One Hundred Million People Repent - Ichioku Souzange

Japanese: 一億総懺悔 - いちおくそうざんげ

…The Allied policy of pursuing war responsibility was based on the theme of "responsibility for starting the war," but the initial approach from the Japanese side was more of "responsibility for defeat." Immediately after Japan's defeat, the Higashikuni Toshihiko Cabinet called for an apology to the Emperor for the defeat through "a collective confession of 100 million people," and many Japanese people also sympathized with the theory of responsibility for defeat, which resented the war leaders, such as the military and bureaucrats, who brought about the misery of defeat and the postwar hardships. After that, with the Tokyo Trials, the focus shifted to the responsibility of the war leaders for starting the war, but the issue of war responsibility was raised not only from the perspective of the victims of the war, but also from the perspective of the people who were perpetrators of the war against the people of Asia. …

From [Occupation Policy Towards Japan]

…With the acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration, the Suzuki Kantaro Cabinet resigned en masse, and Prince Higashikuni Naruhiko, a member of the imperial family and a general in the army, formed a new cabinet. The Higashikuni Cabinet preached to the people that they must "obey the imperial decree with all due care" and "protect the national polity," and tried to maintain the rule of the Emperor System, while calling for "a collective repentance by one hundred million people" to avoid being pursued by the people for war responsibility. In response, on September 19, 1945, GHQ announced the Press Code (censorship of speech), which "taught Japanese newspapers the responsibility and meaning of a free press," and on October 4, it issued a "Memorandum on the elimination of restrictions on freedom," ordering freedom of criticism of the Emperor, the release of political prisoners, the abolition of the Special Higher Police, and the dismissal of Home Minister Yamazaki Iwao. The Higashikuni Cabinet resigned en masse in shock. …

*Some of the terminology explanations that refer to "One Hundred Million People's Confession" are listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

Japanese:

…連合国の戦争責任追及政策は〈開戦責任〉が基調となっていたが，当初の日本側の受止め方は〈敗戦責任〉が多かった。日本敗戦直後の東久邇稔彦内閣は〈一億総懺悔（ざんげ）〉による天皇への敗戦の謝罪を唱え，また国民の多くも敗戦の悲惨と戦後の苦境をもたらした軍部，官僚など戦争指導者を怨嗟（えんさ）する敗戦責任論に共感した。その後，東京裁判の公判とともに戦争指導者の開戦責任が焦点となったが，戦争の被害者の側面だけでなく，アジアの民衆に対して加害者の立場にあった国民の主体的な戦争責任問題も提起された。…

【対日占領政策】より

…ポツダム宣言受諾とともに鈴木貫太郎内閣が総辞職し，皇族の一員である陸軍大将東久邇宮稔彦王が内閣を組織した。東久邇内閣は国民に対し〈承詔必謹〉と〈国体護持〉を説き，天皇制支配の維持に努めるとともに，〈一億総懺悔（そうざんげ）〉を主張して国民からの戦争責任の追及を免れようとした。これに対しGHQは，1945年9月19日〈自由な新聞のもつ責任とその意味を日本の新聞に教えるものである〉とするプレス･コード(言論統制)を発表し，さらに10月4日，〈自由制限の撤廃についての覚書〉を出し，天皇に対する批判の自由，政治犯の釈放，特高警察の廃止，山崎巌内相の罷免などを命じ，東久邇内閣はこの衝撃で総辞職した。…

※「一億総懺悔」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について | 情報

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