Gunbatsu - Gunbatsu in Terms of National Policy

Gunbatsu in Terms of National Policy

From the formation of the Imperial Japanese Army and Imperial Japanese Navy following the Meiji Restoration, the military had a very strong influence over the civilian government. The early Meiji government viewed Japan as threatened by western imperialism, and one of the prime motivations for the Fukoku Kyohei policy was to strengthen Japan's economic and industrial foundations, so that a strong military could be built to defend Japan against outside powers. Almost all leaders in the military were ex-samurai or descendents of samurai, and shared a common set of values and outlooks.

A major factor in the political power of the military was its complete freedom from civilian control, as guaranteed under the Meiji Constitution. In 1878, the Imperial Japanese Army established the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff office, modeled after the Prussian General Staff. This office was independent of, and equal to (and later superior) to the Ministry of War of Japan in terms of authority. The Imperial Japanese Navy soon followed with the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff. These General Staff offices were responsible for the planning and execution of military operations, and reported directly to the emperor. As the Chiefs of the General Staff were not cabinet ministers, they did not report to the Prime Minister of Japan, and were thus completely independent of civilian oversight or control.

The Army and the Navy also had decisive say on the formation of (and survival of) any civilian cabinet. Since the law required that the posts of Army Minister and Navy Minister be filled by active duty officers nominated by their respective services, and since the law also required that the prime minister resign if he could not fill all of his cabinet posts, both the Army and the Navy had final say on the formation of a government, and could bring down the cabinet at any time by withdrawing their minister and refusing to nominate a successor. In actuality, this tactic was used only one time (ironically to prevent General Kazushige Ugaki from becoming prime minister in 1937), the threat always loomed high when the military made any demands on the civilian leadership.

Between 1885 and 1945, generals and admirals held 15 of the 30 premierships, and 115 of the 404 civilian cabinet posts. The military also had a broad political power base via the Imperial Military Reservist’s Association and other political organizations, including nationalist political parties and secret societies.