Conservative diplomat Shigeru Yoshida was thrust into the premiership in 1946-1947 after the US occupation forces blocked the ascendance of general election-winner Ichiro Hatoyama. The post Shigeru Yoshida and Politics from Below appeared first on SNA Japan ..read more

English-speaking diplomat Kijuro Shidehara served as prime minister in 1945-1946, corresponding with the most progressive phase of a US military occupation which was initially guided by the principles of the New Deal and the American concern that Japan never again pose a military challenge to US hegemony in the Pacific. The post Kijuro Shidehara and the New Deal appeared first on SNA Japan ..read more

Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni stepped in to manage the surrender of the Japanese Empire in 1945. This was handled quite effectively, but it soon became clear that he was not even remotely on the same page with the incoming US occupation forces about what should come next. The post Naruhiko Higashikuni and a Farewell to Arms appeared first on SNA Japan ..read more

Could the Harris campaign be a case for a new playbook streamlining the wasteful American political process? The post Visible Minorities: Kamala Harris and Shorter US Elections appeared first on SNA Japan ..read more

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. The post Kantaro Suzuki and Unconditional Surrender appeared first on SNA Japan ..read more

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. The post Kuniaki Koiso and the Inescapable Slide Toward Defeat appeared first on SNA Japan ..read more

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. The post Hideki Tojo and the Option for Total War appeared first on SNA Japan ..read more

When Fumimaro Konoe returned to the premiership in mid-1940, he launched a bolder package of policy initiatives, including the declaration of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere and the creation of a one-party state. The post Fumimaro Konoe and the Southern Advance appeared first on SNA Japan ..read more

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. The post Mitsumasa Yonai and the Fading Prospects for Peace appeared first on SNA Japan ..read more

SNA (Tokyo) — 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. Transcript On August 30, 1939, Nobuyuki Abe became prime minister of Japan. Although he was an Imperial Army General, his appointment to the top office was unexpected. He was little known within senior political circles. Two days after he became premier, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union invaded Poland, starting World W ..read more