宇垣陸相と軍制改革案 : 浜口内閣と陸軍

抄録

The Hamaguchi Cabinet which was formed in July of 1929 made fiscal retrenchment a major pillar in their political program. Ugaki Kazushige assumed the post of Army Minister, and Hamaguchi demanded wide scale reductions in army expenditures. In response to this, Ugaki found money for the consolidation of the army, and in addition to drawing up plans for finishing equipping the army, he tried to restore some of the unspent money to the National Treasury. This was the beginning of the army reroganization issue. However, Ugaki's ideas met resistance from the very beginning by members of the Army Ministry. This was because of the fear that curtailment of expenses meant disarmament. Or perhaps it was because they worried that this was but a tool of Ugaki's political ambition. Nevertheless, finishing equipping was necessary from the point of view of the army and gradually research and preparation for the reorganization of the army moved forward. There were, nevertheless, differences of opinion between the Army Ministry and the General Staff Office. Furthermore, while this plan was being considered, Ugaki fell ill. During his illness, Ugaki considered resigning but finally appointed a temporary substitute. Behind all of this was the government's reluctance to let Ugaki resign in the midst of the chaos over the London Conference. During this time, the preparations for the army reorganization proposal went forward, and according to financial retrenchment plans, a considerable amount in army expenditures was reduced. Ugaki returned to his post in December of 1930. At that time the only means left for him in terms of reorganizing the army was by concentrating on reducing the number of men in order to finish equipping the army. However, there was a great deal of resistance from within the Army Ministry and confusion over restoring money to the National Treasury. It was at this time that Hamaguchi was shot, and it was thought that Ugaki would serve as a substitute or as Hamaguchi's successor. However, neither came to pass, and Ugaki was not able to achieve his difficult goal of reorganizing the army within the narrow confines of the army budget. Instead, when the Hamaguchi Cabinet resigned, Ugaki too handed in his resignation. Thus, he did not have to execute the army reorganization plan which did not receive favorable comments from within the government and which was criticized by many members of the Army Ministry itself.