Ministry of War of Japan
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The Army Ministry of Japan (陸軍省 Rikugunshō?), 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 (IJA).
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[edit] History
The Army Ministry was created in April 1872, along with the Navy Ministry, to replace the Ministry of Military Affairs (Hyōbushō) of the early Meiji government of Japan.
Initially, the Army Ministry was in charge of both administration and operational command of the Imperial Japanese Army; however, with the creation of the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff in December 1878, it was left with only administrative functions. Its primary role was to secure the army budget, weapons procurement, personnel, relations with the Diet of Japan and the cabinet and broad matters of military policy.
The post of Army Minister was politically powerful. Although a member of the Cabinet after the establishment of the cabinet system of government under the Meiji Constitution from 1885, the Army Minister was answerable directly to the Emperor of Japan and not to the Prime Minister of Japan.
The post of Army Minister was usually filled by an active duty general in the Imperial Japanese Army. This practice was made into law under the "Military Ministers to be Active-Duty Officers Law" (軍部大臣現役武官制 Gumbu daijin gen'eki bukan sei?) in 1900 by Prime Minister Yamagata Aritomo to curb the influence of political parties into military affairs. Abolished in 1913 under the administration of Yamamoto Gonnohyoe, the law was revived again in 1936 at the insistence of the Army General Staff by Prime Minister Hirota Koki. The ability of the Army to refuse to nominate an Army Minister gave it effective veto power over the formation of any civilian administration, and was a key factor in the erosion of representative democracy and the rise of Japanese militarism.
The Ministry was abolished in December 1945 after the end of World War II during the American Occupation of Japan.
[edit] Organization
- Under-Secretary of the Army (Vice Minister)
- Military Affairs Bureau
- Personnel Bureau
- Weapons Bureau
- Army Service Bureau
- Administration Bureau
- Intendance (Accounts and Supply)
- Medical
- Judicial Bureau
- Economic Mobilization Bureau
- Aeronautical Department
- Economic Mobilization (abolished in April 1945)
The Army Ministry and Imperial General Headquarters were located was located in Ichigaya Heights, in which is now part of Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo.
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[edit] Ministers of War of Japan
| Date | Name | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 Dec 1885 - 17 May 1891 | Oyama Iwao |
| 2 | 17 May 1891 - 8 Aug 1892 | Takashima Tomonosuke |
| 3 | 8 Aug 1892 - 31 Aug 1896 | Oyama Iwao |
| 4 | 31 Aug 1896 - 18 Sep 1896 | Saigō Tsugumichi |
| 5 | 18 Sep 1896 - 20 Sep 1896 | Oyama Iwao |
| 6 | 20 Sep 1896 - 12 Jan 1898 | Takashima Tomonosuke |
| 7 | 12 Jan 1898 - 23 Dec 1900 | Katsura Tarō |
| 8 | 23 Dec 1900 - 27 Mar 1902 | Kodama Gentarō |
| 9 | 27 Mar 1902 - 30 Aug 1911 | Terauchi Masatake |
| 10 | 30 Aug 1911 - 2 Apr 1912 | Ishimoto Shinroku |
| 11 | 5 Apr 1912 - 21 Dec 1912 | Uehara Yūsaku |
| 12 | 21 Dec 1912 - 24 Jun 1913 | Kigoshi Yasutsuna |
| 13 | 24 Jun 1913 - 16 Apr 1914 | Kusunose Yukihiko |
| 14 | 16 Apr 1914 - 30 Mar 1916 | Oka Ichinosuke |
| 15 | 30 Mar 1916 - 29 Sep 1918 | Oshima Ken'ichi |
| 16 | 29 Sep 1918 - 9 Jun 1921 | Tanaka Giichi |
| 17 | 9 Jun 1921 - 24 Aug 1923 | Yamanashi Hanzō |
| 18 | 24 Aug 1923 - 2 Sep 1923 | Tanaka Giichi |
| 19 | 2 Sep 1923 - 20 Apr 1927 | Ugaki Kazushige |
| 20 | 20 Apr 1927 - 2 Jul 1929 | Shirakawa Yoshinori |
| 21 | 2 Jul 1929 - 14 Apr 1931 | Ugaki Kazushige |
| 22 | 14 Apr 1931 - 13 Dec 1931 | Minami Jirō |
| 23 | 13 Dec 1931 - 23 Jan 1934 | Araki Sadao |
| 24 | 23 Jan 1934 - 5 Sep 1935 | Hayashi Senjūrō |
| 25 | 5 Sep 1935 - 9 Mar 1936 | Kawashima Yoshiyuki |
| 26 | 9 Mar 1936 - 2 Feb 1937 | Terauchi Hisaichi |
| 27 | 2 Feb 1937 - 9 Feb 1937 | Nakamura Kōtarō |
| 28 | 9 Feb 1937 - 3 Jun 1938 | Sugiyama Hajime |
| 29 | 3 Jun 1938 - 30 Aug 1939 | Itagaki Seishirō |
| 30 | 30 Aug 1939 - 22 Jul 1940 | Hata Shunroku |
| 31 | 22 Jul 1940 - 22 Jul 1944 | Tojo Hideki |
| 32 | 22 Jul 1944 - 7 Apr 1945 | Sugiyama Hajime |
| 33 | 7 Apr 1945 - 14 Aug 1945 | Anami Korechika |
| 34 | 17 Aug 1945 - 23 Aug 1945 | Higashikuni Naruhiko |
| 35 | 23 Aug 1945 - 1 Dec 1945 | Shimomura Sadamu |
[edit] References
- Edgerton, Robert B. (1999). Warriors of the Rising Sun: A History of the Japanese Military. Westview Press. ISBN 0813336007.
- Harries, Meirion (1994). Soldiers of the Sun: The Rise and Fall of the Imperial Japanese Army. Random House. ISBN 0679753036.
- "Foreign Office Files for Japan and the Far East". Adam Matthew Publications. Accessed 2 March 2005.
