a greatly disproportionate tax burden on the people of his new domain and further angered them by strictly persecuting Christianity. The policies were continued by Shigemasas heir, Katsuie, other masterless samurai in the region included former retainers of Katō Tadahiro and Sassa Narimasa, both of whom had once ruled parts of Higo Province. At the same time, others rebelled in the Amakusa Islands, the rebels quickly increased their ranks by forcing all in the areas they took to join in the uprising. A charismatic 16-year-old youth, Amakusa Shirō, was chosen as the rebellions leader. The rebels then crossed the Ariake Sea and briefly besieged Matsukura Katsuies Shimabara Castle, at this point they gathered on the site of Hara Castle, which had been the castle of the Arima clan before their move to the Nobeoka Domain, but was dismantled. The allied armies of the domains, under the command of the Tokugawa shogunate with Itakura Shigemasa as commander-in-chief. The swordsman Miyamoto Musashi was present in the army, in an advisory role to Hosokawa Tadatoshi
9.
Shimonoseki Campaign
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The Japanese term for this event translates to the Shimonoseki War. The Chōshū clan, under the daimyō Mōri Takachika, began to take action to all foreigners after the deadline of the 10th day of the 5th month. Openly defying the shogunate, Takachika ordered his forces to fire warning on all foreign ships traversing Shimonoseki Strait. This strategic but treacherous 600-meter waterway separates the islands of Honshū and Kyūshū, even before tensions escalated in Shimonoseki Strait, foreign diplomats and military experts, notably U. S. Foreign Minister to Japan Robert Pruyn and U. S. Navy Captain David McDougal had been aware of the state of affairs in Japan. The first attack occurred on June 25,1863, soon after the Imperial Order to expel barbarians came into effect, the crew of one enemy vessel taunted the frantic American seamen with a loud and unnerving cry, Revere the Emperor and expel the barbarians. Under incessant cannon fire, Pembroke managed to get underway and escape through the adjacent Bungo Strait, miraculously with only slight damage, upon arrival in Shanghai, Cooper filed a report of the attack and dispatched it to the U. S. The next day, the French naval dispatch steamer Kien Chan was also riding at anchor outside the strait, Kien Chan sustained damage to its engine and suffered four casualties before escaping to the open ocean. On July 11, despite warnings from the crew of the Kien Chan, but Takachika did just that, pounding Medusa with more than thirty shells and killing or wounding nine seamen. De Casembroot returned fire and ran the gauntlet at full speed, fearful of endangering the life of the Dutch Consul General. Within a short time, the Japanese warlord had managed to fire on the flags of most of the nations with consulates in Japan, the two Japanese steamers sunk by the Wyoming were raised again by Chōshū in 1864 and attached to the harbor of Hagi. On the heels of McDougals engagement, on July 20, the French Navy retaliated for the attack on their merchant ship, the French force consisted of marines and two warships, the aviso Tancrède and the corvette Dupleix. With 250 men, under Captain Benjamin Jaurès, they swept into Shimonoseki and destroyed a small town, duchesne de Bellecourt would be relieved from his position in 1864. Jaurès was also congratulated by the Shogunal government for taking such decisive steps against anti-foreign forces, meanwhile, the Americans, French, British and Dutch feverishly opened diplomatic channels in an effort to negotiate the reopening of the passage to the Inland Sea. Months dragged by with no end in sight to the growing dilemma, by May 1864, various bellicose Japanese factions had destroyed thousands of dollars in foreign property, including homes, churches and shipping. This wanton destruction included the U. S, legation in Tokyo, which housed Minister Robert Pruyn. Throughout the first half of 1864, as Shimonoseki Strait remained closed to shipping, threats and rumors of war hung in the air. Then the British Minister to Japan, Sir Rutherford Alcock, discussed with his treaty counterparts such as American Minister Robert Pruyn and they were soon making preparations for a combined show of force
10.
