Ban from public office - kōshoku tūhō

Generally, it refers to the expulsion of politicians, government officials, and other public officials, but in Japan, it refers to the expulsion of militarist leaders from public office based on a memorandum issued by the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers on January 4, 1946 (Showa 21). The targets of the expulsion were (A) war criminals, (B) career soldiers, (C) leaders of extreme nationalist organizations, (D) leaders of the Imperial Rule Assistance Association, (E) leaders of financial institutions involved in expansionist policies, (F) chief executives of occupied territories, and (G) other militarists, and were classified into categories A through G. Public office holders here include not only Diet and local assembly members and employees of government offices and local public organizations, but also certain private companies and media organizations, and the number of people subject to expulsion reached more than 210,000. From the beginning, the expulsion of public office holders left room for political arbitrariness and schemes, as seen in the expulsion of Liberal Party President Hatoyama Ichiro, Ishibashi Tanzan, and Matsumoto Jiichiro. While the purges were largely lifted after 1949, they were used in the so-called Red Purge, including the purge of senior members of the Japanese Communist Party in June 1950, and gradually came to reflect increasingly political objectives.

[Jin Igarashi]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

一般的には政治家や行政官など公職にある者の追放をいうが、わが国では、1946年（昭和21）1月4日の連合国最高司令部覚書に基づく軍国主義指導者の公職からの追放をいう。追放の対象は、(A)戦争犯罪者、(B)職業軍人、(C)極端な国家主義団体などの幹部、(D)大政翼賛会などの幹部、(E)膨張政策に関与した金融機関の幹部、(F)占領地の行政長官など、(G)その他の軍国主義者であり、A項からG項まで分類された。ここでいう公職は、国会や地方議会の議員、官公庁や地方公共団体の職員だけでなく、特定の民間会社や報道機関なども含み、追放該当者は21万人以上に上った。公職追放は、当初から、自由党総裁鳩山(はとやま)一郎、石橋湛山(たんざん)、松本治一郎(じいちろう)の追放などのように政治的恣意(しい)や策謀が入り込む余地があった。49年以降、大幅な追放解除が進められる一方、50年6月の日本共産党幹部の追放をはじめとしたいわゆるレッド・パージに用いられるようになり、しだいに政治目的を濃厚に反映するようになっていった。

［五十嵐仁］

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例