was a Japanese

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

both during and after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Shun'ichi Kase was a secretary to Japanese Foreign Minister Yōsuke Matsuoka in 1941. Then he was

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, as of 1943. Subsequently, he served as Japanese Ambassador to

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

(in 1945), Japanese Ambassador to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

(in 1952), and Japanese Ambassador to

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(1953-1956). The names Shun'ichi Kase and Toshikazu Kase are spelled in Japanese using the same characters, but are two different people. Toshikazu was a bureau chief in the foreign office in Tokyo who also served as secretary to several foreign ministers.

Role in final days of World War II

While serving as Japan's ambassador to Switzerland, Kase advised his government about the Potsdam Declaration which demanded the

surrender of Japan The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, bringing the war's hostilities to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy ...

. On July 27, 1945, he observed that unconditional surrender applied only to the military and not to the government or the people, and he pleaded that it should be understood that the careful language of Potsdam appeared "to have occasioned a great deal of thought" on the part of the signatory governments—"they seem to have taken pains to save face for us on various points." Nevertheless, Japan rejected the Potsdam Declaration, and soon thereafter atomic bombs fell on

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui h ...

and

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, while the

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joined the war against Japan. On August 10, 1945, at the behest of Emperor Hirohito, the Japanese government announced its acceptance of the Potsdam terms, provided that the Emperor would remain in place. The announcement of the decision was dispatched to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

through Kase.

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and the

were notified through Japan's ambassador to

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. That position still fell short of the U.S. "unconditional surrender" demand, retaining the sticking point that had held up the war's conclusion for months. Strong voices within the administration, including Secretary of State James Byrnes, counseled fighting on. At that point, " ecretary of the Navy JamesForrestal came up with a shrewd and simple solution: Accept the offer and declare that it accomplishes what the Potsdam Declaration demanded. Say that the Emperor and the Japanese government will rule subject to the orders of the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers. This would imply recognition of the Emperor while tending to neutralize American public passions against the Emperor. Truman liked this. It would be close enough to 'unconditional.'"J. Robert Moskin, ''Mr. Truman's War'' (1996), pp. 311-313

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kase, Shun'ichi 1897 births 1956 deaths Ambassadors of Japan to Switzerland Ambassadors of Japan to Mexico Ambassadors of Japan to West Germany

Role in final days of World War II

See also

References