ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, February 26, 1936

• February 26 Incident
• Attempted coup d'etat in Japan
• Imperial Japanese Army

The top of the front page has a four column headline: "JAPANESE MILITARISTS ASSASSINATE PREMIER AND TWO OTHER LEADERS" with subheads and related pictorial. (see images) More on page 2.
Complete with all 40 pages, light toning at the margins, small binding holes along the spine, generally in nice condition.

Background: The February 26 Incident—an attempted coup by radical Imperial Japanese Army officers that prompted the declaration of martial law in Tokyo on February 27, 1936—pivoted Japan permanently toward totalitarian militarism despite the revolt's failure. Although Emperor Hirohito condemned the insurgents who had assassinated top cabinet officials in a bid for direct Imperial rule, the terrorized civilian government completely surrendered its authority to military leadership to prevent further unrest. The defeat of the radical Kōdō-ha (Imperial Way Faction) allowed the rival Tōsei-ha (Control Faction), led by figures like Hideki Tōjō, to consolidate total control over state policy, effectively ending Japanese democracy and placing the nation on an uninterrupted trajectory toward state mobilization, the 1937 invasion of China, and entry into World War II.