Korechika Anami | |
|---|---|
阿南 惟幾 | |
.jpg) Anamic. 1933 | |
| Minister of the Army | |
| In office 7 April 1945 – 15 August 1945 | |
| Prime Minister | Kantarō Suzuki |
| Preceded by | Hajime Sugiyama |
| Succeeded by | Vacent (15-17 August 1945)Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni |
| Member of theSupreme War Council | |
| In office 26 December 1944 – 7 April 1945 | |
| Monarch | Hirohito |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1887-02-21)21 February 1887 |
| Died | 15 August 1945(1945-08-15) (aged 58) Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan |
| Resting place | Tama Cemetery |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Empire of Japan |
| Branch/service |  Imperial Japanese Army |
| Years of service | 1906–1945 |
| Rank |  General |
| Commands | 109th Division,Eleventh Army,Second Area Army |
| Battles/wars | |
| Cause of death | CommittedSeppuku to avoid capture |
Korechika Anami (阿南 惟幾,Anami Korechika; 21 February 1887 – 15 August 1945) was a general in theImperial Japanese Army duringWorld War II who wasWar Minister during thesurrender of Japan.
Anami was born inTaketa city inŌita Prefecture, where his father was a senior bureaucrat in theHome Ministry, and grew up in Tokyo and inTokushima Prefecture. He attended the 18th class of theImperial Japanese Army Academy and was commissioned as asecond lieutenant in theInfantry in December 1906.
In November 1918, Anami graduated from the 30th class of theArmy Staff College with the rank of captain. He was assigned to theImperial Japanese Army General Staff from April 1919 and was promoted tomajor in February 1922. From August 1923 to May 1925, he was assigned to the staff of the Sakhalin Expeditionary Army, which was responsible for the occupation of northernSakhalin island during theJapanese intervention in Siberia. Anami was promoted tolieutenant colonel in August 1925.
From August to December 1925, Anami was sent as amilitary attaché toFrance. On his return to Japan, he was assigned to the45th Infantry Regiment, and became unit commander in August 1928.
From August 1929 to August 1930, Anami served asAide-de-camp to emperorHirohito. He was then promoted tocolonel.
From August 1933 to August 1934, Anami served as regimental commander of the2nd Guard Regiment of theImperial Guards.[1] He was subsequently Commandant of the Tokyo Military Preparatory School,[1] and promoted tomajor general in March 1935.[1]
From August 1936, Anami served as Chief of the Military Administration Bureau of theWar Ministry. He became Chief of the Personnel Bureau in March 1937 and was promoted tolieutenant general in March the following year.[1]
With the start of theSecond Sino-Japanese War, Anami was given a combat command, ascommanding officer of the109th Division inChina from November 1938. He was recalled to Japan in October 1939 to assume the role of Vice-Minister of War in the cabinet ofPrime MinisterFumimaro Konoe. Anami belonged to the clique which supported the rise ofHideki Tojo to power in October 1941.
However, in April 1941, Anami returned to China asCommander in Chief of the11th Army, covering ongoing operations in central China. He was transferred to theJapanese Second Area Army inManchukuo in July 1942.[2][page needed]
In May 1943, Anami was promoted to fullgeneral. As the war conditions in the Pacific deteriorated for the Japanese, the Second Area Army was reassigned to the Southern Theater from November 1943, where Anami directed operations inwestern New Guinea andHalmahera.
Anami was recalled to Japan December 1944 and becameInspector General of Army Aviation and Chief of theArmy Aeronautical Department and concurrently served on theSupreme War Council. In April 1945, he was appointedWar Minister in the cabinet of Prime MinisterKantarō Suzuki.
I am convinced that the Americans had only one bomb, after all.
— Korechika Anami, immediately after the drop of the atomic bombLittle Boy overHiroshima[3][unreliable source?]
As War Minister, Anami was outspoken against the idea of surrender, despite his awareness that Japan's losses on the battlefield and the destruction of Japan's cities and industrial capability by American bombing meant that Japan had lost the war militarily.[4] Even after thebombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Anami opposed acceptance of thePotsdam Declaration and instead called for a large-scale battle to be fought on the Japanese mainland that would cause such massive Allied casualties that Japan would somehow be able to avoid complete surrender and perhaps even keep some of what it had conquered.[5][page needed]
Eventually, his arguments against what he perceived to be the dishonor of surrender were overcome when EmperorHirohito ordered an end to the war. Anami's supporters suggested that he should vote against surrender or resign from the Cabinet. Instead, he ordered his officers to concede and later said to his brother-in-law, "As a Japanese soldier, I must obey my Emperor."[6]
He informed the officers of the War Ministry of the decision and that as it was an imperial command, they must obey.[6] His refusal to support any action against the imperial decision was a key point in the failure of theKyūjō incident, an attempted militarycoup d'état by junior officers to prevent the surrender announcement from being broadcast.[4]
On 14 August, Anami signed the surrender document with the rest of the cabinet and committedseppuku early the next morning.[7] His suicide note read, "I—with my death—humbly apologize [to the Emperor] for the great crime" (一死以て大罪を謝し奉る).[8] The cryptic note is open to multiple interpretations.[7]
Anami's grave is atTama Cemetery, inFuchū, Tokyo. His sword, blood-splattered dress uniform, and suicide note are on display at theYūshūkan Museum, next toYasukuni Shrine, in Tokyo.[citation needed]
Anami's sonAnami Koreshige served asJapan's ambassador to China from 2001 to 2006.[9]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Army Minister April–August 1945 | Succeeded by |
| Military offices | ||
| Preceded by | Commander IJA 11th Army April 1941 – July 1942 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by none | Commander IJA 2nd Area Army July 1942 – December 1944 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
