Misplaced Pages

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58-572: Zenrō was established in 1954 by a number of unions on the right-wing of the trade union movement, who had become unhappy with the increasingly left-wing political stance of the General Council of Trade Unions of Japan (Sōhyō) under the leadership of its militant secretary-general Minoru Takano . Politically speaking, Zenrō was tied closely to the Right Socialist Party (RSP), to whom it provided electoral support, and following

116-402: A neutral country during the war, its colony of East Timor had been invaded by Japan (the colony of Macau was not occupied but rather assigned Japanese 'advisors' to its government). Pakistan, although it had not existed as a state at the time of the war, was invited because it was seen as a successor state to British India , a major combatant against Japan. The Soviet Union took part in

174-593: A large number of strikes for higher wages across many different industries. Sōhyō's period of militancy culminated in 1960 when it took a leading role in the massive Anpo protests against revision of the US Japan Security Treaty , as well as the large-scale strike at the Miike Coal Mine in northern Kyushu . As part of the anti-Security Treaty Struggle, Sōhyō organized a nationwide general strike that involved 6.4 million workers and remains

232-754: A later time in accordance with the principles of peaceful settlement of disputes and self-determination , ideas that had been enshrined in the UN Charter . The document officially renounces Japan's treaty rights derived from the Boxer Protocol of 1901 and its rights to Korea , Formosa and the Pescadores , Hong Kong (then a British colony), the Kuril Islands , the Spratly Islands , Antarctica and South Sakhalin . Article 3 of

290-533: A lengthy 8 September 1951, statement by Gromyko. The statement contained a number of the Soviet Union's claims and assertions: that the treaty did not provide any guarantees against the rise of Japanese militarism ; that China was not invited to participate despite being one of the main victims of the Japanese aggression; that the Soviet Union was not properly consulted when the treaty was being prepared; that

348-475: A separate peace treaty, the Treaty of Peace Between Japan and India , for the purpose of giving Japan a proper position of honor and equality among the community of free nations, on June 9, 1952. Italy was not invited, despite its government having issued a formal declaration of war on Japan on July 14, 1945, just a few weeks before the end of the war. Nor was Portugal invited, even though, despite its status as

406-573: A view to assisting to compensate those countries for the cost of repairing the damage done, by making available the services of the Japanese people in production, salvaging and other work for the Allied Powers in question. Accordingly, the Philippines and South Vietnam received compensation in 1956 and 1959, respectively. Burma and Indonesia were not original signatories, but they later signed bilateral treaties in accordance with Article 14 of

464-451: Is either illegitimate or temporary and must be resolved via the postcolonial principle of self-determination . Proponents of this theory generally do not claim that Japan still has or should have sovereignty over Taiwan, though there are exceptions. Because South Korea did not sign the treaty, it was not entitled to the benefits provided to by Article 14, so South Koreans directly affected by Japanese atrocities were not compensated upon

522-883: Is merely an internal problem of China." However, the ROC Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejected this justification, arguing that the Instrument of Surrender of Japan accepts the Potsdam Declaration and the Cairo Declaration , which intends Taiwan and Penghu to be restored to the ROC. Supporters of Taiwan independence point out that the Potsdam Declaration and the Cairo Declaration were not treaties, but President Ma expressed that

580-559: Is not a part of the Republic of China, for it does not explicitly state the sovereignty status of Taiwan after Japan's renunciation. In 1955, U.S. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles , co-author of the San Francisco Peace Treaty, affirmed that the treaty ceded Taiwan to no one; that Japan "merely renounced sovereignty over Taiwan". Dulles said that America "cannot, therefore, admit that the disposition of Taiwan

638-734: The Allied Powers on behalf of the United Nations by ending the legal state of war, military occupation and providing for redress for hostile actions up to and including World War II . It was signed by 49 nations on 8 September 1951, in San Francisco , California , at the War Memorial Opera House . Italy and China were not invited, the latter due to disagreements on whether the Republic of China or

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696-593: The Dominican Republic , Ecuador , Egypt , El Salvador , Ethiopia , France , Greece , Guatemala , Haiti , Honduras , India , Indonesia , Iran , Iraq , Japan , Laos , Lebanon , Liberia , Luxembourg , Mexico , the Netherlands , New Zealand , Nicaragua , Norway , Pakistan , Panama , Paraguay , Peru , the Philippines , Poland , Saudi Arabia , South Africa , State of Vietnam ,

