Issue:
April 2024
Preparations for Emperor Akihito’s historic 1992 visit to China were anything but straightforward
Diplomacy is not just for politicians and professional diplomats. Unexpected players sometimes make an appearance, working behind the scenes in way that could help change the course of history.
In December 2023, Japan's Foreign Ministry declassified diplomatic documents about Emperor Akihito’s state visit to China from October 23-28, 1992.
It was the first visit by a Japanese monarch to the country, which had been a battleground during World War II. The released records described in vivid detail the inside story of negotiations between the Japanese and Chinese governments prior to the historic event. However, by reading them judiciously, we can observe that they have been skillfully “sanitized”, with some parts of the text redacted. Conversely, the missing parts are instructive in revealing the truth behind the visit and the key role played by Seigen Tanaka, an enigmatic rightwing fixer who acted as a back channel between Emperor Hirohito and China's leaders.
In the annals of Japan's 20th century history, Tanaka, a controversial figure who led a checkered and tempestuous life, stands out. Born in Hokkaido in 1906, he gained admission to Tokyo Imperial University, where he became radicalized, quickly rising to become chairman of the Japan Communist Party at the age of 23. As a hot-blooded youth, Tanaka strived to foment revolution through bloody armed struggle with the police – a tactic that landed him in prison for 11 years. Severely traumatized over her son’s criminal activities, Tanaka’s mother committed suicide. Her death would shock Tanaka into making a complete break with communism.
After the Pacific War, Tanaka re-emerged as a rightwing, anti-communist activist. He later became involved in the oil business, negotiating for rights with royal families in the Middle East and major petroleum firms, and successfully securing petroleum concessions for his resource-poor country. In his final years, he became an environmental activist who devoted himself to developing forms of renewable energy such as solar power, and to reforming extreme, profit-for-its-own-sake capitalism.
Two years ago, I published a biography of Tanaka, whose exploits earned him the nickname “The Tiger of Tokyo”.
In April 1980, at a meeting with Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping in Beijing, Tanaka proposed that then-Crown Prince Akihito visit China. In later years, he said in his 1993 memoir, "I brought up the idea myself and Mr. Deng replied immediately: 'We would really like to make it happen.' On top of that, Mr. Deng said that China would even welcome Emperor Hirohito. But if the emperor’s visit is raised suddenly, the Liberal Democratic Party would oppose it, requiring time to gain consensus. Therefore, I thought a visit by the Crown Prince would be better as a first step to pave the way for the future."
Tanaka’s secretary, Kenichi Hayashi, who sat in on the meeting with Deng, confirmed that the exchange had taken place. Later, Tanaka made successive calls to Beijing, holding discussions with senior Chinese officials. Upon returning home, he secretly met with a high-ranking official of the Imperial Household Agency (IHA), briefing him on the meetings. The information was promptly passed along to the emperor. The official in question was Sukemasa Irie, the IHA’s Grand Chamberlain, who had served Emperor Hirohito for more than half a century.
The two men had met in secret at the Miyako Hotel (currently the Sheraton Miyako Hotel Tokyo), in the capital's Minato Ward. Hayashi informed me he had accompanied Tanaka there on several occasions in the 1980s.
"Seigen-sensei usually met with Mr. Irie at the Miyako hotel," Hayashi said. "That was because the hotel assigned staff exclusively for us and acceded to our particular requests. Mr. Irie always came alone at the appointed time. We arranged for food and wine to be served in a private suite. Seigen-sensei briefed him about China and so on during the dinners." Hayashi said that the confidential meetings had been held at the hotel every two to three months.
These meetings are also confirmed by Irie’s diaries, which were published by his family after his death. They contain repeated references to "Seigen Tanaka" and "Miyako Hotel". In a diary entry for October 1978, when Deng Xiaoping had met Emperor Hirohito at the Imperial Palace, the Emperor personally and directly apologized for Japan’s invasion and atrocities in China during the war. According to Irie, Deng apparently appeared surprised and deeply moved. In April 1984, a diary entry stated that Emperor had mused: "if I were able to visit China ...."
