Plots were still being hatched within Japan, even during this
“peaceful” period. But the moderates were reasserting their control.
They kept the high posts in the Privy Council and the Imperial
Household Ministry. The Cabinet was firmly set for a moderate course.
Even the parties’ strength was reviving. The climax of this trend came
with the general election of February 1936. For the voting showed that
the people had swung decisively away from the extremists. Japan’s labor
party elected eighteen Diet members, while three left-wing proletarians
won Diet seats. It was thought that a new Cabinet, with much greater
party influence, might now be formed.
But the extremists were unwilling to admit defeat. Their answer came
in the military uprising of February 26, 1936--known in Japan as the
“2-26” affair.