754-766: The Government of Japan did not have specific laws concerning military yen compensation and that the United Kingdom was a signatory to the Treaty of San Francisco. Regarding China, on September 29, 1972, the Government of the People's Republic of China declared "that in the interest of the friendship between the Chinese and the Japanese peoples, it renounces its demand for war reparation from Japan" in article 5 of

812-675: The Japan Communist Party be allowed to participate. This controversial decision also caused Nishio and the other right socialists to bolt the JSP and form the new Democratic Socialist Party , which Zenrō thereafter supported. Not that the left socialists and Sōhyō were necessarily sorry to see Zenrō and Nishio gone, as Zenrō had purchased Sōhyō's enmity by repeatedly attempting to hive off Zenrō-affiliated "second unions" within Sōhyō-controlled shop floors. In 1964, Zenrō merged with

870-653: The Joint Communique of the Government of Japan and the Government of the People's Republic of China . The last payment was made to the Philippines on July 22, 1976. The absence of China at the table would later play a significant role in the South China Sea dispute , specifically regarding the overall diplomatic relationship (or lack thereof) between the United States and China. According to historian Rana Mitter , "The absence of contact between

928-442: The Kuril Islands ; and other objections. It was not until 19 October 1956, that Japan and the Soviet Union signed a Joint Declaration ending the war and reestablishing diplomatic relations. The ongoing Chinese Civil War and thus the question of which Chinese government was legitimate presented a dilemma to conference organizers. The United States wanted to invite the Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan to represent China, while

986-579: The National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren), and the National Trade Union Council (Zenrokyo). The following unions were affiliated: Treaty of San Francisco The Treaty of San Francisco ( サンフランシスコ講和条約 , San-Furanshisuko kōwa-Jōyaku ) , also called the Treaty of Peace with Japan ( 日本国との平和条約 , Nihon-koku to no Heiwa-Jōyaku ) , re-established peaceful relations between Japan and

1044-647: The National Council of Government and Public Workers' Unions (Zenkankō) and the Japanese Federation of Labour (Sōdōmei), to form the Japanese Confederation of Labour , better known as Dōmei. The following unions were affiliated in 1956. General Council of Trade Unions of Japan The General Council of Trade Unions of Japan ( 日本労働組合総評議会 , Nihon Rōdōkumiai Sōhyōgikai ) , often abbreviated to Sōhyō ( 総評 ) ,

1102-529: The People's Republic of China represented the Chinese people. Korea was also not invited due to a similar disagreement on whether South Korea or North Korea represented the Korean people. The treaty came into force on April 28, 1952. It ended Japan's role as an imperial power, allocated compensation to Allied nations and former prisoners of war who had suffered Japanese war crimes during World War II, ended

1160-553: The Security Treaty signed that same day, marks the beginning of the San Francisco System , which defines Japan's relationship with the United States and its role in the international arena and characterizes Japan's post-war history. Argentina , Australia , Belgium , Bolivia , Brazil , Cambodia , Canada , Ceylon (currently Sri Lanka ), Chile , Colombia , Costa Rica , Cuba , Czechoslovakia ,

1218-730: The Soviet Union , Syria , Turkey , the United Kingdom , the United States , Uruguay , and Venezuela attended the Conference. China was not invited due to disagreements between the United States and the United Kingdom on whether the established but defeated Republic of China (in Taiwan) or the newly-formed People's Republic of China (in mainland China ) represented the Chinese people. The United States recognized

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1276-572: The slaughter-tapping of one of our main commodities, rubber, when we were the only producer of natural rubber for the Allies, entitles us to ask that the damage so caused should be repaired. We do not intend to do so for we believe in the words of the Great Teacher [Buddha] whose message has ennobled the lives of countless millions in Asia, that 'hatred ceases not by hatred but by love'. " He ended

1334-831: The Allied post-war occupation of Japan , and returned full sovereignty to it. This treaty relied heavily on the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to enunciate the Allies' goals. In Article 11, Japan accepted the judgments of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East and of other Allied War Crimes Courts imposed on Japan both within and outside Japan. The 1951 treaty, along with

