ABSTRACT
THE ADVISORY COUNCIL on foreign relations (1917-1922) which was established during the World War was a novel experiment in the evolution of organs of control of foreign relations in Japan.
Viscount Miura, a privy councilor, called together in conference three political leaders, namely, Kei Hara, president of the Seiyukai, Ki Inukai, president of the Kokuminto, and Viscount Komei Kato, president of the Doshikai, on May 24, May 30, and June 6, 1916, to discuss ways and means of placing the contemporary questions of foreign policy and national defense above partisan politics.1 Here the veteran statesman called the attention of the heads of the three major parties to the exigencies of the time arising out of the Japanese entry into the World War and to the necessity of presenting a united front on foreign relations. Viscount Kato, former foreign minister and now the head of the government party, expressed his agreement with the general principle. He argued, however, that the responsibility for the formulation of policies should rest primarily with the authorities charged with the conduct of foreign affairs, and that a large degree of autonomy of the cabinet should be maintained, recalling the practical necessity for immediate action by the foreign minister in consultation with the premier without even obtaining the views of the cabinet in cases of extreme urgency.
