The notion that America unilaterally imposed Japan’s post-war Constitution and its famous peace clause, Article 9, upon the Japanese is a common misperception— not only in Japan, but also worldwide. In his forthcoming book Japan In The World: Shidehara Kijûrô: Pacifism and the Abolition of War. 1 Peace historian Klaus Schlichtmann illuminates the true story behind Article 9, spotlighting the decisive role played by Shidehara Kijuro, Japan’s pacifist foreign minister in the 1920’s and second Occupation-era prime minister, As chairman of the West-German world federalists from 1980 to 1992, Klaus started doing his own research on peace. That is when he stumbled upon the international law provisions in national constitutions, especially Article 24 of the German Basic Law, that delegate powers to the United Nations to further collective security and to outlaw war. This led him to Japan’s Article 9. Enrolling at the University of Kiel, Klaus studied history, political science and international law, completing his master’s thesis on Article 9 and its presumed author, Shidehara Kijuro in 1990. In early 1992, Klaus went to Tokyo to deepen his research, paying daily visits to the Shidehara Heiwa Bunko (Shidehara Peace Library), 2 then housed in the National Diet Library. At the end of his three-month stay, he was granted a scholarship from the Japanese-German Center Berlin and accepted as a visiting scholar at Japan’s Sophia University. He is presently working on a new book in German about Japan, and another one on the history of ideas of peace in India. Please give us a short history of Article 9. Most people are not aware of the fact that in the 19th century an international peace movement with the aim to abolish war already existed. The opening up of the West in the Age of Enlightenment to ideas and literatures of the Orient, especially the universalism and philosophies of India and China, had a definite impact on the European ideas of peace, justice and the international rule of law. Some of this found expression in the Constitution of the First French Republic and the general development of international law. The first Peace Societies were established in the United States and Great Britain in 1815 and 1816, respectively. These led to the convocation of the First Hague Peace Conference in 1899, which aimed at universal disarmament, and the creation of an international court equipped to resolve international disputes peacefully. More than 100 years ago at the Hague Peace Conferences it was already understood that in order to disarm one needs to ensure peace and security by creating an international legal system. When a dispute arose countries would be prohibited from going to war and instead have to go to court. It’s amazing that this very basic idea and its history are not better known. The project failed, though — as did the Second Hague Peace Conference in 1907 — because a full consensus was required for the vote on binding international jurisdiction, without which disarmament was considered impossible. Textbooks seldom mention the universal Hague Confederation of States (as some called the 1899 and 1907 assemblies) as forerunner of the League of Nations and the UN. However, the First World War, disarmament, mediation and arbitration continued to be predominant concerns of the League in the interwar period. Added to these was the idea of collective security. But the international court at The Hague was still an independent institution outside the League. With the advent of the United Nations in 1945, replacing the League of Nations, the court was integrated into the UN system, making it resemble more closely a supranational government; also, the UN Security Council opened itself to the members, to enable them to delegate powers to create an effective executive, something that was not possible with the League Council. So, the victorious powers (more or less the same nations that had favored binding international jurisdiction and disarmament at The Hague) had learnt from the mistakes of the League. In spite of that, collective security was never put into effect after the Second World War. What does your research reveal about Shidehara’s pacifist beliefs and activities? Having received expert legal training as a student at Tokyo’s Imperial University, Shidehara knew about developments in international and constitutional law. Japan had participated in both Hague Peace Conferences, and Shidehara was on his way to Europe when the first conference took place. Though he was not part of the Japanese delegation, he watched these developments closely. At the time of the second peace conference he was chief liaison in the Foreign Ministry in permanent contact with the Japanese delegation at The Hague. Being a young diplomat, he embraced the idealism in these conferences. As an intelligence officer in the foreign ministry during the First World War and chairman of the preparatory committee for the post-war peace conference, he became one of the best-informed foreign ministry officials with regard to international relations and the organization of peace. One of the developments in the interwar period was the idea of including provisions in national constitutions to prohibit aggressive war. As ambassador to the United States from 1919-1922 Shidehara became acquainted with the American war-outlawry movement, which had come out of the First World War — the “war to end war” — and eventually led to the Kellogg-Briand Pact, 3 endorsed by the U.S. Government. Although not a League of Nations member, the U.S. was intensely pacifist in the interwar period, and this too had an impact on Shidehara as he bacame one of the architects of the Versailles and Washington treaties, 4 as well as the Kellogg-Briand Pact. As Foreign Minister between 1924 and 1931 Shidehara became known for his conciliatory and anti-militaristic policies. He was also one of the most prominent Japanese to extend peace feelers after 1937, aiming to end the war with China, and to avert war with the United States. After the war, when Shidehara was appointed Prime Minister, he seized the opportunity to place Japan in the vanguard of this movement for development cooperation and peaceful policies worldwide.
“Senso Hoki” (Renunciation of War) was an illustration that appeared in the main middle-school textbook for social students, Atarashi Kempo No Hanashi (The Story of the New Constitution). It was published in 1947, but discontinued after the outbreak of the Korean War.
