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Kuniaki Koiso | |
|---|---|
小磯 國昭 | |
 Koisoc. 1940s | |
| Prime Minister of Japan | |
| In office 22 July 1944 – 7 April 1945 | |
| Monarch | Hirohito |
| Preceded by | Hideki Tojo |
| Succeeded by | Kantarō Suzuki |
| President of the Imperial Rule Assistance Association | |
| In office 22 July 1944 – 7 April 1945 | |
| Deputy | Taketora Ogata |
| Preceded by | Hideki Tojo |
| Succeeded by | Kantarō Suzuki |
| Governor-General of Korea | |
| In office 15 June 1942 – 22 July 1944 | |
| Monarch | Hirohito |
| Preceded by | Jirō Minami |
| Succeeded by | Nobuyuki Abe |
| Minister of Colonial Affairs | |
| In office 16 January 1940 – 22 July 1940 | |
| Prime Minister | Mitsumasa Yonai |
| Preceded by | Tsuneo Kanemitsu |
| Succeeded by | Yōsuke Matsuoka |
| In office 7 April 1939 – 30 August 1939 | |
| Prime Minister | Kiichirō Hiranuma |
| Preceded by | Yoshiaki Hatta |
| Succeeded by | Tsuneo Kanemitsu |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1880-03-22)22 March 1880 |
| Died | 3 November 1950(1950-11-03) (aged 70) |
| Resting place | Aoyama Cemetery |
| Political party | Imperial Rule Assistance Association (1940–1945) |
| Other political affiliations | Sakurakai |
| Spouse | |
| Alma mater | Imperial Japanese Army Academy Army War College |
| Profession | Soldier |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Japan |
| Branch/service |  Imperial Japanese Army |
| Years of service | 1900–1938 |
| Rank |  General |
| Commands | |
Kuniaki Koiso (小磯國昭,Koiso Kuniaki; 22 March 1880 – 3 November 1950) was a Japanese politician and general who served asprime minister of Japan from 1944 to 1945, duringWorld War II. He previously served as minister of colonial affairs in 1939 and 1940, and asgovernor-general of Korea from 1942 to 1944. Koiso resigned as premier after the start of theBattle of Okinawa, and following Japan's surrender he was convicted as aClass A war criminal and sentenced tolife imprisonment, dying in prison in 1950.
Koiso was born on March 22, 1880, inUtsunomiya,Tochigi Prefecture, the first son ofchief inspector of police andshizoku (formersamurai) Koiso Susumu.[1] He attended eight different schools, graduating from Yamagata Middle School (today Yamagata Prefectural Yamagata East High School). He was accepted as an officer candidate in 1898.
Koiso graduated from theImperial Japanese Army Academy in 1900 and went on to attend theArmy Staff College. Commissioned a2nd Lieutenant in the 30th Infantry Regiment in June 1901, he was promoted toLieutenant in November 1903. During theRusso-Japanese War, he served as Battalion Adjutant in September 1904, Company Commander in March 1905 and was promoted tocaptain in June 1905.
In November 1910, Koiso graduated from theArmy Staff College, 33rd in a class of 55, and returned to the Imperial Japanese Army Academy as an instructor in December 1910.
Reassigned to theKwantung Army General Staff in September 1912, Koiso was promoted tomajor and Battalion Commander of the 2d Infantry Regiment in August 1914. He returned to theImperial Japanese Army General Staff Headquarters in June 1915, was promoted tolieutenant colonel in July 1918, and seconded to theImperial Japanese Army Air Service in July 1921. After his promotion tocolonel in February 1922, he was sent as amilitary attaché to Europe in June 1922, returning to assume command of theIJA 51st Division in August 1923. Returning to the Army General Staff in May 1925, he was promoted tomajor general in December 1926 andlieutenant general in August 1931.
During the 1920s Koiso joined the relatively moderateTōseiha (Control Faction) led by GeneralKazushige Ugaki, along withGen Sugiyama,Yoshijirō Umezu,Tetsuzan Nagata, andHideki Tōjō as opposed to the more radicalKōdōha (Action Faction) underSadao Araki.
In February 1932, Koiso becameVice-Minister of War and in August 1932, concurrentlyChief of Staff of the Kwantung Army. In March 1934, he was transferred to command theIJA 5th Division (Hiroshima). He then assumed command of theChōsen Army inKorea from December 1935. Promoted to fullgeneral in November 1937, he joined the Army General Staff in July 1938.
Koiso left active duty in July 1938. From April to August 1939, he served in the cabinet of Prime MinisterHiranuma Kiichirō asMinister of Colonial Affairs. He returned to the same post again from January to July 1940 under theYonai administration.
