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The as part of the Supreme War Council
Supreme War Council (Japan)

The Supreme War Council was established during the development of representative Government of Meiji Japan in Meiji period Japan to further strengthen the authority of the state....
 was established in 1893 to coordinate efforts between the Imperial Japanese Army
Imperial Japanese Army

The Imperial Japanese Army , or literally Army of Empire of Greater Japan was the official ground based armed force of Imperial Japan from 1867 to 1945....
 and Imperial Japanese Navy
Imperial Japanese Navy

The origins of the Imperial Japanese Navy trace back to early interactions with nations on the Asia, beginning in the early history of Japan#Feudal Japan and reaching a peak of activity during the 16th and 17th centuries at a time of cultural diffusion with European power during the Age of Discovery....
 during wartime. In terms of function, it was approximately equivalent to the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 Joint Chiefs of Staff
Joint Chiefs of Staff

The Joint Chiefs of Staff is a group of military leaders in the United States armed forces who advise the civilian government of the United States....
.

Imperial General Headquarters was established by Imperial Decree 52 on 19 May 1893 within the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office
Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office

, also called the Army General Staff, was one of the four principal agencies charged with overseeing the Imperial Japanese Army....
. The Emperor of Japan
Emperor of Japan

The of Japan is the symbol of the state and of the unity of the Japanese people. He is the head of the Imperial House of Japan. Under Japan's present constitution, the Emperor is the "symbol of the state and the unity of the people," and is a ceremonial figurehead in a constitutional monarchy ....
 who was defined as both Head of State
Head of State

Head of state is the generic term for the individual or collective office that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchic or republican nation-state, federation, commonwealth or any other political state....
 and the Generalissimo of the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces
Generalissimo

Generalissimo or Generalissimus is a military rank of the highest degree, superior to a Field Marshal or Grand Admiral....
 according to the Meiji Constitution
Meiji Constitution

The , more commonly known as the 'Imperial' or 'Meiji Constitution', was the fundamental law of the Empire of Japan from 29 November 1890 until 2 May 1947....
 of 1889 to 1945, was the head of the Imperial General Headquarters, and was assisted by staff appointed from the Imperial Japanese Army and Imperial Japanese Navy.

The Imperial General Staff Headquarters was completely independent of the civilian government of the Empire of Japan
Empire of Japan

The Empire of Japan was a Japanese political entity that existed during the period from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until its defeat in World War II in 1945....
, including the Cabinet and even the Prime Minister of Japan
Prime Minister of Japan

The is the usual English-language term used for the head of government of Japan, although the literal translation of the Japanese name for the office is Prime Minister of the Cabinet....
.






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The as part of the Supreme War Council
Supreme War Council (Japan)

The Supreme War Council was established during the development of representative Government of Meiji Japan in Meiji period Japan to further strengthen the authority of the state....
 was established in 1893 to coordinate efforts between the Imperial Japanese Army
Imperial Japanese Army

The Imperial Japanese Army , or literally Army of Empire of Greater Japan was the official ground based armed force of Imperial Japan from 1867 to 1945....
 and Imperial Japanese Navy
Imperial Japanese Navy

The origins of the Imperial Japanese Navy trace back to early interactions with nations on the Asia, beginning in the early history of Japan#Feudal Japan and reaching a peak of activity during the 16th and 17th centuries at a time of cultural diffusion with European power during the Age of Discovery....
 during wartime. In terms of function, it was approximately equivalent to the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 Joint Chiefs of Staff
Joint Chiefs of Staff

The Joint Chiefs of Staff is a group of military leaders in the United States armed forces who advise the civilian government of the United States....
.

