I published Unreported Modern History: Postwar History is a Clash Over Nuclear Weapons 11 years ago in April 2008. This book contains many of my bold predictions deduced from the extensive knowledge I have acquired and analyzed. I thought this book would get many people talking, but all the mass media outlets ignored it entirely. Afterwards, I started the “True Interpretations of Modern History” Essay Contest because I wanted to appeal to the public and get them thinking about accurate views of modern history. Surely many people remember how Toshio Tamogami, then-chief of staff of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, was the center of a major scandal involving the political world and media when he won the first Grand Prize (Fuji Seiji Prize) for his essay. I am confident this encouraged citizens to wake up to conservatism and helped Shinzo Abe regain the office of prime minister. I recently re-read Unreported Modern History, which was the start of these actions. Even if I say so myself, I believe this book includes extremely skillful historical analyses and has sufficient value that still applies in today’s circumstances. In this essay, I will excerpt some portions from my book.
● Foreword
The United States completely changed its Far East policy after North Korea carried out a nuclear test in October 2006, which impacted Japan, China, and South Korea. The background to this includes the Ryongchon incident, a train explosion at Ryongchon Station in North Korea. Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Jiang Zemin instigated some North Korean military authorities to carry out an assassination attempt on Kim Jong Il, who has continued the nuclear weapons program (even forcibly removing his father Kim Il Sung, who agreed to freeze the nuclear facilities). This attempt failed, and a fearful Kim Jong Il decided to bet everything on nuclear development.
Even looking solely at the modern era, there are countless cases of bloody, behind-the-scenes parts of history. An example is efforts by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who continually used forceful measures to remove journalists and political opponents, to hasten the completion of his own empire after his inauguration.
Day of Deceit: The Truth About FDR and Pearl Harbor by Robert B. Stinnett reveals how Japan was drawn into war with the U.S. against its will according to numerous plots by Harry Dexter White and other Soviet spies. The U.S. actually dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to threaten the Soviet Union and prepare for the upcoming Cold War, and to stave off criticism from Congress for using secret funding to develop the bombs. The Soviet Union was able to develop its own nuclear weapons because American nuclear specialists leaked information to the Soviet side to prevent these weapons from ever being used. The current Japanese constitution was written by the U.S. so Japan could never revise it and the U.S. would retain eternal control.
This book describes hidden parts of modern history that no one has reported on, based on documents released after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the VENONA files released by the U.S. in the late 1990s (containing decrypted Soviet information), and information I learned from my own sources (my network of friends abroad). I analyze this history calmly and boldly, revealing things that have been concealed. Japan is facing a national crisis and is surrounded by the nuclear states of North Korea, China, Russia, and the U.S. I wrote this book out of patriotic concern for the future of Japan, which we cannot say is a genuinely independent nation capable of defending itself.
● Chapter 1: We Must be Ready for the North Korea Crisis
As it had previously announced, North Korea carried out a nuclear test on October 9, 2006 in Punggye-ri, Kilju County, North Hamgyong Province (located in northeast North Korea). It was an underground test of a plutonium bomb. The North Korean authorities merely stated the test was successful without releasing any data or images. Based on information including seismic wave measurements, institutions in other countries estimate it was an extremely small bomb not on the level of those exploded in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It was the number-two topic, rather than the headline news, that night on Korean Central Television. It would have made sense if this test were extensively reported on as a great achievement under the guidance of Supreme Leader Kim Jong Il, so this raised some questions about whether the test had failed. However, it was certainly successful in the sense that North Korea displayed enough political and military power to make the U.S. totally change its policies regarding North Korea and East Asia.
Chinese President Jiang gave his seat to Hu Jintao in 2003, yet he kept his position as chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission to maintain power behind the scenes. Jiang was not fond of Kim Jong Il, who was trying to keep his distance from China and refused to stop nuclear development. Some have surmised that the People’s Liberation Army instigated North Korean military officials in an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Kim Jong Il in April 2004 at Ryongchon Station, on his way home from China, according to Jiang’s design. The carefully laid plan was to kill Kim Jong Il by putting 800 tons of high explosives, according to the length of the train car, underneath the irrigation channel along the main line. However, a Russian or American intelligence agency caught wind of this and leaked the information to Kim Jong Il because they wanted to prevent the birth of a pro-China puppet government, and Kim Jong Il narrowly escaped with his life. The explosion was ostensibly an accident, but I believe it was an intentional act.
