Supreme War Council (Japan) - Liaison Conference

Liaison Conference

From November 1937 and following Emperor Shōwa's order, the Gunji sangikan kaigi was in effect replaced by the Imperial General Headquarters-Government Liaison Conference. The Liaison Conferences were intended by the emperor to bring the chiefs of Army and Navy General Staff into closer consultation with his government and to assist in integrating the decisions and needs of the two military sections of Imperial General Headquarters with the resources and policies of the rest of the government. The final decisions of Liaison Conferences were formally disclosed and approved at Imperial Conferences over which the emperor presided in person at the Kyūden of the Tokyo Imperial Palace.

Amongst its members were the following people:

• the Emperor of Japan
• the Prime Minister
• the Minister of Foreign Affairs
• the Minister of War
• the Minister of the Navy
• the Chief of the Army General Staff and
• the Chief of the Navy General Staff

On the eve of the Attack on Pearl Harbor, the most notable members of the conference consisted of:

• Emperor Shōwa
• Prime Minister: General Hideki Tōjō
• Minister of Foreign Affairs: Shigenori Tōgō
• Minister of War: General Hideki Tōjō
• Minister of the Navy: Admiral Shimada Shigetaro
• Chief of the Army General Staff: General Sugiyama Hajime
• Chief of the Navy General Staff: Admiral Nagano Osami