History

The Imperial General Headquarters was established by Imperial Decree 52 on 19 May 1893 within the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office
Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office

, also called the Army General Staff, was one of the four principal agencies charged with overseeing the Imperial Japanese Army....
. The Emperor of Japan
Emperor of Japan

The of Japan is the symbol of the state and of the unity of the Japanese people. He is the head of the Imperial House of Japan. Under Japan's present constitution, the Emperor is the "symbol of the state and the unity of the people," and is a ceremonial figurehead in a constitutional monarchy ....
 who was defined as both Head of State
Head of State

Head of state is the generic term for the individual or collective office that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchic or republican nation-state, federation, commonwealth or any other political state....
 and the Generalissimo of the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces
Generalissimo

Generalissimo or Generalissimus is a military rank of the highest degree, superior to a Field Marshal or Grand Admiral....
 according to the Meiji Constitution
Meiji Constitution

The , more commonly known as the 'Imperial' or 'Meiji Constitution', was the fundamental law of the Empire of Japan from 29 November 1890 until 2 May 1947....
 of 1889 to 1945, was the head of the Imperial General Headquarters, and was assisted by staff appointed from the Imperial Japanese Army and Imperial Japanese Navy.

The Imperial General Staff Headquarters was completely independent of the civilian government of the Empire of Japan
Empire of Japan

The Empire of Japan was a Japanese political entity that existed during the period from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until its defeat in World War II in 1945....
, including the Cabinet and even the Prime Minister of Japan
Prime Minister of Japan

The is the usual English-language term used for the head of government of Japan, although the literal translation of the Japanese name for the office is Prime Minister of the Cabinet....
. Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Japan

The is the usual English-language term used for the head of government of Japan, although the literal translation of the Japanese name for the office is Prime Minister of the Cabinet....
 Ito Hirobumi
Ito Hirobumi

Prince was a Japanese statesman, Resident-General of Korea, four time Prime Minister of Japan and genro. Ito was assassinated by An Jung-geun, a Korean nationalist who was against the Annexation of Korea by the Japanese Empire....
 was allowed to attend meetings by the express order of Emperor Meiji
Emperor Meiji

The or Meiji the Great was the 122nd Emperor of Japan of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, reigning from 3 February 1867 until his death....
 during the First Sino-Japanese War
First Sino-Japanese War

The First Sino-Japanese War was a war fought between Qing Dynasty China and Meiji period Imperial Japan over the control of Korea. The Sino-Japanese War would come to symbolize the degeneration and enfeeblement of the Qing Dynasty and demonstrate how successful modernization had been in Japan since the Meiji Restoration as compared with the...
. However, Prime Minister Katsura Taro
Katsura Taro

Prince , was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army, politician and three-time Prime Minister of Japan....
, despite his military background, was denied entry to meetings during the subsequent Russo-Japanese War
Russo-Japanese War

The Russo-Japanese War or the Manchurian Campaign in some English sources, was a conflict that grew out of the rival imperialism ambitions of the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over Manchuria and Korea....
.

Imperial Decree 658 of 18 November 1937 abolished the original Imperial General Headquarters, which was then immediately re-constituted under Military Decree 1, which gave the new Imperial General Headquarters command authority over all military operations during peacetime situations as well as wartime situations. In November 1937, to bring the chiefs of Army and Navy General Staff
Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff

The was the highest organ within the Imperial Japanese Navy. In charge of planning and operations, it was headed by an Admiral headquartered in Tokyo....
 into closer consultation with his government, Emperor Hirohito established a body known as the Imperial General Headquarters-Government Liaison Conference within Imperial General Headquarters. The Liaison Conferences were intended to assist in integrating the decisions and needs of the two military sections of Imperial General Headquarters with the resources and policies of the rest of the government. Reaching agreement between the Army and Navy on strategic planning was often difficult. When agreement was finally reached on an important strategic issue, the agreement was reduced to writing in a document called a Central Agreement and signed by both Chiefs of Army and Navy General Staffs.

The final decisions of Liaison Conferences were formally disclosed and approved at Imperial Conferences over which Emperor Hirohito presided in person at the Tokyo Imperial Palace.

During the Pacific War
Pacific War

The Pacific War was the part of World War II?and preceding conflicts?that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, between July 7, 1937 and August 14, 1945....
, and after the firebombing of Tokyo, the Imperial General Headquarters relocated to an underground facility in the mountains outside of Nagano
Nagano, Nagano

, the capital cities of Japan of Nagano Prefecture, is located in the northern part of the prefecture near the confluence of the Chikuma and the Sai rivers, on the main Japanese island of Honshu....
.

