International Negotiations: What can be learned from the closing weeks of World War II
The Fall of Japan: The final weeks of World War II in the Pacific. William Craig. New York: Open Road Media, 2015.
“Japan today unconditionally surrendered the hemispheric empire taken by force and held almost intact for more than two years against the rising power of the United States and its Allies in the Pacific war.” New York Times, August 14, 1945.
Last week, the United States remembered “The day that would live in infamy,” the 74th Anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. To most people, the Pacific War ended with the dropping of two atomic weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the immediate surrender of the government and the military. Some historians argue, however, that Japan was ready to surrender after U.S. bombers nearly destroyed Tokyo with incendiary bombs and the civilian population was suffering from drastic food shortages. Tsuyoshi Hasegawa, author of Racing the Enemy: Stalin, Truman, and the surrender of Japan, argues President Harry S. Truman ordered the bombing to warn the Soviet Union of the existence of the atomic bomb and to end the war before the Soviet Union could join the fighting and expect a larger role in the peace process. Nevertheless, what was going on inside the Japanese government and military? The Fall of Japan provides three lessons for studying international negotiations:
· Ensure you know who holds both the de jure and the de facto power.
· Listen and fully understand overtures from all players, both official and unofficial.
· What looks like a done deal may, in fact, not be done.
William Craig wrote The Fall of Japan: The Final Weeks of World War II in the Pacific decades ago, but the story he tells is still relevant in view of today’s international negotiations.
Ensure you know who holds both the de jure and the de facto power
There are three points that the reader can take from The Fall of Japan. First, Craig discusses the political maneuvering by both officials in the government and elder statesmen (jushin) who did not have an official role in the government but garnered great influence over the Emperor. After the failure of Admiral Yamamoto to finish off the U.S. fleet at the Battle of Midway, many felt the opportunity to defeat the Allies was slipping away. In their advisory capacity to the Emperor, the jushin, all former premiers, decided that Tojo had to be removed. They worked to restrict his power until he was eventually removed and a new cabinet formed.
Listen and fully understand overtures from all players, both official and unofficial
In 1944, as Japanese forces were being forced back to the home islands, a small group of Japanese officers and officials attempted to open communications with the United States through the Berne and Berlin defense attaché offices; Japanese officials at the International Trade Bank in Switzerland and the OSS Station in Berne. In July 1945 at Potsdam, Allen Dulles, chief of the Berne OSS station delivered a message to Secretary of State Henry Stimson. However, Stimson appeared “harried…immersed in the myriad of details of the conference and the Secretary showed only slight interest in Dulles’s story.” The Combined Intelligence Committee that reported to President Truman issued a report assessing “Japan will use all political means for avowing complete defeat or unconditional surrender. “
What looks like a done deal may, in fact, not be done
Lastly, as Japan suffered from the explosion of the two atomic bombs, the circle of power began to fear assassination and coups against the government.
“I cannot help feeling sad when I think of the people who served me so faithfully, the soldiers and sailors who have been killed or wounded in far-off battles, the families who have lost all their worldly goods, and often their lives as well….Nevertheless, the time has come when we must bear the unbearable.” Emperor Hirohito
As the details of the surrender were planned and U.S. Navy ships steamed toward Tokyo Harbor, a small group of officers began to plot a revolution and on August 11, 1945 fifteen officers met to discuss implementing their plan where the “ultimate aim was to reject the peace terms.” Over 1,500 soldiers went to the street to capture the generals and officials identified by the leaders of the coup.
Over the next several days, the rebels killed many Japanese officials and others would take their own lives by committing suicide. However, within days, the war was over, the rebellion failed, and the surrender was signed on the deck of the USS Missouri.
These three points are important and remain relevant as one studies international negotiations today. Negotiators must look beyond the face and eyes of the person across the table and at the situation, the nation, and all aspects of issue. The solution to the issue may already be lying just under the surface!
The Fall of Japan is a must read for World War II historians as well as those readers interested war strategy!
About the book’s author. William Craig wrote two bestsellers, The Fall of Japan and Enemies at the Gate, and several novels. According to his obituary he we was an advertising sales representative and won $42,000 on the game show Tic-Tac-Dough. He used the money to attend Columbia University where he earned a Bachelor and Master’s degree in history.
Dave Mattingly is a writer and national security consultant. He retired from the U.S. Navy with over thirty years of service. He is a member of the Military Writers Guild, NETGALLEY Challenge 2015 and a NETGALLEY Professional Reader.
