|
The Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP) (originally briefly styled Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers〔(''We, the Japanese people'', p. 360 ), Dale M. Hellegers, Stanford University Press, 2002〕) was the title held by General Douglas MacArthur during the Allied occupation of Japan following World War II. In Japan, the position was generally referred to as GHQ (General Headquarters), as SCAP also referred to the offices of the occupation, including a staff of several hundred U.S. civil servants as well as military personnel. Some of these personnel effectively wrote a first draft of the Japanese Constitution, which the Diet then ratified after a few amendments. Australian, British, Indian, and New Zealand forces under SCAP were organized into a sub-command known as British Commonwealth Occupation Force. These actions led MacArthur to be viewed as the new Imperial force in Japan by many Japanese political and civilian figures, even being considered to be the rebirth of the Shogun style government〔Dower, John W. (1999). ''Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II, p. 341.〕 which Japan was ruled under until the start of the Meiji Restoration. ==Immunity given to Imperial family and bacteriological research units members== Douglas MacArthur and his SCAP staff played a primary role to exonerate Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito) and all members of the imperial family implicated in the war such as Prince Chichibu, Prince Tsuneyoshi Takeda, Prince Asaka, Prince Higashikuni and Prince Hiroyasu Fushimi from criminal prosecutions before the Tokyo tribunal.〔Dower, ; Bix, Herbert P. (2000). ''Hirohito and the making of modern Japan'', .〕 As soon as November 26, 1945, MacArthur confirmed to admiral Mitsumasa Yonai that the emperor's abdication would not be necessary.〔Dower, p. 323.〕 Before the war crimes trials actually convened, SCAP, the IPS and Shōwa officials worked behind the scenes not only to prevent the imperial family being indicted, but also to slant the testimony of the defendants to ensure that no one implicated the Emperor. High officials in court circles and the Shōwa government collaborated with Allied GHQ in compiling lists of prospective war criminals, while the individuals arrested as ''Class A'' suspects and incarcerated in Sugamo Prison solemnly vowed to protect their sovereign against any possible taint of war responsibility.〔Dower, p. 325.〕 As Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, MacArthur also gave immunity to Shiro Ishii and all members of the bacteriological research units in exchange for germ warfare data based on human experimentation. On May 6, 1947, he wrote to Washington that "additional data, possibly some statements from Ishii probably can be obtained by informing Japanese involved that information will be retained in intelligence channels and will not be employed as "War Crimes" evidence."〔Hal Gold, ''Unit 731 Testimony'', 2003, p. 109〕 The deal was concluded in 1948.〔Drayton, Richard (May 10, 2005) "(An Ethical Blank Cheque: British and US mythology about the second world war ignores our own crimes and legitimises Anglo-American war making ), ''the Guardian''.〕 According to popular historian Herbert Bix in ''Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan'', "MacArthur's truly extraordinary measures to save the Emperor from trial as a war criminal had a lasting and profoundly distorting impact on Japanese understanding of the lost war."〔Bix, p. 545.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|