With the surrender of Japan
Surrender of Japan

The surrender of Japan in August 1945 brought World War II to a close. On August 10, 1945, after the Soviet Union Soviet invasion of Manchuria and the United States atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan's leaders at the Supreme War Council decided, in principle, to accept the terms the Allies of World War II had set down...
, the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers
Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers

Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers was the title held by General Douglas MacArthur during the Occupation of Japan following World War II. Although subsequently there were, and continue to exist, other Supreme Allied Commanders, the SCAP title per se has only ever been given to MacArthur....
 ordered the Imperial General Headquarters abolished on 13 September 1945.

Organization of the Imperial General Headquarters

Imperial General Headquarters comprised Army and Navy Sections. The Army Section comprised the Chief of Army General Staff and his chief of Army Operations, and the Army Minister. The Navy Section comprised Chief of Navy General Staff, his chief of Navy Operations, and the Navy Minister
Ministry of the Navy of Japan

The was the Cabinet -level ministry from 1872-1945 in charge with administration of the Imperial Japanese Navy ....
. In addition, the Inspector-General of Military Training
Inspectorate General of Military Training

The was responsible for all non-military aviation training of the Imperial Japanese Army. It was headed by an Inspector general who was responsible for overseeing technical and tactical training, and who reported directly to the Emperor of Japan via the Imperial General Headquarters rather than to the Ministry of War of Japan or the Chief of the I...
, whose rank was almost on-par with that of the Chiefs of the General Staff, and the Aide-de-camp to the Emperor of Japan
Aide-de-camp to the Emperor of Japan

In Japan, the is a special Officer whose primary duties are to report military affairs to the Emperor and act as a close attendant . From 1896 through to 1945, a small number of army and naval aides-de-camp were supplied to the Emperor due to his increased status and the risks to him during wartime....
 were also members.

Middle-ranking officers of Army and Navy General Staff, and Army and Navy Ministry, met from time to time at middle-level liaison or study conferences to discuss Japan's strategic war plans, and especially, plans requiring cooperation between the two armed services, outside of the formal meeting in the presence of the Emperor.

Relations between the Japanese Army and Navy were never cordial, and often marked by deep hostility. The Army saw the Soviet Union
Soviet Union

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a Constitution of the Soviet Union socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991.The name is a translation of the , romanization of Russian Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated ????, SSSR....
 as Japan's greatest threat and for the most part supported the Hokushin-ron concept that Japan's strategic interests were on the Asian continent. The Navy looked across the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portugal explorer Ferdinand Magellan....
 and saw the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 as the greatest threat, and for the most part supported the Nanshin-ron
Nanshin-ron

The was a political doctrine in the pre-World War II Empire of Japan which stated that Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands were Japan's sphere of interest and that the potential value to the Japanese Empire for economic and territorial expansion in those areas was greater than elsewhere....
 concept that Japan's strategic interests were in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India and north of Australia....
 and the Pacific islands.

Organization during World War II

Hirohito
Hirohito

, also known as , was the 124th Emperor of Japan of Japan according to the traditional order, reigning from 25 December 1926 until his death in 1989....
, the Emperor of Japan
Emperor of Japan

The of Japan is the symbol of the state and of the unity of the Japanese people. He is the head of the Imperial House of Japan. Under Japan's present constitution, the Emperor is the "symbol of the state and the unity of the people," and is a ceremonial figurehead in a constitutional monarchy ....
, was defined as the Head of State
Head of State

Head of state is the generic term for the individual or collective office that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchic or republican nation-state, federation, commonwealth or any other political state....
 and the Generalissimo of the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces
Generalissimo

Generalissimo or Generalissimus is a military rank of the highest degree, superior to a Field Marshal or Grand Admiral....
 according to the constitution of 1889. During World War II, the leadership of the Imperial General Headquarters consisting of the following:
  • Chief of the Army General Staff
    • Kotohito Kan'in
      Prince Kan'in Kotohito

