Following the surrender of the Japanese Empire in August 1945, the US government began making preparations for the occupation of Japan as set in
Potsdam Declaration. Friction evolved between the US government and other Allied governments, which were dissatisfied with US dominant position in Japan. In order to give other Allied governments token representation in the occupation of Japan, the US government on August 21, 1945 submitted a proposal for the establishing of the "Far Eastern Advisory Commission" to the governments of the Soviet Union, UK and China. The proposal provided for the council to consist of representatives of those countries whose governments join the agreement. According to that proposal, the powers of the commission were to make policy recommendations to the US government in enforcing the provisions of the instrument of surrender. Agreement about the formation of the commission was reached at the London Conference of Foreign Ministers (September 11 to October 2, 1945), as US Secretary of State
James Byrnes and British Foreign Minister
Ernest Bevin agreed to establish the commission along the lines of the US proposal made on August 21, for the purpose of preparing plans for an Allied Council for Japan. Byrnes emphasized this name change after the 1945 Moscow Conference: "As early as August 5 we invited the Soviet Union, Great Britain, and China to join with us in carrying out the objectives of the
Potsdam Declaration and the
Terms of Surrender for Japan. The Far Eastern Advisory Commission was established in October, but Great Britain had reservations regarding its advisory character, and the Soviet Union requested a decision regarding control machinery in Tokyo before joining the work of the Commission". The renaming of the FEAC to FEC reflected the tensions between the three major Allied powers during the last stages of the war that would soon come to head, not only in the
Cold War between the USSR and US, but also the
Suez Crisis between the UK and the US. The Far Eastern Commission formulated policies for Japan to fulfill under the terms of
surrender. It consisted of 10 members who conducted decisions based on majority vote; however, the US, UK, USSR, and Republic of China were awarded veto power over the other members' votes. Between 6 July, 1947 and 20 December 1948, the FEC enacted 13 policy decisions which fell into three categories: disarmament; democratization; and economic recovery. == Disarmament ==