중일전쟁기 일본 제국의회의 임시군사비 심의

Deliberation on the Extraordinary War Expenditure by the Imperial Diet during the Second Sino-Japanese War: The Study from the Committees

Budget is what political decisions are expressed in quantity, so that the political process of budget formation is an important issue in order to clarify the political history。 Initially, when the Special Account of Extraordinary War Expenditure was established, because of the second Sino-Japanese War, the committees were very concerned about that the extraordinary war expenditure would be extended and lead to corruption, similar to what was seen during the First World War and the Siberian Intervention. Committee members wanted to know when the interim war expenses would end. The Japanese government incorrectly stressed that the expenses were only interim and would end soon if the war finished early. However, when the war dragged on, the committee members restarted the dispute on the extraordinary war expenditure. On the one hand, they blamed the government by raising questions about problems with expenditure and non-disclosure. On the other hand, they required some wartime measures to secure raw materials and save the economy. The government said that the money was being appropriately and carefully spent, although most of it had been diverted to the expansion of armaments against the United States and the Soviet Union. Later, because of bad relations and the possible war between Japan and the United States, the committee members stopped criticizing and pressuring the government intensively. Instead, they began to accept the appropriation of the extraordinary war expenditure for war preparation against the United States and quickly approved expenses for the Attack on Pearl Harbor without hesitation at the 77th Imperial Diet. The extraordinary war expenditure, originally set up for the second Sino-Japanese War, was transformed into expenses for the Pacific War in the form of “an additional budget.” In conclusion, the extraordinary war expenditure not only enabled a military budget out of the constitutionally controlled budget but also, as a medium, connected the Imperial Diet with the Government on a war footing.