1392-535: The Bonin and Volcano Islands restored on 5 April 1968. In 1969 U.S.-Japan negotiations authorized the transfer of authority over the Ryūkyūs to Japan to be implemented in 1972. In 1972, the United States' "reversion" of the Ryūkyūs occurred along with the ceding of control over the nearby Senkaku Islands . Both the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (ROC) argue that this agreement did not determine

1450-557: The Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, France, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Vietnam, Syria, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States, Uruguay, Venezuela and Japan. The Philippines ratified

1508-661: The ROC government while Britain had recognized the PRC in 1950. Additionally, an internal US political debate had seen the Republican Party and US military supporting the Kuomintang and accusing President Truman of having abandoned the anti-communist cause. Burma , India , and Yugoslavia were invited, but did not participate; India considered certain provisions of the treaty to constitute limitations on Japanese sovereignty and national independence. India signed

1566-514: The ROC, just hours before the Treaty of San Francisco also went into effect on April 28. The apparent illogical order of the two treaties is due to the difference between time zones. According to the treaty's travaux préparatoires , a consensus existed among the states present at the San Francisco Peace Conference that, while the legal status of the island of Taiwan is temporarily undetermined, it would be resolved at

1624-530: The Red Cross. Article 16 has served as a bar against subsequent lawsuits filed by former Allied prisoners of war against Japan. In 1998, a Tokyo court ruled against a suit brought by former Allied POWs, citing the San Francisco Treaty. Article 14 of the treaty stated that It is recognized that Japan should pay reparations to the Allied Powers for the damage and suffering caused by it during

1682-625: The San Francisco Treaty on July 16, 1956, after the signing of a reparations agreement between both countries in May of that year. Indonesia did not ratify the San Francisco Peace Treaty. Instead, it signed with Japan a bilateral reparations agreement and peace treaty on January 20, 1958. A separate treaty, the Treaty of Taipei , formally known as the Sino-Japanese Peace Treaty, was signed in Taipei on April 28, 1952, between Japan and

1740-713: The San Francisco Treaty), Japan has renounced all right, title, and claim to Taiwan (Formosa) and Penghu (the Pescadores) as well as the Spratley Islands and the Paracel Islands. However, this treaty does not include any wording saying that Japan recognizes that the territorial sovereignty of Taiwan was transferred to the Republic of China. Some supporters of Taiwan independence refer to the San Francisco Peace Treaty to argue that Taiwan

1798-578: The San Francisco Treaty. Japanese military yen issued by force in Hong Kong, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Taiwan, and other places for the economic advantage of Japan were not honored by them after the war. This caused much suffering, but the claims of the Hong Kong Reparation Association in 1993, in a Tokyo district court, failed in 1999. The court acknowledged the suffering of the Hong Kong people, but reasoned that

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1856-651: The San Francisco conference, and the Soviet delegation was led by the Soviet Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko . From the start of the conference the Soviet Union expressed vigorous and vocal opposition to the draft treaty text prepared by the United States and the United Kingdom. The Soviet delegation made several unsuccessful procedural attempts to stall the proceedings. The Soviet Union's objections were detailed in

1914-423: The Treaty of Taipei has voided the Treaty of Shimonoseki and recognizes that people of Taiwan and Penghu as Chinese nationality. In more recent years supporters of Taiwan independence have more often relied on arguments based on self-determination as implied in the San Francisco Peace Treaty and popular sovereignty , but the United Nations has consistently rejected such arguments. By Article 11 Japan accepted

1972-466: The United Kingdom wished to invite the People's Republic of China (PRC) on mainland China as China's representative. As a compromise, neither government was invited. A major player in providing support for a post-war free Japan was the delegation from Ceylon (now known as Sri Lanka ). While many were reluctant to allow a free Japan capable of aggressive action and insisted that the terms of surrender should be rigidly enforced in an attempt to break

2030-484: The United States and China made the establishment of shared norms, or even areas of mutually acknowledged difference, impossible." Through the Treaty of San Francisco, Japan renounced all rights, privileges, and demands regarding Taiwan. However, ambiguous wording in the treaty about the political status of Taiwan (i.e. whether the territory of Taiwan was legally retroceded to the Republic of China in 1945) after Japan renounced all right, title, and claim concerning

