INTERNATIONAL PROSSECUTION SSCTION NETHERLANDS DIVISION 11 March, 1947 To:Mr. Frank S. Tavenner, Jr. From:A. T. Laverge Subjects: I.R.A.A. The subject matter is highly complicated and available facts are few. The following information is correct as far as can be ascertained from documents and interrogations in our possession but there are still many points which are not all clear. I will refrain as muuch as possible from using expressions such as "possibly","probably", and "It seems," but all documents and declarations by individuals are so vague and indefinite that it is difficult to draw any definite conclusions. 1. Origin of I.R.A.A. The I.R.A.A. is a creation of Konoye. After the fall of the first Konoye Cabinet in January 1939 and the unsuccessful prolongation of the China Incident, Konoye seems to have felt that a national renovation would be necessary to bring Japan to victory. He seems to hare propagated this idea in general, without any definite steps being taken. In July 1940 Konoye was once again ordered to form a Cabinet and the new movement acquired more strength. The original idea of Konoye's seems to have been to create one political party to replace the existing political parties. In his opinion parliamentary strife was harmful to the national war effort. Also, he seems to have hoped that in setting up a new one party system the military could be persuaded to conform with the government policies and in this manner to present further incidents such as insurrections by the young officers, bringing about the fall of the government. With army backing for a new political party there would also be an end to a separate army policy in other respects. As soon as Konoye's ideas became known the existing political parties went into liquidation. Apparently they were not forced to do so although realisation that they would not be strong enough to resist the government's plans may have influenced them. Nevertheless there seems to have been considerable eagerness in political circles to liquidate and get onto the new party wagon as soon as possible. The net result was that in the summer of 1940 the political parties disappeared. The army seems to have given Konoye considerable backing and many of the rightists societies also supported the idea. Finally on 12 October 1940 the I.R.A.A. was inaugurated. In a speech on that occasion Konoye announced that the I.R.A.A. would have no program but that its only purpose was "the fulfilment of our duties as subjects in