The was established during the development of representative government in Meiji period Japan to further strengthen the authority of the state. Its first leader was

Yamagata Aritomo '' Gensui'' Prince , also known as Prince Yamagata Kyōsuke, was a senior-ranking Japanese military commander, twice-elected Prime Minister of Japan, and a leading member of the '' genrō'', an élite group of senior statesmen who dominated J ...

(1838–1922), a Chōshū native who has been credited with the founding of the modern

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...

and was the first constitutional

Prime Minister of Japan The prime minister of Japan (Japanese: 内閣総理大臣, Hepburn: ''Naikaku Sōri-Daijin'') is the head of government of Japan. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Japan and has the ability to select and dismiss its Ministers of Sta ...

. The Supreme War Council developed a German-style general staff system with a chief of staff who had direct access to the

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

and who could operate independently of the army minister and civilian officials. The Supreme War Council was the ''de facto'' inner cabinet of Japan prior to the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...

Liaison Conference

From November 1937 and following

Emperor Shōwa Emperor , commonly known in English-speaking countries by his personal name , was the 124th emperor of Japan, ruling from 25 December 1926 until his death in 1989. Hirohito and his wife, Empress Kōjun, had two sons and five daughters; he was ...

's order, the ''Gunji sangikan kaigi'' was in effect replaced by the Imperial General Headquarters-Government Liaison Conference (大本営政府連絡会議 ''Daihon'ei seifu renraku kaigi''). The Liaison Conferences were intended by the Emperor to bring the chiefs of the Army and Navy General Staff into closer consultation with his government, and to assist in integrating the decisions and needs of the two military sections of Imperial General Headquarters with the resources and policies of the rest of the government. The final decisions of Liaison Conferences were formally disclosed and approved at Imperial Conferences over which the Emperor presided in person at the Kyūden of the

Tokyo Imperial Palace The is the main residence of the Emperor of Japan. It is a large park-like area located in the Chiyoda district of the Chiyoda ward of Tokyo and contains several buildings including the where the Emperor has his living quarters, the where va ...

. Its members were the following officials: * the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

: Fumimaro Konoe,

Hiranuma Kiichirō was a prominent right-wing Japanese politician and Prime Minister of Japan in 1939. He was convicted of war crimes committed during World War II and was sentenced to life imprisonment. Early life Hiranuma was born in what is now Tsuyama C ...

Nobuyuki Abe was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army, Governor-General of Korea, and Prime Minister of Japan. Early life and military career Abe was born on November 24, 1875, in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, the son of former samurai Abe Nobumitsu. ...

Mitsumasa Yonai was a Japanese general and politician. He served as admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy, Minister of the Navy, and Prime Minister of Japan in 1940. Early life and career Yonai was born on 2 March 1880, in Morioka, Iwate Prefecture, the firs ...

* the

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

* the

Minister of War A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

* the

Minister of the Navy Minister of the Navy may refer to: * Minister of the Navy (France) * Minister of the Navy (Italy) The Italian Minister of the Navy ( it, Ministri della Marina del Regno) was a member in the Council Ministers until 1947, when the ministry merged ...

* the Chief of the Army General Staff * the Chief of the Navy General Staff

Supreme Council for the Direction of the War

In 1944, Prime Minister Kuniaki Koiso established the Supreme Council for the Direction of the War (最高戦争指導会議 ''Saikō sensō shidō kaigi''), which replaced the Imperial General Headquarters-Government Liaison Conference. At the end of the war on August 14, 1945, it consisted of: *Prime Minister: Admiral

Kantarō Suzuki Baron was a Japanese general and politician. He was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy, member and final leader of the Imperial Rule Assistance Association and Prime Minister of Japan from 7 April to 17 August 1945. Biography Early l ...

*Minister of Foreign Affairs:

Shigenori Tōgō (10 December 1882 – 23 July 1950), was Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Empire of Japan at both the start and the end of the Axis–Allied conflict during World War II. He also served as Minister of Colonial Affairs in 1941, and assume ...

*Minister of War: General

Korechika Anami was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II who was War Minister during the surrender of Japan. Early life and career Anami was born in Taketa city in Ōita Prefecture, where his father was a senior bureaucrat in the Home M ...

*Minister of the Navy: Admiral

*Chief of the Army General Staff: General

Yoshijirō Umezu (January 4, 1882 – January 8, 1949) was a Japanese general in World War II and Chief of the Army General Staff during the final years of the conflict. He was convicted of war crimes and sentenced to life imprisonment. Biography Early life a ...

*Chief of the Navy General Staff: Admiral

Soemu Toyoda was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II. Biography Early career Toyoda was born in what is now part Kitsuki city, Ōita Prefecture. He graduated from the 33rd class of the Imperial Japanese Navy Academy in 1905, ranked 26 ...

Liaison Conference

Supreme Council for the Direction of the War

See also