Konoe statements

This article is about public statements by Fumimaro Konoe cabinets in 1938 on the Second Sino-Japanese War. For the public statement by Yōhei Kōno about comfort women in 1993, see Kono Statement.

The Konoe statements (Japanese: 近衛声明) refer to three diplomatic statements made by Fumimaro Konoe's cabinets in the early stages of the Second Sino-Japan war, aimed at establishing a new order in East Asia together with China. The Japanese archives during the period of the invasion of China explicitly record and categorise these three Konoe's declarations:[1]

  • First Konoe statement: Following the seize of Nanjing in December 1937, the Japanese government issued a statement in January 1938, declaring that it would no longer negotiate with the Nationalist government, which is known as the first Konoe statement.[2][3][4]
  • Second Konoe statement: Following the seize of Guangzhou and Wuhan in October 1938, the Japanese government issued another statement, proposing the concept of "building a new order in East Asia", which is known as the second Konoe statement.
  • Third Konoe statement: After Wang Jingwei left Chongqing, the wartime capital of China, the Japanese government published the summary of Japan's demands on China, which is known as the third Konoe statement.

The declarations were not accepted by the Nationalist government in Chongqing, and led to the establishment of Wang Jingwei regime in China. The United States (US), the United Kingdom (UK) and France regarded the declarations a violation to the Nine-Power Treaty and refused to admit Wang regime as the legitimate government of China.

  1. ^ Lei, Guoshan (2018-11-03). "抗战时期"近卫声明"的来龙去脉". 非常历史. Archived from the original on 2024-02-13. Retrieved 2024-02-13 – via Sohu.
  2. ^ "5 Unknown Facts of Prince Konoe". Pacific Atrocities Education. Archived from the original on 2024-02-13. Retrieved 2024-02-13.
  3. ^ "Timeline – A Window into the Early Showa Period". Japan Center for Asian Historical Records. Retrieved 2024-02-13.
  4. ^ Committee, Yomiuri Shimbun War Responsibility Reexamination (2007). "From Marco Polo Bridge to Pearl Harbor: Who Was Responsible?". Asian Perspective. 31 (1): 193–208. doi:10.1353/apr.2007.0034. ISSN 2288-2871.