The studies of the political process and public opinions about the secret fund system in Modern Japan

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K01454
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 06010:Politics-related
• Research Institution: Teikyo University
• Principal Investigator: Koyama Toshiki 帝京大学, 文学部, 教授 (90454503)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 近代日本 / 機密費 / 政治 / 行政 / 世論

Outline of Final Research Achievements

As for research and analysis of politicians' private documents, we published a three-volume work, "Historical Collection of Modern Secret Funds II: Cabinet Secret Funds," in 2021. Through research and analysis of other families' documents, newspapers and magazines, and parliamentary proceedings, we analyzed the institutional changes before and after the establishment of the Diet, the actual situation of parliamentary questions, the controversy over the Army's temporary military expenditures, the control of secret expenses during the occupation, parliamentary questions, and public opinion responses, reprinted documents, organized collected materials, and reported on research meetings. As part of these results, we published a paper ("Plotting and Secret Funds in Modern Japan"), in which we analyzed the historical transition and the relationship with the secret funds control system with regard to various plotting activities funded by the Army's secret funds.

Free Research Field

近代日本政治史

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

前述した『近代機密費史料集成Ⅱ』において、西園寺内閣の新聞社・通信社およびメディア関係者個人に対する機密費支出、政府による世論への働きかけなど注目すべき事例を調査公表した。本書は内閣による機密費支出関係の原文書（領収書類、通帳類などを含む）を出版する本邦初の試みであり、学術的な意義とともに、通例公開されない形態の文書を誰もが参照でき、議論の材料を提供する点での社会的意義は大きい。また前述論文では、陸軍機密費を原資とする各種謀略活動の歴史的推移や機密費統制システムとの関連など、一般に知られなかった知見を明らかにできた。