Documents with Commentaries Part 1 Military Defeat and Efforts to Reform the Constitution
On October 4, Fumimaro Konoye, acting as a minister without portfolio for the Higashikuni Cabinet, met with MacArthur to look into the intentions of GHQ. Representing GHQ were MacArthur, Sutherland, his Chief of Staff, and Atcheson, the political advisor to SCAP. First, Konoye gave his personal view on the root causes of militarism in Japan, and then he asked MacArthur his opinion on the government organization and related matters. MacArthur told him "the Constitution must be revised," and further explained that the revisions must fully integrate the fundamentals of a free democracy. With these words, the work on constitutional revisions went into full swing.
| Actual Title of Source | Konoye Kokumusho, "Makkuasa" Gensui Kaidan Roku |
|---|---|
| Date | October 4, 1945 |
| Document Number | Diplomatic Records A' 1.0.0.2-3-4 "Conference Abstracts and Memoranda between The Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers and his Staff and other ministers of Japan"<GAI-1, Reel No. A'-0055> |
| Repository (reproduction) | National Diet Library |
| Repository | Ministry of Foreign Affairs |
| Note | Microfilm |
