Showa Emperor War Retrospect Memo can be found on August 20, 22:03

Aside from the “Worship Record”, which describes the dialogue with Emperor Showa from the materials left by Michiharu Tajima, the Secretary of the First Imperial Household Agency, after the war, when Emperor Showa reminisces about war in front of his aides A note that seems to have been created was found and obtained by NHK. In the memo, the words of regrets that seem to be Emperor Showa's empire about wartime operations and judgments are written down, and experts said, “Daigensui, the highest commander of the military, This is a valuable resource that can be approached. "

This memo was handwritten with a pen on both sides of 11 papers labeled "Miyauchi Prefecture". Michiharu Tajima, who served as the Secretary of the Imperial Household Agency and its predecessor, Miyauchi Prefecture for 5 and a half years from 1948 It was found from the remaining materials and obtained by NHK.

As a result of analysis by several researchers who specialize in modern and military history, the Emperor Showa embarked on his aides in about 1 hour and a half in October 1948, based on the written contents and descriptions of Secretary Tajima. I found out that it was created on the spot when I talked about recollections about war.

This included a description that overlapped with the contents of the “Showa Emperor's White Paper”, which was created as a measure against the Tokyo Trial and was published later. On the other hand, “We had to fortify Mariana. , "The one who threw away Guadalcanal and attacked Niuginya and Port Moresby" was also written in the detailed statements about the specific operation.

And in the “Defeat” item at the end of the memo, it is written “Slightly disregarding the mind”, “Disregarding science”, “Army and Navy disagreement”, etc. It was connected with the word “Shimojojo” that Emperor Showa used frequently when he looked back at the military movement.

Prof. Akira Yamada of Meiji University, who is familiar with military history, said, “Many of the statements made by the Emperor of the Showa Empire that have been revealed so far have been edited, but this is the previous stage, so we know the real image of Emperor Showa. There is no document that Emperor Showa has said, “I should have done this” about the way of war, and it is a precious thing that can be approached more than ever. It ’s a document. ”

"The Tojo Cabinet as seen from Emperor Showa"

As for the part that is listed at the beginning of the memo, such as “Tojo Cabinet Undertones”, Professor Yamada said, “The reason why the Tojo Cabinet, which had led the war so far, has stalled rapidly, is the first“ Mariana Failure ”. This means the fall of the Mariana Islands, centered on Saipan Island, and the second point is “Kendoku”, but this is also about the use of military police and the lives of the people. It seems that this means that the so-called military police politics monitored had caused a backlash, and the third point is marked as “Dongguan Dongguan”, which is not only the Prime Minister but also the Prime Minister and the Chief of Staff. Even if there is only one busy position, the details are not fully packed and the subordinates are left to the subordinates, but the subordinates use the power of Tojo to force the public. Like pressing Became a result, we talk with Tojo I think the flow of human nature went away from the Cabinet ".

On top of that, “This is because it is a party, or represents the Tojo Cabinet as seen by the Emperor Showa. Emperor Showa was quite confident of the Tojo Cabinet, but then collapsed rapidly. I think that Emperor Showa himself was also thinking what the cause was. "

Furthermore, regarding the writing of the memo as such a description, “Because the Tojo Cabinet collapsed, the idea that it would be better to stop the war began to appear little by little in the country, and the end of the war work started, so this is exactly a defeat It shows that Emperor Showa has positioned the flow as starting here. "

“If you focus on defending Mariana… very unusual remarks”

Regarding the description in the memo, “I should have defended Mariana after the first phase of the war, I had fortified and removed the defense,” Prof. Yamada said, “The Japanese troops jumped over Mariana and further track islands, then Guadalcanal Island, etc. In the end, it would have been effective to consolidate from the Mariana Islands to the Track Islands in order to carry resources smoothly into Japan. If you further expand the front, the more you expand it, the more power will be distributed and the more difficult it will be to operate.The Emperor Showa's military philosophy is very orthodox that if you expand the front too much, it will become disadvantageous because the power will be dispersed "

On top of that, “I think this was a very unusual statement that I should have devoted myself to the defense of Mariana. Among the various remarks of Emperor Showa that have been found so far, there have been few statements that I should have done this. This is the most important reason for the failure of the Japanese army because it was the source of the failure of the Japanese army because it was not possible to replenish as a result of the expansion of the front line with the momentum of the offensive operation. "

“The Emperor Showa's way of thinking shown here is not the idea of ​​defending against gachigachi, but the concept of offensive defense by shooting out from time to time while strengthening the defense from an early stage without expanding the front. I think this document is very valuable because it tells me that I should have a strategy based on Mariana based on these ideas. "

"I was skeptical about the front line expansion."

Prof. Yamada said, “This is a mistake of Guadalcanal,” with the statement “Solomon” in the memo, “Don't kill Dagarcanal, who attacked Niuginiya, Port Moresby” The Japanese army attacked Port Moresby on the south coast of eastern New Guinea after the Battle of Guadalcanal Island, but the Army was focusing on the recapture of Guadalcanal, and New Guinea's operation was neglected. The Emperor's idea is not to stick to the island of Guadalcanal, but to think about Solomon and New Guinea as a whole. Because it could not be sent, Emperor Showa is more Eastern New Guinea I think that the strategy should have been actively promoted, with an emphasis on "

Furthermore, “The Navy had planned to go to the Solomon Islands and beyond to Fiji and Samoa, but I know that Emperor Showa was skeptical of the strategy to expand such a battleline.” Did.

“Beginning on Shimojo and defeated by Shimojo”

Prof. Yamada says that “The Son of Martial Arts” is about politics and military It's an orthodox war way of thinking about the balance of Japan, showing that Japan's way was never what it learned. "

Furthermore, “Too much emphasis on the spirit, disregarding science, Japan was focused on the human spirit, even though World War II was the cutting edge of science and technology such as radar and atomic bombs. It seems to indicate that it was too late and was behind in the use of science and technology for munitions. "

What was written at the end of this memo was the word "Shimojojo" that Emperor Showa used frequently to look back on how the army moved without permission in the "Worship Record".

On this, Professor Yamada said, “After all, it was a war that began with Shimojo and was defeated by Shimojo. The Emperor Showa also said that the problem was that the most essential part of the army was obedient to obey the orders from above. It indicates that they were recognizing. "