● Chapter 2: China is Aiming to Gain Control of Japan
The American policy regarding North Korea changed significantly after the nuclear test in October 2006. The U.S. tried to finalize the six-party talks with an agreement allowing North Korea to keep its existing nuclear weapons as long as it did not carry out further nuclear development, enable the proliferation of nuclear technologies to terrorists and anti-American forces in the Middle East, or create higher-performance or miniature nuclear weapons. Both historically and today, North Korea has served an important geopolitical position in power struggles between China, Russia, Japan, and the U.S. President George W. Bush did not want a pro-Chinese or pro-Russian administration to replace the Kim Jong Il government. My conclusion is that Bush’s ultimate goal was to make Japan pay pre- and postwar reparations to North Korea, and to create a pro-American government in North Korea under the influence of the U.S. However, he ran out of time to do this.
According to this scenario, the original goal of the six-party talks was denuclearizing the North Korean Peninsula: making North Korea report all of its nuclear plans, abandon all nuclear weapons, and halt its nuclear weapons program. However, the talks suddenly transformed into a means to encourage the Kim Jong Il administration to have a pro-American stance. The U.S. acquiesced readily to bilateral talks with North Korea, something it had obstinately refused in the past. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Assistant Secretary of State Christoper R. Hill (head of the American delegation to the six-party talks), who were conspicuously in favor of reconciliation with North Korea, became visibly more partial to North Korea. China took notice of this American objective and put up strong opposition. It is also trying to throw the U.S. off balance by repeatedly stating it will work with Japan on the abduction issue. And unrelated to this, North Korea has clearly become estranged from China over the past few years.
If things continue this way, all of Japan’s neighbors will be nuclear states in the near future: the U.S., Russia, China, and a re-integrated Korea with North Korea’s nuclear weapons. This is not at all a needless fear. Japan must set forth a clearly defined national strategy to prepare for this, yet I wonder if our current leaders possess the awareness and resolution to do so.
● Chapter 3: True National Security Cannot be Discussed Without Nuclear Weapons
The Cold War began in the latter stages of World War II, when the war with Germany was winding down. The U.S. was working hurriedly to complete the atomic bomb. When the fight against Germany ended, the U.S. prolonged its war with Japan by giving ambiguous answers about whether to allow the continuance of the Emperor System in the reconciliation conditions. In this way it wanted to gain congressional approval for the bombs developed with secret funds and use them in Japan, with an eye to the Soviet threat in the postwar era. The U.S. completed the atomic bomb and tested two types (uranium and plutonium) by dropping them on Japan to demonstrate their might.
Meanwhile, the Soviet Union became a nuclear state with its successful nuclear bomb test in August 1949. It used leaked information from American nuclear technicians who feared that an American monopoly on nuclear weapons might lead to their usage in upcoming wars, and wanted to ensure these catastrophic weapons could never be employed in the future. Because both countries possessed these weapons, neither was able to utilize them. The U.S. and Soviet Union did not end up directly fighting World War III, but the Soviet Union no longer feared a nuclear attack on its own territory. Instead, they waged the Korean War, a war by proxy that broke out in 1950 when the Soviet Union forced its puppet Kim Il Sung to invade South Korea under the Syngman Rhee administration (an American puppet government). The war was a seesaw battle. The North Korean side was at a disadvantage, and was pushed back to the Chinese border. Right before the foundation of the People’s Republic of China, China joined the war to force a North Korean retreat. A cease-fire agreement was then signed in 1953 during a stalemate near the Military Demarcation Line (38th Parallel).
Masayuki Adachi, a pundit on the Asian economy, writes as follows in “The Danger of Leaving North Korea to the U.S.”:
Understanding this thoroughly, President Charles de Gaulle started the French nuclear program after World War II. In addition, the Soviet Union deployed SS20 missiles covering all of Western Europe during the Cold War. At that time, Western European member states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), having renounced nuclear development, asked the U.S. to bring in the U.S. Armed Forces and Pershing II missiles with nuclear warheads to their countries. They did not merely assume the Soviet Union would never use these weapons because the U.S. would retaliate with nuclear-equipped intercontinental ballistic missiles and intermediate-range ballistic missiles in the event of an emergency. The U.S. fulfilled this request, and these countries gained deterrence from nuclear weapons. This is in marked contrast to Japan, which has prohibited the introduction of nuclear weapons and even prevented any discussion on the topic.