Koiso was appointedGovernor-General of Korea, succeedingJirō Minami, from May 1942 to 1944, during which time he gained the nickname "The Tiger of Korea" for his looks rather than his military prowess.[2] Koiso continued his predecessor's hardline policies, such as imposing the highly unpopular universalmilitary conscription on Koreans, which forced them to fight for the Japanese, on August 1, 1943.[3]
When news ofKorean independence reached him after the war, Koiso scoffed "the dream of Korean independence is as foolish as trying to plot the independence ofKyushu orHokkaido."[citation needed]
After theAllied landing in Normandy (June 6) and the successfulcapture of Saipan (9 July),Hideki Tojo resigned and a new cabinet was formed. In selecting a newprime minister, the elder statesmen narrowed the candidates down to three:Hisaichi Terauchi (commander of theSouthern Expeditionary Army Group),Shunroku Hata (commander of theChina Expeditionary Army), and Koiso.
The Army strongly favored GeneralHisaichi Terauchi; however, they could not afford to recall him to Japan from his role as commander-in-chief of allJapanese forces in Southeast Asia. The civilian government, especiallyLord Keeper of the Privy SealKōichi Kido and former prime ministerFumimaro Konoe, also did not favor Koiso, due to Koiso's previous involvement with the ultranationalistSakura Kai and its attemptedcoup d'état against the government in 1931 (i.e. the "March Incident"). These reservations were shared by theEmperor in hisPrivy Council meetings. Koiso was supported by two former prime ministers,Mitsumasa Yonai andHiranuma Kiichirō, and as no consensus could be reached on a more suitable alternative, their arguments prevailed.[4] Moreover,Mitsumasa Yonai was appointed vice-prime minister as a way of dealing with strong objections to Koiso.
Koiso attempted to end army-navy rivalry by creating a Supreme Chief of Staff (最高幕僚長), but this was structured to favor the army, thus bitter opposition from the navy doomed the plan. Instead, a Supreme War Guidance Council (最高戦争指導会議) was created (August 4, 1944 – August 22, 1945). Koiso was not taken seriously at Council meetings, where he was openly contradicted by Hata Hikosaburo. Within the top levels of the Imperial Army, rumors circulated that the Koiso Cabinet would only last two months (it lasted nine months).
Koiso's strategy for ending the war was to strike a hard blow against the American Army in the Philippines, forcing negotiations. However, the general entrusted with the defense of the Philippines,Tomoyuki Yamashita, disagreed with the planners in the Southern Expeditionary Army. As such, the Army and Navy could not agree on a coordinated plan.[5] Nevertheless, the defenders were prepared to make considerable sacrifices whenDouglas MacArthur invadedLeyte on October 17, with the firstkamikaze attack carried out on October 21, and the Japanese Navy losing four aircraft carriers and three battleships during theBattle of Leyte Gulf. Although the strategy had failed, Koiso did not change his way of thinking. Late in 1944, Koiso still planned to send PrinceFumimaro Konoe on a peace mission to neutral countries,Switzerland andSweden, but it came to nothing.
During the remainder of Koiso's premiership in office, Japanese forces continued to suffer a string of defeats on all fronts at the hands of theAllies. Also during his premiership, on 10 November 1944,Wang Jingwei died ofpneumonia in a Japanese hospital inNagoya, which effectively was the end of theReorganized National Government of China in northern China. For a time, Koiso considered making peace, but he could not find a solution that would appease both the Japanese military and the Allies. Left with little choice but to continue the war effort, Koiso tried to extend his power over the army by attempting to assume the position of War Minister concurrently with that of Prime Minister, but was unable to legally do so as he was on the reserve list. Koiso resigned in April 1945 whenAmerican forces invaded Okinawa and his demands to be included in military decisions were rejected, the same date theImperial Japanese Navy flagshipYamato was sunk by American aircraft duringOperation Ten-Go.[6]
Koiso was an ardent supporter ofState Shinto along withHeisuke Yanagawa, who directed the Government Imperial Aid Association. He restored the ancient sacred rites in theSukumo river, nearHakone, the "Preliminary Misogi Rite".
After the end of World War II, Koiso was arrested by theAllied occupation powers and tried by theInternational Military Tribunal for the Far East forwar crimes. Upon conviction as aClass-A war criminal on counts 1, 27, 29, 31, 32 and 55, he was given a sentence oflife imprisonment.[7] The Tribunal specifically cited Koiso's decisive role in starting the wars against China and the Allies. "Furthermore, despite the fact that Kuniaki Koiso was not directly responsible for the war crimes committed by the Japanese Army, he took no measures to prevent them or to punish the perpetrators when, as Prime Minister, it was within his power to do so."[8] Koiso died ofesophageal cancer inSugamo Prison in 1950. His grave is at theAoyama Cemetery in central Tokyo.
From the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Minister of Colonial Affairs 1939 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Colonial Affairs 1940 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Governor General of Korea 1942–1944 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Japan 1944–1945 | Succeeded by |
| Empire of Japan (1868–1947) |
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| Japan (1947–present) |
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