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(一)Home
(二)Historical Documents
(三)Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Volume XXIX, Part 2, Japan
(四)Document 1
Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Volume
XXIX, Part 2, Japan
1. Editorial Note
In the 1958–1968 decade, the U.S. Government approved four covert programs to
try to influence the direction of Japanese political life. Concerned that
potential electoral success by leftist political forces would strengthen
Japanese neutralism and eventually pave the way for a leftist government in
Japan, the Eisenhower administration authorized the Central Intelligence
Agency before the May 1958 elections for the Japanese House of
Representatives to provide a few key pro-American and conservative
politicians with covert limited financial support and electoral advice. The
recipient Japanese candidates were told only that they were getting support
from American businessmen. This program of modest financial support to key
politicians continued during subsequent electoral campaigns into the
1960s.
Another U.S. covert action in Japan sought to reduce the chances that extreme
left-wing politicians would be elected. During 1959, the Eisenhower
administration authorized the CIA to
institute a covert program to try to split off the moderate wing of the
leftist opposition in the hope that a more pro-American and “responsible”
opposition party would emerge. This program’s financial support was
limited—$75,000 for 1960—and it continued basically at that level through
the early 1960s. By 1964, key officials in the Lyndon Johnson administration were becoming convinced that
because of the increased stability in Japanese politics, covert subsidies to
Japanese politicians were no longer necessary. Furthermore, there was a
consensus that the program of subsidies was not worth the risk of exposure.
The subsidy program for Japanese political parties was phased out in early
1964. Meanwhile, a broader covert program, divided almost equally between
propaganda and social action and designed to encourage key elements in
Japanese society to reject the influence of the extreme left, continued to
be funded at moderate levels—$450,000 for 1964, for example—throughout the
Johnson administration.
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Preface
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Johnson Administration Volumes
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Note on U.S. Covert Actions
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Japan (Documents 1–140)
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Index
Johnson, Lyndon Baines
CIA
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