HATOYAMA Ichiro From "Hatoyama Ichiro Kaoru Nikki"

On 4 January 1946 (Showa 21), GHQ issued two directives to the Japanese Government: "Abolition of Certain Political Parties, Associations, Societies, and Other Groups" (SCAPIN548), and "Removal and Exclusion of Undesirable Personnel from Public Office" (SCAPIN550). The latter listed seven different categories of undesirables, including war criminals, career Army and Navy personnel, and extreme nationalists, and ordered the purge of such individuals from public office.

In April of the same year, the first postwar general election was held in Japan, and the Japan Liberal Party won the most seats. Its leader, HATOYAMA Ichiro, would have become the candidate to be the next Prime Minister. GHQ had designated that the purge of undesirable personnel from public office, with the aim of keeping out wartime Yokusan legislators as objects of the purge. On 3 May it was decided that the purge would also apply to HATOYAMA, and he was so notified on 4 May even as he was expecting the call to form the next Cabinet.

In his diary entry for 4 May one of HATOYAMA's aides at the time, ANDO Masazumi, wrote about HATOYAMA's great consternation upon learning about the unexpected purge, and described how HATOYAMA hurriedly began discussions on his replacement. Eventually, YOSHIDA Shigeru was selected to replace HATOYAMA as the Liberal Party's designated Prime Minister; on 22 May 1946 (Showa 21), the 1st YOSHIDA Shigeru Cabinet was born.