Yoshimichi Hara (原嘉道) (February 18, 1867 – August 7, 1944) was a Japanese statesman and the president of the Japanese privy council during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, from June 1940 until his death. Hara was always reluctant to use military force. In particular, he protested against the outbreak of the Pacific war at Gozen Kaigi. Historia
Charles Kupfer
contradicts this statement in ''Indomitable Will: Turning Defeat into Victory from Pearl Harbor to Midway'', Hara recognized the growing threat of American influence in the Pacific region prior to American involvement in World War II, and was a key advocate for the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Territory of ...

. Hara was of the opinion that the longer

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

waited to engage the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, the weaker its position would become thus subjugating the island nation to the will of American dominance in the region. Indeed, Hara as president of the privy council, had very little political control, since almost all political power was concentrated in war cabinets. Hara did, however, act as the voice for

Emperor Hirohito , Posthumous name, posthumously honored as , was the 124th emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, from 25 December 1926 until Death and state funeral of Hirohito, his death in 1989. He remains Japan's longest-reigni ...

in the privy council and delivered the Emperor's decision to go to war on December 1, 1941, stating that to yield to American demands would threaten the existence of the

Empire of Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...

. After his death, Hara was decorated with the posthumous title of Imperial . He was the last commoner to become part of the Japanese aristocracy.

References

, - , - , - 1867 births 1944 deaths Kazoku {{japan-noble-stub