Wasn't Japan a democracy before the military started running things?
Well my first reaction was since it was led by an "emperor" in collaboration with an imperial court, I'm not sure you would call it a classic democracy.
I did a quick google and it is an interesting discussion
on the one hand there is a constitution in effect
http://www.utexas.edu/coc/journalism/Js363/hiroshima.htm
on the other there was significant unopposed power:
The previous Japanese constitution, the Meiji Constitution, was written in 1889. The 1889 constitution was named after the emperor Meiji - the grandfather of the then reigning emperor, Hirohito. The parliamentary government, or Diet, came under the emperor. Members of the Diet were both appointed from wealthy families and elected by male voters who paid high taxes.
Since very few Japanese owned land or had wealth, few people participated in the government prior to World War II. A feudal system existed in Japan before 1945. Land was leased and not owned by farmers, women had no rights over property and marriage, voting rights belonged to the wealthy few, and there was little freedom of the press.
Building on many of the elements in the United States Constitution, MacArthur and a small staff drew up a new constitution for Japan. Some of the elements found in the new Japanese constitution include: a Bill of Rights; equal rights, freedom of religion; political parties; abolish war; abolish feudalism; governmental power resides in the people, not the emperor, end discrimination of women, religion, races; free enterprise; freedom of speech; right of minimum standard of living; right to unions or collective bargaining.
One of the elements in the new constitution specifically gives governmental power to the people. The Meiji constitution explicitly stated that the emperor held supreme power over Japan because as a descendant of the sun goddess, the emperor was semi-devine
http://www.baylink.org/lessons/mm8-occ-japan_r.html and
http://www3.la.psu.edu/textbooks/172/Rest%20of%20the%20Story.htm
I think in balance you can say that Japan was not a democracy prior to the US imposing a new constitution in 1946.