Documents with Commentaries Part 1 Military Defeat and Efforts to Reform the Constitution
This document (SWNCC 65/7), approved by the State-War-Navy Coordinating Committee on August 21, 1945, put forth an outline for the functions of the Allied Powers' top-level apparatus for exercising control over the occupation of Japan. It was forwarded to the governments of China, the U.K. and the Soviet Union as the U.S. government proposal. This proposal stipulated that the FEAC should be responsible only "for making recommendations" to the participating governments on the formulation of policies for Japan to fulfill its obligations under the instrument of surrender, except on the conduct of military operations and territorial adjustment. The FEAC, headquartered in Washington DC, allowed for other Allied Nations in the Far East to join as members. The FEAC could be dissolved upon notification by one of the four Allied Powers, the U.S., the U.K., China or the Soviet Union. However, this led to criticism that the U.S. held the power and that the commission could only "make recommendations." Further, it was argued that as an agency of control over Japan it should be located in Tokyo. The Soviet Union then declared that it would not participate in the FEAC, forcing the inaugural meeting scheduled for October 23 to be pushed back one week. As a result, the problems of establishing the organization for the occupation of Japan were put off to the conference of Foreign Ministers in Moscow in December of that year.
| Actual Title of Source | The Far Eastern Advisory Commission Terms of Reference (SWNCC65/7) |
|---|---|
| Date | 22 August 1945 |
| Document Number | GHQ/SCAP Records, Top Secret Records of Various Sections. Administrative Division Box no. CI-1(16) "SWNCC65/7: Establishment of a Far Eastern Advisory Commission"<Sheet No. TS-00348> |
| Repository (reproduction) | National Diet Library |
| Repository | U.S. National Archives & Records Administration (RG331) |
| Note | Microfiche |