However, this Japanese stance is actually a favorable one to the U.S. I described my thinking in another chapter, but to repeat my views, the latent threat to the U.S. is not North Korean nuclear weapons – it is that these weapons might induce Japan to start its own nucellar program. Japan has the plutonium and technical capability to do so. In fact, a non-Japanese friend of mine who is well versed in military affairs said with seriousness, “I bet Japan could develop nuclear weapons in one month if it put its mind to doing so.” However, these discussions are still being tamped down in Japan, removing the reason behind the earnest American efforts to stop North Korea from having nuclear weapons.
Now that North Korea possesses nuclear arms, Japan should by all rights develop its own nuclear weapons for the security of East Asia. However, as long as Japan is party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), I feel it would be difficult to amend the prohibitions on possessing and producing nuclear weapons under the Three Non-Nuclear Principles any time soon. Still, I think politicians could judge and decide to amend the prohibition on the introduction of nuclear weapons. Japan is home to American nuclear-powered aircraft carrier bases, and nuclear submarines stop frequently at our ports. Surely no one believes these aircraft carriers and submarines are removing their nuclear arms before coming to Japan, so in reality nuclear weapons are being “introduced” into the country. We should clearly recognize this, with no obfuscation or vagueness, and allow American military bases in Japan to deploy nuclear weapons.
After removing the prohibition on nuclear weapons introduction, nuclear sharing (the theme of this chapter) is the next thing worthy of consideration. This is an option to gain deterrence like the arrangement between the U.S. and five NATO countries that are not nuclear states (Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Turkey). The U.S. Armed Forces possess and control these weapons normally, but in times of war they can be provided to these nations, which is in effect nuclear armament. Accordingly, military personnel in these countries regularly hold joint exercises with the U.S. Armed Forces. For nuclear submarines, the military personnel from these countries board the submarines and train just like American soldiers. If war breaks out, the entire submarine will be put under the leadership of the country that is part of the agreement. This allows other nations to gain nuclear deterrence without developing or possessing nuclear weapons, and is a way for the U.S. to maintain a balance of power in Europe while preventing further nuclear proliferation.
Japan’s current constitution was originally formulated according to the American will by the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (GHQ). This constitution is actually a violation of international law, which prohibits an occupying power from imposing permanent laws. It should have been repealed when Japan gained independence through the Treaty of San Francisco, and a new, independent constitution should have been enacted. Despite this, many Japanese citizens strongly believe after Japan’s defeat in World War II that our country was liberated from the tragic circumstances of the war. Japanese people are also more docile, stoic, and virtuous than other ethnic groups, and are unfamiliar with schemes and tactics that take place between nations, which is why their minds have been controlled by the U.S. Put simply, the current constitution was written by the U.S. so it could retain eternal control over Japan.
The U.S. indiscriminately massacred around 100,000 regular Japanese citizens, including the atomic bomb attacks and Great Tokyo Air Raid near the end of the war. It was afraid that, if the Japanese people learned this truth, the U.S. would be relentlessly criticized and taken revenge upon when Japan regained its strength. That is why the U.S. forced a constitution that renounces war on Japan, for which there is no historical precedent. The Japanese side also had a psychological inclination for accepting and disregarding this, and when Japan gained independence the annulment or revision of the constitution was not taken up as a priority political issue.
● Chapter 4: Appealing to Correct Historical Awareness
The 20th century is described as a century of war, including two world wars; the Korean War in which more than four million soldiers and civilians lost their lives, ending with the two countries being tragically divided for over 50 years; the Vietnam War, the only time the American superpower has experienced the bitterness of defeat; and the Gulf War, the last war of the 20th century. Military actions under the name of the “War on Terror” have been conducted in Afghanistan and Iraq during the 21st century. These are different from past wars, because they are asymmetrical, one-sided military movements carried out by the U.S. as a means of punishment. This seems to be the very definition of what Carl von Clausewitz wrote in On War: “War is the continuation of politics by other means.”
Japan was also constantly involved in wars during the early 20th century, from the start of the Russo-Japanese War in 1904 to the 1945 defeat in the Pacific War. Looking back at these two battles in which Japan fought with all its strength, even now I get a keen sense that we were fighting for worthy, just causes, and that victory cannot be easily won without meticulous intelligence gathering.
