Documents show Japan government aide was CIA mole

Shigeru Yoshida

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
A senior military aide to Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida in the 1950s was an informant for the CIA, according to documents unearthed at the US National Archives. A CIA memorandum dated November 26, 1956, describes Lt. Gen. Eiichi Tatsumi (ret.), who advised the Japanese Prime Minister on defense matters, as “one of the best, safest, most qualified persons in Japan today for CIA use”. Waseda University professor Tetsuo Arima, who unearthed the documents, said the CIA codenamed Tatsumi POLESTAR-5. Bearing fresh memories from Japan’s destructive participation in World War II, the government of Prime Minister Yoshida refused calls to remilitarize Japan. But a hardcore group of senior military officials, including Tatsumi, who had fought in the war, wished to see Japan rearm. Washington, which interpreted Yoshida’s refusal to rearm as a friendly gesture to Russia, also wanted to see Japan remilitarize. Read more of this post