2088-570: The federations controlled by the Communist Party, which had been extremely militant. However, Sōhyō rapidly fell under the sway of the Japan Socialist Party and took the lead in organizing an escalating series of increasingly large and contentious labor actions over the course of the 1950s , and increasingly became involved in political protests as well. On May 1, 1952, Sōhyō spearheaded a nationwide day of protest against

2146-556: The framework for Japan's current status of retaining a military that is purely defensive in nature. There is also some ambiguity as to over which islands Japan has renounced sovereignty. This has led to both the Kuril Islands dispute and the Senkaku Islands dispute . In accordance with Article 14 of the Treaty, Allied forces confiscated all assets owned by the Japanese government, firms, organization and private citizens, in all colonized or occupied countries except China, which

2204-501: The influence of the Japan Communist Party . However, in 1950, following the advent of the global Cold War , and taking advantage of the sense of crisis precipitated by the sudden outbreak of the Korean War , conservative Japanese government and business leaders launched, with the tacit approval of US Occupation authorities, a " Red Purge " to remove communists and suspected communists from government and private-sector jobs. As part of

2262-686: The island of Taiwan , the Pescadores , the Spratly Islands , and the Paracel Islands in 1952 (with the ratification of this treaty in the ROC ) has given rise to the Theory of the Undetermined Status of Taiwan , which is one of the major theories within this debate. This particular theory is generally Taiwan independence -leaning since it offers evidence supporting the notion that Chinese sovereignty over Taiwan (whether ROC or PRC )

2320-597: The judgments of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East and of other Allied War Crimes Courts both within and outside Japan and agreed to carry out the sentences imposed thereby upon Japanese nationals imprisoned in Japan. The document further set guidelines for repatriation of Allied prisoners of war and renounces future military aggression under the guidelines set by the United Nations Charter . The document nullifies prior treaties and lays down

2378-468: The largest recorded strike in Japanese history. However, both these efforts ended in disastrous defeats, and thereafter Sōhyō increasingly retreated from contentious strikes in favor of more moderate workplace actions. A large portion of Sōhyō merged with the more conservative Japanese Confederation of Labor (Domei) and other unions to form Rengo in 1987. Rengo was formally launched in 1989. Some elements of Sōhyō instead joined one of two new federations:

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2436-736: The perceived one-sided nature of the Peace Treaty ending the Occupation of Japan. Although most of these activities were peaceful, a violent clash between protesters and police outside the Imperial Palace in Tokyo led to several deaths and injuries and became remembered as " Bloody May Day ." Over the rest of the 1950s, Sōhyō became actively involved in a number of political and social movements, including movements to ban nuclear weapons and against US military bases in Japan. It also led

2494-412: The present Treaty shall be excepted from transfer, as well as assets of Japanese natural persons not residents of Japan on the first coming into force of the Treaty. It is equally understood that the transfer provision of this Article has no application to the 19,770 shares in the Bank for International Settlements presently owned by Japanese financial institutions. Accordingly, Japan paid £ 4,500,000 to

2552-419: The purge, Japanese conservatives fomented "democracy cells" within the established, Communist Party-dominated labor unions. As these unions collapsed amid the purge, the cells emerged and joined with some affiliates of the Japanese Federation of Labour to form a new labor federation, the General Council of Trade Unions of Japan, or Sōhyō. Conservatives hoped that the new federation would be more moderate than

2610-693: The ratification. When relations between the two countries were normalized in the 1965 Treaty on Basic Relations , Japan agreed to pay settlements, including all claims under Article 4 of the Treaty of San Francisco, directly to the South Korean government. The South Korean government would then compensate individual victims on a case-by-case basis; however, the government at the time used the funds to develop Korea's economy, and passed few reparations to individuals. Amid recent rising tensions, many victims of Japanese crimes maintain that Japan has not been held sufficiently to account, and have demanded reparations for those who have not been compensated. South Korea claims that

2668-405: The reunification of the Japan Socialist Party (JSP) in 1955, supported the former RSP factions in the new party, especially the far-right faction led by Suehiro Nishio . Although Zenrō generally shied away from political actions and even purely economic strikes, preferring a more conciliatory relationship with management, the federation did participate in the successful struggle in 1958 to defeat

2726-420: The revision of the Police Duties Bill proposed by conservative prime minister Nobusuke Kishi , which opponents were able to portray as less of a left-right issue and more of a basic threat to Japanese democracy and civil rights. However, Zenrō was less enthusiastic about supporting the 1960 Anpo protests against the US-Japan Security Treaty , and ultimately pulled out of the movement when the JSP insisted that