Japan faced overwhelming disadvantages against the Russian Army (said to be the most powerful in the world) during the Russo-Japanese War, but it put its life on the line and strived for victory by devoting great efforts to gathering and analyzing information. Japanese people generally recall the Battle of Tsushima and Battle of Mukden as decisive battles, but even more important to Japan’s victory were the intelligence and espionage activities of General Motojiro Akashi. He infiltrated Russia and Northern Europe according to a secret order from the Army General Staff Office. Akashi communicated with Lenin and other members of the Revolutionary Party, who were working underground to overthrow the imperial government. He built very close connections with them and provided material and moral support to stir up revolts in Russia and ruin the imperial government. Afterwards, German Emperor Wilhelm II said with wonder, “All on his own, the Japanese Akashi’s accomplishments were the equal of 200,000 members of the Manchukuo Imperial Army. He is a truly tremendous man.”
Various sources, including documents discovered in a fragmentary manner, show the U.S. plotted to make the Japanese Army strike first. A deeply rooted theory says President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the top government officials underneath him were fully aware of the Pearl Harbor attack. I felt confident that the U.S. worked to start the Pacific War based on my views of history, the world, and nations developed from books, materials, and long years of reading printed information, as well as from having traveled around the globe and experienced local history, cultures, ways of thinking, and the actual places where things occurred. Stinnett’s Day of Deceit: The Truth About FDR and Pearl Harbor (published in 1999 by Free Press and in 2001 by Bungeishunju) upholds my beliefs with physical evidence and testimony. I agree with this book and am deeply impressed by its careful, scrupulous structure. Stinnett is a navy veteran who fought in World War II in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans with former President George H. W. Bush (then a navy lieutenant). This heroic man was given 10 battle stars and a Presidential Unit Citation. He worked as a newspaper photographer and journalist after the war, then left his job to spend 17 years writing this book based on unearthed documents (classified at the time by the American government), as well as interviews with involved persons who were still living. He is an authority on World War history and has also worked as a TV and newspaper advisor on the Pacific War.
The Preface reads as follows:
[…]
As a veteran of the Pacific War, I felt a sense of outrage as I uncovered secrets that had been hidden from Americans for more than fifty years. But I understood the agonizing dilemma faced by President Roosevelt. He was forced to find circuitous means to persuade an isolationist America to join in a fight for freedom. He knew this would cost lives. How many, he could not have known.
Japan’s anger finally reached an explosive level due to the Hull Note. According to Stinnett’s book, Lieutenant Commander Arthur H. McCollum, head of the Far East desk of the U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence, submitted a memorandum in October 1940 containing eight actions to provoke Japan into war. The son of a missionary, McCollum was born in Nagasaki and spent his youth in several Japanese cities. He had a good understanding of Japanese culture and deep knowledge of the nature and behavioral principles of Japanese people. McCollum wrote a five-page memorandum that included items such as refusing to provide oil to Japan (which was incorporated into the Hull Note one year after), a total trade embargo, and giving aid to Chiang Kai-shek. Direct provocation included sending a squadron of heavy cruisers and submarines to the Orient. However, at this stage the Hull Note did not include withdrawing the Japanese Army from China and aiding Chiang – which infuriated Japan more than anything – and it did not touch on the Tripartite Pact.
The U.S. Armed Forces knowing that an attack was imminent would raise suspicions that Japanese codes had been decrypted and spies had infiltrated Japan. Roosevelt knew it would be disadvantageous if the decrypted codes were changed. In fact, the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters did not realize all its codes had been broken by the U.S. The U.S. was entirely aware of the Japanese actions before the Battle of Midway the following year, Solomon, Marianas, Leyte, and other major battles that influenced the state of the war. This led to many fatal defeats.
End of excerpts
Re-reading this book made me feel that, if the Japanese government had introduced these analyses and recommendations 11 years ago, it would likely have implemented somewhat better policies than today, and a constitutional revision motion could have been submitted when members in favor obtained two thirds of the seats in the National Diet. Knowing about the past and analyzing the present makes the future visible. There are few new copies left of Unreported Modern History, but used copies are available on Amazon. Today more than ever, I definitely hope many people will read this book.
July 13 (Saturday), 2019, 10:30 p.m.