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Supreme War Council (Japan)

{{Short description|Meiji-era de facto cabinet of Japan}}

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The {{nihongo|Supreme War Council|軍事参議院|Gunji sangiin}} was an advisory body to the Emperor of Japan on military matters,{{Cite book |last=Hoshina |first=Zenshiro |url=https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB162/62.pdf |title=Daitoa Senso Hishi: Hoshina Zenshiro Kaiso-roku |publisher=Hara-Shobo |year=1975 |location=Tokyo, Japan |pages=139-149 |language=ja |trans-title=Secret History of the Greater East Asia War: Memoir of Zenshiro Hoshina |chapter=Section 5: The Emperor made go-seidan - the decision to terminate the war |trans-chapter=Section 5: The Emperor made the sacred decision - the decision to terminate the war |via=George Washington University {{!}} National Security Archive}} established in 1903 and abolished in 1945.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}} The council was created during the development of representative government in Meiji-era Japan to further strengthen the authority of the state. Its first leader was Yamagata Aritomo (1838–1922), who is credited as founder of the modern Imperial Japanese Army and was the first constitutional Prime Minister of Japan.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}

The Supreme War Council developed a German-style general staff system, with a chief of staff who had direct access to the Emperor and who could operate independently of the army minister and civilian officials. The Supreme War Council was the de facto inner cabinet of Japan prior to the Second Sino-Japanese War.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}

Towards the end of the second World War, on August 9/10, 1945 the six members of the Supreme War Council were:

Context and history

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Liaison Conference

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From November 1937 onward, following Emperor Shōwa's order, the Gunji sangikan kaigi was in effect replaced by the Imperial General Headquarters-Government Liaison Conference (大本営政府連絡会議 Daihon'ei seifu renraku kaigi). {{citation needed|date=June 2023}} The Liaison Conferences were intended by the Emperor to bring the chiefs of the Army and Navy General Staff into closer consultation with his government, and to assist in integrating the decisions and needs of the two military sections of Imperial General Headquarters with the resources and policies of the rest of the government. The final decisions of Liaison Conferences were formally disclosed and approved at Imperial Conferences over which the Emperor presided in person at the Kyūden of the Tokyo Imperial Palace.

Its members were the following officials:

Supreme Council for the Direction of the War

In 1944, Prime Minister Kuniaki Koiso established the Supreme Council for the Direction of the War (最高戦争指導会議 Saikō sensō shidō kaigi), which replaced the Imperial General Headquarters-Government Liaison Conference.{{Cite web |last=Cox |first=Samuel J. |date=September 2020 |title=H-053-2: The Surrender of Japan |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/about-us/leadership/director/directors-corner/h-grams/h-gram-053/h-053-2.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240228090115/https://www.history.navy.mil/about-us/leadership/director/directors-corner/h-grams/h-gram-053/h-053-2.html |archive-date=28 February 2024 |access-date=30 July 2024 |website=Naval History and Heritage Command}} At the end of World War II, on August 14, 1945, it consisted of:

See also

References

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Category:Government of the Empire of Japan

Category:Military of the Empire of Japan