Japan’s “Big Six” leadership group during the final surrender crisis of 1945 had six members.
The group was formally called the Supreme Council for the Direction of the War. It consisted of the prime minister, foreign minister, army minister, navy minister, chief of the Army General Staff, and chief of the Navy General Staff.
Because the council was evenly divided between civilian and military leaders, reaching a decision could be extremely difficult. On August 9, after the Soviet declaration of war and the bombing of Nagasaki, the council split over whether to accept the Potsdam Declaration and under what conditions.
Emperor Hirohito’s intervention helped break the deadlock. The “Big Six” is not the same as Japan’s entire cabinet or Imperial General Headquarters. It refers specifically to the six senior officials who formed the country’s central wartime decision-making body.