But why did Irie count on the back channel in the first place? It would have made sense if his priority was to maintain confidentiality. If the Foreign Ministry had been involved, contacts with China would quickly be leaked to conservative members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, and the visit would become a dead issue. There was no other choice but to ask a trustworthy person to act as an intermediary. Even if the unofficial contacts were exposed, they could be denied by claiming that Tanaka did it on his own initiative. In other words, Tanaka provided the emperor and his close aides with plausible deniability.
Was the Foreign Ministry aware that the back channel existed? The declassified documents are not clear on this point. Intriguingly, however, the emperor’s opinions about visiting China were redacted in several sections of the text.
In April 1986, Tanaka contributed an article to a Japanese magazine, in which he said that Japan had enjoyed peace and prosperity since the end of the war and maintained good relations with other Asian countries. However, he added, "the termination of hostilities" had not yet led to psychological closure for people in neighboring nations.
“Leaders of China and Southeast Asian countries are suspicious of us, pointing out that 'Emperor Hirohito has already visited Western nations, so why is he reluctant to visit Asia?'” he wrote. “They feel that Japan is showing disrespect for them. This is quite unfortunate and a dangerous situation, as we live in Asia. His Majesty’s visit to China will help safeguard peace in Asia and the world, and ultimately signify the end of the war.”
Furthermore, Tanaka had requested that Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone refrain from visiting the controversial Yasukuni shrine, whose head priest had consecrated Japanese Class-A war criminals, as that could force the Japan-friendly faction in the Chinese government into a corner.
In the early 1990s, after Emperor Hirohito’s death and Crown Prince Akihito’s accession, the foreign ministry made moves to proceed with an imperial visit to China. But they needed to overcome a major impediment first: opposition from conservative Diet members in the LDP. They sparked opposition over concerns that China would force Akihito to apologize for Japan’s wartime atrocities. In addition, at about the same time, the Chinese government had angered Japan by claiming that the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, known as the Diaoyu Islands in Chinese, were Chinese territory.
The Japanese government also faced a more vexing obstacle: extreme rightwing activists who opposed the emperor’s visit to China. The National Police Agency issued a warning about possible acts of terrorism by activists targeting politicians and senior bureaucrats who were promoting the visit. Probably because of accelerated controversy, the then prime minister, Kiichi Miyazawa, vacillated. "We need to decide on this matter in accordance with public opinion,” he said.
Against this backdrop there was a danger that Tanaka, who vociferously supported the emperor’s visit, would be physically threatened. But he was able to rely on protection in the form of Japan’s largest underworld yakuza syndicate, the Kobe-based Yamaguchi-gumi. Tanaka and Kazuo Taoka, the syndicate’s godfather, had been close friends since the end of the war. Even after Taoka’s death in 1981, Tanaka had maintained ties with the Yamaguchi-gumi. If extreme rightists were to attack him, those responsible could expect harsh reprisals.
In that sense, the Yamaguchi-gumi served as a strong deterrent against rightwing extremists and could be said to be providing a sort of indirect support for the emperor’s visit to China.
If the delicate diplomatic project was to be a success, there was a gray area that no politician or bureaucrat could touch. It was Seigen Tanaka who stepped in as a go-between, declaring: "I'm a patriot and will fight out both rightists and leftists if they're not good for the country!" When told about Tanaka's activities by Grand Chamberlain Irie, Hirohito was said to have smiled in appreciation and remarked: "That Tanaka is really something, isn't he?”
The emperor's visit took place without incident in October 1992. Tanaka died on December 10 the following year. Four days later, with the sleet falling, his funeral was held at the Zensho-an temple, near Nippori station in Tokyo's Taito Ward. Among the mourners were Yasuhiro Nakasone, his chief cabinet secretary Masaharu Gotoda and Masaru Takumi, the second-in-command, or wakagashira, of the Yamaguchi-gumi.
The above is an edited version of a longer article in Japanese originally published in Chuo Koron magazine (April 2024).
Eiichiro Tokumoto is a writer living in Tokyo.