      , wasthe 6th head of a shinnoke the Imperial Household of Japan, and a career army officer who served as Chief of the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff from 1931 to 1940....
       (1931-1940)
    • Hajime Sugiyama
      Hajime Sugiyama

      was a Field Marshal who served as successively as Imperial Army General Staff Office, and Ministry of War of Japan in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II between 1937 and 1944....
       (1940-1944)
    • Hideki Tojo
      Hideki Tojo

      Hideki Tojo was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army and the 40th Prime Minister of Japan during much of World War II, from 18 October 1941 to 22 July 1944....
       (1944)
    • Yoshijiro Umezu
      Yoshijiro Umezu

      was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II....
       (1944-1945)


  • Chief of the Navy General Staff
    Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff

    The was the highest organ within the Imperial Japanese Navy. In charge of planning and operations, it was headed by an Admiral headquartered in Tokyo....
    • Hiroyasu Fushimi (1932-1941)
    • Osami Nagano
      Osami Nagano

      Fleet Admiral was a career navy Officer in the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1934. More of an administrative officer than a sea commander, he was Chief of the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff for the majority of World War II, from April 1941 to February 1944....
       (1941-1944)
    • Shigetaro Shimada
      Shigetaro Shimada

      was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. He also served as Navy Minister...
       (1944)
    • Koshiro Oikawa
      Koshiro Oikawa

      was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy and Ministry of the Navy of Japan during World War II....
       (1944-1945)
    • Soemu Toyoda
      Soemu Toyoda

      was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II....
       (1945)


  • Minister of War
    • Hajime Sugiyama
      Hajime Sugiyama

      was a Field Marshal who served as successively as Imperial Army General Staff Office, and Ministry of War of Japan in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II between 1937 and 1944....
       (1937-1938)
    • Seishiro Itagaki (1938-1939)
    • Shunroku Hata
      Shunroku Hata

      Field Marshal , was a Field Marshal in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. He was the last surviving Japanese military officer with a marshal's rank....
       (1939-1940)
    • Hideki Tojo
      Hideki Tojo

      Hideki Tojo was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army and the 40th Prime Minister of Japan during much of World War II, from 18 October 1941 to 22 July 1944....
       (1939-1944)
    • Korechika Anami
      Korechika Anami

      was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II, and was Ministry of War of Japan at the surrender of Japan....
       (194bob)


  • Minister of the Navy
    Ministry of the Navy of Japan

    The was the Cabinet -level ministry from 1872-1945 in charge with administration of the Imperial Japanese Navy ....
    • Mitsumasa Yonai
      Mitsumasa Yonai

      was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy, and politician. He was the 37th Prime Minister of Japan from January 16, 1940 to July 22, 1940....
       (1937-1939, 1945)
    • Zengo Yoshida
      Zengo Yoshida

      was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy....
       (1939-1940)
    • Koshiro Oikawa
      Koshiro Oikawa

      was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy and Ministry of the Navy of Japan during World War II....
       (1940-1941)
    • Shigetaro Shimada
      Shigetaro Shimada

      was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. He also served as Navy Minister...
       (1941-1944)


Organization of the Imperial Japanese Army -- December 8, 1941

The majority of these troops were stationed in China
China

China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
, Indochina
Indochina

Indochina, or the Indochinese Peninsula, is a subregion in Southeast Asia. It lies roughly east of India, south of China.The word has French origins, Indochine, and was adopted when French colonizers in Vietnam began expanding their territory to bordering countries....
, Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
, Taiwan
Taiwan

Taiwan is an island in East Asia. "Taiwan" is also commonly used to refer to the country governed by the Republic of China and to the ROC itself, which governs the island of Taiwan, Orchid Island and Green Island, Taiwan in the Pacific Ocean off the Taiwan coast, the Penghu islands in the Taiwan Strait, and Kinmen and the Matsu Islands...
, and Korea
Korea

Korea is a geographic area composed of two sovereign countries, a civilization, and a former state situated on the Korean Peninsula in East Asia....
. This includes some 61 division
Division (military)

A division is a large military unit or Formation usually consisting of between ten to thirty thousand soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions make up a corps....
s, 59 brigade
Brigade

A brigade is a military unit that is typically composed of two to five regiments or battalions, depending on the era and nationality of a given army....
s, and 51 air squadron
Squadron

A squadron is a small military unit or formation of cavalry, Armoured forces, aircraft , or warships....
s. Only a fraction of Japan's military, 11 to 14 divisions and the South Seas Detachment
South Seas Detachment

The South Seas Detachment of the Imperial Japanese Army was a brigade-size force formed in 1941 to be the army unit used in the Japanese seizure of the Oceania island groups of Wake, Guam and the Gilberts....
, were available for the December 1941 operations in South-East Asia and the Pacific.

