The 20th Century on Film

Showa: Prime Ministers in Turmoil (3x12)

Air date: Mar 09, 2019

In 1932, Chaplin arrived in Japan and was scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Inukai. On the day of the meeting, however, young officers stormed the prime minister's official residence and took his life. It was the May 15 Incident. The king of comedy saw a Japan that was moving toward militarism by taking the life of the prime minister. The story includes Fumimaro Konoe, the duke prime minister who lost control of the military and paved the way for war; Hideki Tojo, the military prime minister who dyed Japan with his mentalism; Shigeru Yoshida, the one-man prime minister who achieved peace and independence; and Nobusuke Kishi, who put his political life on the line for the Security Treaty revision.