Ministry of Greater East Asia - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The was a cabinet

Cabinet (government)

A Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :...

-level ministry in the government of the Empire of Japan

Empire of Japan

The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...

from 1942–1945, established to administer overseas territories obtained by Japan in the Pacific War

Pacific War

The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...

and to coordinate the establishment and development of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere

Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere

The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere was a concept created and promulgated during the Shōwa era by the government and military of the Empire of Japan. It represented the desire to create a self-sufficient "bloc of Asian nations led by the Japanese and free of Western powers"...

History and development

The Ministry of Greater East Asia was established on 1 November 1942 under the administration of Prime Minister

Prime Minister of Japan

The is the head of government of Japan. He is appointed by the Emperor of Japan after being designated by the Diet from among its members, and must enjoy the confidence of the House of Representatives to remain in office...

Hideki Tōjō

Hideki Tōjō was a general of the Imperial Japanese Army , the leader of the Taisei Yokusankai, and the 40th Prime Minister of Japan during most of World War II, from 17 October 1941 to 22 July 1944...

, by absorbing the earlier and merging it with the East Asia Department and South Pacific Department of the Foreign Ministry

Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Japan)

The is a cabinet level ministry of Japan responsible for the country's foreign relations.The ministry is due to the second term of the third article of the National Government Organization Act , and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Establishment Act establishes the ministry...

and the , which looked after affairs in Japanese-occupied China.

Theoretically, the ministry had political and administrative responsibilities in a vast (4.4 million square kilometer) area under Japanese influence (from the Aleutians, 4,500 miles south to the Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...

, from Wake island

Wake Island

Wake Island is a coral atoll having a coastline of in the North Pacific Ocean, located about two-thirds of the way from Honolulu west to Guam east. It is an unorganized, unincorporated territory of the United States, administered by the Office of Insular Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior...

5,000 miles to west to Burma and the Andaman

Andaman Islands

The Andaman Islands are a group of Indian Ocean archipelagic islands in the Bay of Bengal between India to the west, and Burma , to the north and east...

s), with perhaps a population of over 300 million inhabitants. In reality, wartime conditions meant that the ministry was little more than a paper creation. Aside from the first Minister of Greater East Asia, Kazuo Aoki

Kazuo Aoki

, was a bureaucrat and cabinet minister in the Empire of Japan, serving as Minister of Finance, and Minister of Greater East Asia.- Biography :Aoki was born to a farming family in Sarashina District, Nagano prefecture , and was trained as a lawyer, graduating from the Law School of Tokyo Imperial...

, all succeeding ministers simultaneously held the portfolio of Foreign Minister

Minister for Foreign Affairs (Japan)

The of Japan is the Cabinet member responsible for Japanese foreign policy and the chief executive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.Since the end of the American occupation of Japan, the position has been one of the most powerful in the Cabinet, as Japan's economic interests have long relied on...

The Ministry of Greater East Asia was abolished on 26 August 1945 by order of the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers

Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers

Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers was the title held by General Douglas MacArthur during the Occupation of Japan following World War II...

after the surrender of Japan

Surrender of Japan

The surrender of Japan in 1945 brought hostilities of World War II to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy was incapable of conducting operations and an Allied invasion of Japan was imminent...

brought an end to Japan's overseas holdings.

Ministers of Greater East Asia

	Name	Cabinet	From	To
1	Aoki Kazuo	Tōjō Hideki Tōjō Hideki Tōjō was a general of the Imperial Japanese Army , the leader of the Taisei Yokusankai, and the 40th Prime Minister of Japan during most of World War II, from 17 October 1941 to 22 July 1944...	1 November 1942	22 July 1944
2	Shigemitsu Mamoru Mamoru Shigemitsu was a Japanese diplomat and politician in the Empire of Japan, who served as the Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs at the end of World War II.-Biography:...	Koiso Kuniaki Koiso - Notes :...	22 July 1944	7 April 1945
3	Suzuki Kantarō Kantaro Suzuki Baron was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy, member and final leader of the Taisei Yokusankai and 42nd Prime Minister of Japan from 7 April-17 August 1945.-Early life:...	Suzuki Kantaro Suzuki Baron was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy, member and final leader of the Taisei Yokusankai and 42nd Prime Minister of Japan from 7 April-17 August 1945.-Early life:...	7 April 1945	9 April 1945
4	Tōgō Shigenori Shigenori Togo was Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Empire of Japan at both the start and the end of the Japanese-American conflict during World War II...	Suzuki Kantaro Suzuki Baron was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy, member and final leader of the Taisei Yokusankai and 42nd Prime Minister of Japan from 7 April-17 August 1945.-Early life:...	9 April 1945	17 August 1945
5	Shigemitsu Mamoru Mamoru Shigemitsu was a Japanese diplomat and politician in the Empire of Japan, who served as the Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs at the end of World War II.-Biography:...	Higashikuni	17 August 1945	25 August 1945

External links

WW2DB: Greater East Asia Conference
"Foreign Office Files for Japan and the Far East". Adam Matthew Publications. Accessed 2 March 2005.

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History and development

Ministers of Greater East Asia

See also

External links