2784-463: The same speech by saying: This treaty is as magnanimous as it is just to a defeated foe. We extend to Japan the hand of friendship and trust that with the closing of this chapter in the history of man, the last page of which we write today, and with the beginning of the new one, the first page of which we dictate tomorrow, her people and ours may march together to enjoy the full dignity of human life in peace and prosperity. Minister Jayewardene's speech

2842-420: The spirit of the Japanese nation, the Ceylonese Finance Minister J.R. Jayawardene spoke in defense of a free Japan and informed the conference of Ceylon's refusal to accept the payment of reparations that would harm Japan's economy. His reason was "We in Ceylon were fortunate that we were not invaded, but the damage caused by air raids, by the stationing of enormous armies under the South-East Asia Command, and by

2900-442: The treaty left the Bonin Islands , Volcano Islands (including Iwo Jima ), and the Ryukyu Islands , which included Okinawa and the Amami , Miyako and Yaeyama Islands groups, under a potential U.N. trusteeship. While the treaty provision implied that these territories would become a United Nations trusteeship, in the end that option was not pursued. The Amami Islands were eventually restored to Japan on 25 December 1953, with

2958-412: The treaty sets up Japan as an American military base and draws Japan into a military coalition directed against the Soviet Union; that the treaty was in effect a separate peace treaty; that the draft treaty violated the rights of China to Taiwan and several other islands; that the draft treaty, in violation of the Yalta agreement , did not recognize the Soviet Union's sovereignty over South Sakhalin and

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3016-400: The ultimate sovereignty of the Senkaku Islands. The Treaty of Taipei between Japan and the ROC stated that all residents of Taiwan and the Pescadores were deemed as nationals of the ROC. Additionally, in Article 2 it specified that – It is recognised that under Article 2 of the Treaty of Peace which Japan signed at the city of San Francisco on 8 September 1951 (hereinafter referred to as

3074-451: The war, or which were at war with any of the Allied Powers, or, at its option, the equivalent of such assets, to the International Committee of the Red Cross which shall liquidate such assets and distribute the resultant fund to appropriate national agencies, for the benefit of former prisoners of war and their families on such basis as it may determine to be equitable. The categories of assets described in Article 14(a)2(II)(ii) through (v) of

3132-427: The war. Nevertheless it is also recognized that the resources of Japan are not presently sufficient, if it is to maintain a viable economy, to make complete reparation for all such damage and suffering and at the same time meet its other obligations. Therefore, Japan will promptly enter into negotiations with Allied Powers so desiring, whose present territories were occupied by Japanese forces and damaged by Japan, with

3190-479: Was a left-leaning union confederation. Founded in 1950, it was the largest labor federation in Japan for several decades. In the immediate aftermath of Japan's defeat in World War II , the United States-led Allied Occupation of Japan issued directives legalizing labor unions, which were then protected by the new Constitution of Japan promulgated in 1947. In the early postwar years, numerous labor unions formed in industries throughout Japan, many of which were under

3248-462: Was dealt with under Article 21. China repossessed all Japanese assets in Manchuria and Inner Mongolia , which included mineworks and railway infrastructure. Moreover, Article 4 of the treaty stated that "the disposition of property of Japan and of its nationals...and their claims...against the authorities presently administering such areas and the residents...shall be the subject of special arrangements between Japan and such authorities." Although Korea

3306-516: Was not a signatory state of the treaty, it was also entitled to the benefits of Article 4 by the provisions of Article 21. Total amount of Japanese overseas assets in China was US$ 18,758,600,000 in 1945. Article 16 of the San Francisco Treaty states: As an expression of its desire to indemnify those members of the armed forces of the Allied Powers who suffered undue hardships while prisoners of war of Japan, Japan will transfer its assets and those of its nationals in countries which were neutral during

3364-525: Was received with resounding applause. Afterwards, the New York Times stated, "The voice of free Asia, eloquent, melancholy and still strong with the lilt of an Oxford accent, dominated the Japanese peace treaty conference today." Of the 51 participating countries, 48 signed the treaty; Czechoslovakia , Poland and the Soviet Union refused. The signatories to the treaty were: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, Ceylon (currently Sri Lanka), Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba,

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