Satsuma Rebellion
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The Satsuma Rebellion was a revolt of disaffected samurai against the new imperial government, nine years into the Meiji Era. Its name comes from Satsuma Domain, which had been influential in the Restoration, the rebellion lasted from January 29,1877, until September of that year, when it was decisively crushed and its leader, Saigō Takamori, ended his life. Saigōs rebellion was the last and most serious of a series of armed uprisings against the new government, the modernization of the country meant the abolition of the privileged social status of the samurai class, and had undermined their financial position. Saigō was a proponent of war with Korea in the Seikanron debate of 1873. At one point, he offered to visit Korea in person, to help support and employ these men, in 1874 Saigō established a private academy in Kagoshima. Soon 132 branches were established all over the prefecture, the “training” provided was not purely academic, although the Chinese classics were taught, all students were required to take part in weapons training and instruction in tactics. The traditions of bushido and Hagakure were emphasized, Saigō also started an artillery school. Support for Saigō was so strong that Satsuma had effectively seceded from the government by the end of 1876. Word of Saigō’s academies was greeted with concern in Tokyo. In December 1876, the Meiji government sent an officer named Nakahara Hisao and 57 other men to investigate reports of subversive activities. The men were captured, and under torture, confessed that they were spies who had sent to assassinate Saigō. Fearing a rebellion, the Meiji government sent a warship to Kagoshima to remove the weapons stockpiled at the Kagoshima arsenal on January 30,1877 and this provoked open conflict, although with the elimination of samurai rice stipends in 1877, tensions were already extremely high. Outraged by the tactics,50 students from Saigō’s academy attacked the Somuta Arsenal. Over the next three days, more than 1000 students staged raids on the yards and other arsenals. Presented with this success, the greatly dismayed Saigō was reluctantly persuaded to come out of his semi-retirement to lead the rebellion against the central government. In February 1877, the Meiji government dispatched Hayashi Tomoyuki, an official with the Home Ministry with Admiral Kawamura Sumiyoshi in the warship Takao to ascertain the situation. After Oyama departed, a flotilla of ships filled with armed men attempted to board Takao by force. The following day, Hayashi declared to Oyama that he could not permit Kawamura to go ashore when the situation was so unsettled, and that the attack on Takao constituted an act of lèse-majesté
11.
February 26 Incident
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The February 26 Incident was an attempted coup détat in Japan on 26 February 1936. It was organized by a group of young Imperial Japanese Army officers with the goal of purging the government and military leadership of their factional rivals, facing overwhelming opposition as the army moved against them, the rebels surrendered on 29 February. Unlike earlier examples of violence by young officers, the coup attempt had severe consequences. After a series of closed trials,19 of the leaders were executed for mutiny. The radical Kōdō-ha faction lost its influence within the army, the period of government by assassination came to a close, the Imperial Japanese Army had a long history of factionalism among its high-ranking officers, originally stemming from domainal rivalries in the Meiji period. Army officers were divided between those whose education had ended at the Army Academy and those who had advanced on to the prestigious Army War College. The latter group formed the elite of the corps, while officers of the former group were effectively barred by tradition from advancement to staff positions. A number of these lesser-privileged officers formed the armys contribution to the young, the young officers believed that the problems facing the nation were the result of Japan straying from the kokutai. The privileged classes exploited the people, leading to poverty in rural areas. The solution, they believed, was a Shōwa Restoration modeled on the Meiji Restoration of 70 years earlier, by rising up and destroying the evil advisers around the Throne, the officers would enable the Emperor to re-establish his authority. The Emperor would then purge Western ideas and those who exploited the people and these beliefs were strongly influenced by contemporary nationalist thought, especially the political philosophy of the former socialist Ikki Kita. The loose-knit group varied in size, but is estimated to have had roughly 100 regular members and its informal leader was Mitsugi Nishida. Nishida, an army lieutenant and disciple of Kita, had become a prominent member of the civilian nationalist societies that proliferated from the late 1920s. He referred to the group as the Kokutai Genri-ha faction. Despite its relatively small size, the faction was influential, due in no part to the threat it posed. It had sympathizers among the staff and imperial family, most notably Prince Chichibu, the Emperors brother. Despite being fiercely anti-capitalist, it had managed to secure irregular funding from zaibatsu leaders who hoped to shield themselves. The exact nature of the relationship between the Kōdō-ha and the Kokutai Genri-ha is complicated, the two factions are often treated as the same or as two groups forming a larger whole
