In August, 1945, the Japanese government was on the verge of surrendering to Allied forces - and ending WWII. But on the night of August 14-15, a group of Japanese officers went into action. Their plan was to take the emperor hostage, and scuttle peace talks - and thus continue the war - which would have likely cost the Allies hundreds of thousands of lives - and the Japanese - millions.

Sources

The Kyujo Incident: The Coup that Almost Kept Japan in WWII - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUM2ccfQJMc

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyūjō_incident

Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Major_Kenji_Hatanaka.jpg

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