Matsushiro Underground Imperial Headquarters
[1] The facility was constructed so that the central organs of the government of the Empire of Japan could be transferred there in the event of an Allied invasion.
[5] It has been suggested that he refused because going to Matsushiro would have isolated the Emperor and allowed the army to rule in his name, effectively guaranteeing they would pursue the war to "suicidal extremes".
[6] Before the war, the Imperial Army's prevalent thinking was that Tokyo, close to the shore and on the rim of the Kantō Plain, was indefensible.
Therefore, in the scenario of a fight on Japanese soil, they planned to have the vital organs of government shifted inland.
In the same month, by a decision made at Prime Minister and War leader Hideki Tojo's last cabinet meeting, approval was given to transfer the palace, the army headquarters and other important governmental organs to Matsushiro.
However, the soil beneath the mountain could not support such a scheme and the plan was changed to move the palace and the general staff to the Mount Maizuru tunnel.
Since silkworm keeping was very profitable at that time, the acquisition of mulberry fields was made at three different prices according to the productivity of the land.
Tokyo University engineering professor Private First Class Katsukazu Sekino was put in charge.
The "Japanese of pure blood" came from youths at the Atami branch of the Railroad Ministry training institutes.
However, it is rumored that children were chided for staring at soldiers in trucks and women in what appeared to be Chinese clothes.
[citation needed] Major Masataka Ida of the Ministry of War of Japan and later of Kyūjō incident fame, proposed the location.
After the general staff approved it, the Railway Ministry conducted a survey of the area, finalizing the plans to build the complex.
Six advantages of the location were pointed out in Ida's proposition: This proposal primarily involved setting up bunkers for the army throughout the Japanese homeland.
In 1990, parts of the Mount Zōzan bunker were opened by Nagano Municipality and Shinshu University set up an astronomical observatory inside.
Masako Yamane, a local activist who worked to bring increased attention to the Matsuhiro complex, decried actions by Nagano officials which she felt obfuscated the site’s history: "Just the other day, the authorities blocked the entrances to the underground shelters with fences, despite requests that the last Imperial General Headquarters should be preserved and left be open to the public.
Peace activists asked the NAOC to include the caves on their list of interesting places to visit in Nagano, but their requests went unanswered.
[9] In 2014, in response to protests from Japanese nationalists the city of Nagano placed tape over the mention of the forced conscription of Korean laborers in the onsite plaque.
