Supreme War Leadership Council - Supreme War Leadership Council

Japan's wartime leadership organization at the end of the Pacific War. With the military occupying a unique position within the national structure and deep-rooted conflicts between the Army and Navy, Japan's wartime leadership faced serious problems such as the separation of state affairs from command, and politics from strategy. For this reason, the Koiso Kuniaki Cabinet, which was formed in July 1944, intended to strengthen the Prime Minister's say in wartime leadership, and on August 4 of the same year decided to abolish the Imperial General Headquarters-Government Liaison Conference and establish a new Supreme War Leadership Council. Its members were the Chief of Staff, the Chief of the Naval General Staff, the Prime Minister, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministers of the Army and Navy, and its secretaries were the Chief Cabinet Secretary and the Directors of the Military Affairs Bureaus of the Army and Navy Ministries. The Emperor was to be present when important matters were discussed. However, it was not established as an official organization, and in reality it did not go beyond the scope of the Imperial General Headquarters-Government Liaison Conference. It was abolished on August 22, 1945 (Showa 20).

[Yoshida Yutaka]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

太平洋戦争末期の日本の戦争指導機関。軍部が国家機構のなかで独自の位置を占め、加えて陸海軍相互の間にも根深い対立が存在するという状況の下で、日本の戦争指導は国務と統帥(とうすい)、政略と戦略の分離という深刻な問題に直面した。このため、1944年（昭和19）7月に成立した小磯国昭(こいそくにあき)内閣は、戦争指導における総理大臣の発言権の強化を意図し、同年8月4日には、大本営政府連絡会議を廃止し新たに最高戦争指導会議を設置することを決定した。その構成員は参謀総長、軍令部総長、総理大臣、外務大臣、陸・海軍両大臣、幹事は内閣書記官長、陸・海軍省両軍務局長であり、重要案件の審議に際しては天皇が臨席することとされた。しかし官制上の機関として設置されたわけではなく、また実質的にも従来の大本営政府連絡会議の域を出るものではなかった。1945年（昭和20）8月22日廃止。

［吉田　裕］

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