894.011/9–2446
The Chairman of the Far Eastern Commission (McCoy) to the Acting Secretary of State (Clayton)94
My Dear Mr. Secretary: As you are aware, the Far Eastern Commission has been considering the Japanese Draft Constitution officially during the past several weeks. During this period the various representatives on the Commission have been stating the positions of their respective governments. They have frequently pointed out that important matters which normally would be included in a Constitution, such as the composition of the House of Peers, are to be determined by subsequent legislation. It has been the general opinion that such implementing laws should be made available to the Commission for review since they would be an essential part of the new constitutional structure which is being erected in Japan. The Commission believes that it is competent to pass upon both the new Constitution and the implementing laws to ascertain whether they are inconsistent in any respect with the Potsdam Declaration and the policy decisions of the Far Eastern Commission.
I have agreed with the other members of the Commission in their point of view, and accordingly stated at the 24th Meeting of the Commission on August 28, 1946, and again at the 26th Meeting on September 19, 1946, that subsequent implementing legislation would be filed with the Commission by the United States Government and that the Commission might pass a policy decision in regard to any aspect of [Page 318] implementing legislation which the Commission agreed was inconsistent with the principles of the Potsdam Declaration or relevant Commission policy decisions.
Your attention is invited to this commitment on behalf of the United States Government. It would be my understanding that the following procedure is in order. Draft implementing legislation on important subjects would be filed with the Commission as it is submitted to the Diet. The Commission may review such legislation if it involves policies within the jurisdiction of the Commission, and may pass a policy decision in regard to it if the Commission should deem such decision necessary to make the legislation consistent with the Potsdam Declaration and the policy decisions of the Far Eastern Commission. Such a policy decision would be sent to the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers through the usual means of a directive issued by the United States Government.
A list is enclosed of the titles of bills reported in the Japanese press as constituting the principal items of implementing legislation for the Constitution. I understand that these bills are to be introduced at an extraordinary session of the Diet this fall. These might be requested from the Supreme Commander for file with the Commission as the first step in honoring our commitment.
Sincerely yours,
- Ernest A. Gross, Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of State for Occupied Areas (Hilldring), on September 26 asked Mr. Hugh Borton, Acting Chief of the Division of Japanese Affairs, to draft a reply and said: “I think we should clarify point that FEC will not pass upon implementing legislation in draft stages. Perhaps we should discuss this with Dean Rusk.” Mr. Rusk was Special Assistant to the Secretary of War (Patterson). On October 9 Mr. Borton sent Mr. Gross a draft reply “as a possible basis for discussion with Mr. Rusk of the War Department.” (894011/9–2446)↩