Kantaro Suzuki and Unconditional Surrender
The elderly Kantaro Suzuki served as prime minister for the spring and summer of 1945, hoping to guide the nation through the final disastrous stages of the Pacific War.
Tag Archives: Pacific War (1937-1945)
Kuniaki Koiso and the Inescapable Slide Toward Defeat
Imperial Army officer Kuniaki Koiso became prime minister well after Japan’s position in the Pacific War had already become hopeless. It took him months to reach this understanding personally, and when he ultimately came to realize that his own ability to command the situation was also close to zero, he stepped down.
Hideki Tojo and the Option for Total War
Imperial Army leader Hideki Tojo commanded the nation from 1941-1944. Once he decided to launch a total war against the Anglo-American Powers in December 1941, his own authority was tied to the success or failure on the battlefield.
Mitsumasa Yonai and the Fading Prospects for Peace
In early 1940, moderate Navy Admiral Mitsumasa Yonai was selected by Emperor Hirohito in a final effort to head off military conflict with the Anglo-American powers. However, Nazi Germany’s rapid defeat of France soon undermined Yonai’s authority by convincing Japanese militarists that the nation was losing a historic opportunity for changing the international order.
Nobuyuki Abe and the European Conflict
For a short period in 1939-1940, little-known Imperial Army General Nobuyuki Abe took over leadership of the nation just as World War II broke out in Europe. Abe kept Japan out of the war but was unable to establish a firm political foundation for his government.
Koki Hirota and the Anti-Comintern Pact
From 1936-1937, diplomat Koki Hirota was appointed prime minister. At this juncture, however, the office had become weaker than ever, and Hirota could do little more than be the public face of policies designed by the Imperial Japanese Army.
Osprey Crash Demonstrates Japan Remains US Client State
The recent crash of a US Air Force CV-22 Osprey aircraft off the southern coast has once again highlighted Japan’s enduring lack of control over its own territories, even 78 years after the Pacific War.
Visible Minorities: Memory-Holing the “Japanese Only” Signs
Exclusionary businesses have a long history in Japan, and people seem to be forgetting it. Here’s a reminder from somebody who has studied them more than anybody.
Visible Minorities: Remilitarization is a Bad Idea
Pushing Japan to remilitarize was never, and still is not, a good idea. This is not just because an arms race in Asia is the last thing the region needs. But also because Japan, consistently unable to face up to its own history, is simply not the country to represent the world’s liberal democracies in Asia, especially as a military power.
Visible Minorities: Abe’s Assassination and the Revenge of History
The assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has occasioned a lot of valuable, eye-opening discussions in the media, but few if any have focused upon how Abe’s death could be seen as a form of karmic payback–what happens when you ignore the lessons of history in the pursuit of raw political power.
