American soldier destroying weapons of the Japanese Army Collection of the Yokohama Archives of History From "Zusetsu Don. Brown to Showa no Nihon"

YOSHIDA Shigeru From "Yoshida Naikaku"

This document is a copy of a message, written on four postcards, sent by YOSHIDA Shigeru to his subordinate in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, KURUSU Saburo, and was enclosed in a letter, that YOSHIDA had sent to HARADA Kumao. Yoshida writes regarding the war's end, "That which had to pass, has at last come to pass," adding that Japan, free from militarism, would see "transparency politics and an uplifting of the people's it morals." He also states that if Japan's diplomacy were rejuvenated, and if the world of business could recover thanks to the advance of science and the inflow of American capital, then "having lost the war is not necessarily such a bad thing", thus demonstrating a highly optimistic view of the unprecedented situation.

Meanwhile, he also gives vent to his longstanding feelings toward the military and the gendarme (kenpeitai), writing, "I can gloat a bit (over their downfall), and tell them, It serves you right!" That sentence demonstrates how YOSHIDA was brimming with a sense of relief upon the end of the war.