We, the Japanese people : World War II and the origins of the Japanese constitution. Volume two, Tokyo

This is the definitive story of how the United States attempted to turn Japan into a democratic and peace-loving nation by drafting a new constitution for its former enemy—and then pretending that the Japanese had written it. Based on scores of interviews with participants in the process, as well as exhaustive research in Japanese and American records, the book explores in vivid detail the thinking and intentions behind the drafting of the constitution. Confusion and strife marked planning for the democratization of Japan, first in Washington, then in occupied Tokyo. Policy makers in the State, War, and Navy departments, the Joint Chiefs, and the White House contended bitterly over how to devise an “unconditional surrender” that would minimize Allied casualties while according the victor supreme authority over a soundly defeated Japan. By war’s end, there were still no firm guidelines on a host of crucial issues, including how the Japanese system of government could be made acceptably democratic. The first months of occupation were chaotic, with General MacArthur organizing his staff around loyal followers and edging out experts sent from Washington. Hampered by a narrow interpretation of the terms of surrender and wishful thinking about Japanese compliance with American expectations, MacArthur set in motion a fiasco. Because of a translator’s error, Prince Konoye, three-time Prime Minister of Japan, thought MacArthur had entrusted him with revising the Japanese constitution and assembled a staff of constitutional law experts and set to work. However, conservatives in the Japanese cabinet denounced his efforts and produced their own version, which MacArthur found unacceptable. MacArthur then secretly instructed his staff, with its very limited knowledge of either Japan or constitutional law, to draft a new Japanese constitution, which amazingly they did in a week’s time. Expecting approval of its own draft, the Japanese cabinet was stunned when presented with a completely different American document. So unrelenting was the pressure exerted by MacArthur’s officers that it was clear to members of the cabinet they had no choice but to adopt the American draft more or less intact, and publish it as their own. Because of the broad range of its meticulous research, the book will be a standard reference not only for students of Japanese history but also for legal scholars, diplomatic historians, and political scientists. This is the definitive story of how the United States attempted to turn Japan into a democratic and peace-loving nation by drafting a new constitution for its former enemy -- and then pretending that the Japanese had written it. Based on scores of interviews with participants in the process, as well as exhaustive research in Japanese and American records, the book explores in vivid detail the thinking and intentions behind the drafting of the constitution.Confusion and strife marked planning for the democratization of Japan, first in Washington, then in occupied Tokyo. Policy makers in the State, War, and Navy departments, the Joint Chiefs, and the White House contended bitterly over how to devise an "unconditional surrender" that would minimize Allied casualties while according the victor supreme authority over a soundly defeated Japan. By war's end, there were still no firm guidelines on a host of crucial issues, including how the Japanese system of government could be made acceptably democratic.The first months of occupation were chaotic, with General MacArthur organizing his staff around loyal followers and edging out experts sent from Washington. Hampered by a narrow interpretation of the terms of surrender and wishful thinking about Japanese compliance with American expectations, MacArthur set in motion a fiasco. Because of a translator's error, Prince Konoye, three-time Prime Minister of Japan, thought MacArthur had entrusted him with revising the Japanese constitution and assembled a staff of constitutional law experts and set to work. However, conservatives in the Japanese cabinet denounced his efforts and produced their own version, which MacArthur foundunacceptable.MacArthur then secretly instructed his staff, with its very limited knowledge of either Japan or constitutional law, to draft a new Japanese constitution, which amazingly they did in a week's time. Expecting approval of its own draft, the Japanese cabinet was stunned when presented with a completely different American document. So unrelenting was the pressure exerted by MacArthur's officers that it was clear to members of the cabinet they had no choice but to adopt the American draft more or less intact, and publish it as their own.Because of the broad range of its meticulous research, the book will be a standard reference not only for students of Japanese history but also for legal scholars, diplomatic historians, and political scientists. Machine generated contents note: VOLUME ONE * WASHINGTON Preface ix Acknowledgments xv 1. Unconditional Surrender and Its Legacies 1 2. Uneasy Allies: Soviet Participation in the Pacific War 34 3. Voices in the Wilderness 57 4. The Road to Potsdam: Defining Unconditional Surrender 101 5. Potsdam: The Politics of Deliverance 120 6. "Come Hell or High Water": Terms of Surrender for Japan 138 7. Planning for the Military Government ofJapan, 1942-1944 159 8. "A Sunday School Flavor": Planning for the Military Government ofJapan, 1945 190 9. "The Velvet Glove": Policy Toward the Emperor and Constitutional Reform 223 A Note on Citations and Abbreviations 249 Notes to Volume One 255 VOLUME TWO * TOKYO lo. Under Siege: The Early Days of Occupation 405 11. "Dust and Ashes": The Konoe Affair 438 12. "Opaque, Bureaucratic Secretiveness": The Shidehara Government Looks at Constitutional Reform 461 13. Atomic Sunshine Boys: The Rise of the Government Section 487 14. A "Top Secret" Constitutional Convention 518 15. "For Your Convenience and Protection": Negotiating with the Japanese Government 527 Epilogue 545 APPENDIXES APPENDIX A The Preamble 553 APPENDIX B The Emperor and Miscellaneous Affairs 557 APPENDIX C Renunciation of War 576 APPENDIX D Civil Rights 580 APPENDIX E The Diet 612 APPENDIX F The Executive 630 APPENDIX G The Judiciary 645 APPENDIX H Public Finance 657 APPENDIX I Local Government 666 APPENDIX J A Comparison of the MacArthur Draft and the Japanese Government Draft of 2 March 1946 673 A Note on Citations and Abbreviations 713 Notes to Volume Two 719 Selected Bibliography 795 Index 809.

"Independent scholar Hellegers has produced a magnificent two-volume study of the origins of the 1947 Japanese constitution.”—Choice
"The book adds much new material and insight to the existing literature on the subject.”—Choice