  • Imperial General Headquarters
    • IJA General Staff
      • General Affairs Bureau
        • Organization and Mobilization Department
        • Training Department
      • 1st (Operations) Bureau
        • Operations Department
        • Defence Department
      • 2nd (Intelligence)Bureau
        • Europe and the Americas Department
        • China Department
        • Russia
          Russia

          Russia , or the Russian Federation , is a list of countries spanning more than one continent country extending over much of northern Eurasia....
          /Soviet Union
          Soviet Union

          The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a Constitution of the Soviet Union socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991.The name is a translation of the , romanization of Russian Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated ????, SSSR....
           Department
        • Intelligence Department
      • 3rd (Transport and Communications) Bureau
        • Transport Department
        • Communications Department
      • 4th (Historical) Bureau
        • Military History Department
        • Strategy and Tactics Department
      • General Staff College
        Army War College (Japan)

        The ; Short form: of the Empire of Japan was founded in 1882 in Minato, Tokyo, Tokyo to modernity and Westernization the Imperial Japanese Army. Much of the empire's elite including Prime Minister of Japan during the period of Japanese militarism were graduates of the college....
      • Land Survey Department
    • Ministry Of War
      Ministry of War of Japan

      The , more popularly known as the Ministry of War of Japan was the Cabinet -level ministry from 1872-1945 in charge with administration of the Imperial Japanese Army ....
    • General Defense Command
      General Defense Command

      The was a headquarters organization equivalent to an army group within the Imperial Japanese Army established to control all land and Imperial Japanese Army Air Force units stationed within Japanese home islands, Korea and Taiwan during the Pacific War....
    • China Expeditionary Army
      China Expeditionary Army

      The was an army group of the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II. It was responsible for all military operations in China, and at its peak had over 1 million soldiers under its command....
    • Kwantung Army
      Kwantung Army

      The , also known as the Guandong Army , was an army group of the Imperial Japanese Army in the early twentieth century. It became the largest and most prestigious command in the IJA....
    • Southern Expeditionary Army Group
      Southern Expeditionary Army Group

      The was a army group of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. It was responsible for all military operations in South-East Asian theatre of World War II and South West Pacific Area of World War II....
    • Units under direct General Staff control
      • Imperial Japanese Army Air Force
      • 4th Infantry Division
      • South Seas Detachment
        South Seas Detachment

        The South Seas Detachment of the Imperial Japanese Army was a brigade-size force formed in 1941 to be the army unit used in the Japanese seizure of the Oceania island groups of Wake, Guam and the Gilberts....
      • 1st Army Hospital
      • 2nd Army Hospital
      • 3rd Army Hospital
      • Korean Remount Department
      • Army Air Service Transport Department
      • IGHQ Communications Department


See also

  • List of Japanese government and military commanders of World War II
  • Military history of Japan
    Military history of Japan

    The military history of Japan is characterised by a long period of feudal wars, followed by domestic stability, and then rampant Imperialism. It culminates with Surrender of Japan by the Allies of World War II in World War II....
  • Imperial Japanese Army
    Imperial Japanese Army

    The Imperial Japanese Army , or literally Army of Empire of Greater Japan was the official ground based armed force of Imperial Japan from 1867 to 1945....
  • Imperial Japanese Navy
    Imperial Japanese Navy

    The origins of the Imperial Japanese Navy trace back to early interactions with nations on the Asia, beginning in the early history of Japan#Feudal Japan and reaching a peak of activity during the 16th and 17th centuries at a time of cultural diffusion with European power during the Age of Discovery....


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