World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseMasaichi Niimi was born in Hiroshima, Japan as the second son to a farming family. He graduated from the Japanese Navy Academy in Nov 1908 and served aboard cruisers Aso and Izumo as a midshipman. He attended naval artillery and torpedo school in 1910 before returning to cruiser Aso, followed by service aboard destroyer Yayoi, cruiser Katori, battlecruiser Ibuki, battleship Kawachi, and destroyer Umikaze. Between 1917 and Nov 1919, he studied naval artillery at the Naval War College. Returning to see, he was made the chief gunnery officer of battleship Ise in 1920. Between 1923 and 1925, he served in the United Kingdom as a naval attaché; during this period, he researched extensively on British Royal Navy operations during WW1. After his return to Japan, he was made the executive officer of cruiser Kuma in 1926. In 1931, he was given his first command, cruiser Oi. He would later command cruiser Yakumo, followed by cruiser Maya. He served for some time as an instructor at the Navy Academy before becoming the chief of education at the Navy Ministry. He reached admiral rank in Nov 1935. In 1936, he was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, 2nd Class. In 1937, he accompanied Yasuhito, the Prince Chichibu, to the United Kingdom for the coronation ceremonies of King George VI and attended the naval review in King Goerge VI's honor. He also visited France, Germany, and the United States before returning to Japan. After serving as chief of staff of the Kure Naval District and chief of staff of the 2nd Fleet, he was promoted to the rank of vice admiral in Nov 1939 and was made the commandant of the Japanese Navy Academy. His personal entry into WW2 took place in Apr 1941 when he took command of the 2nd China Expeditionary Fleet, which had been active in the war against China. In that role, in Dec 1941 after the outbreak of the Pacific War, he oversaw the naval component of the invasion of Hong Kong. After the conquest of Hong Kong, he was made a co-governor, alongside of Army General Takashi Sakai, of the Japanese Occupation Administration in Hong Kong, with Niimi overseeing offshore patrol and defenses, while Sakai took charge of matters on land. Niimi's lack of influence on land saved him from being responsible for the extrajudicial killings of civilians during his time in Hong Kong. In Feb 1942, he was recalled to Japan. In Jul 1942, he was made the commander-in-chief of the Maizuru Naval District, and at the same time he was awarded Grand Cordon of the Order of the Sacred Treasure. He retired from military service in Mar 1944. After WW2, he was a guest lecturer at the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Command and Staff College, and, in the 1980s, served as a senior advisor to the secretive Naval Introspection Committee which studied the Army-Navy rivalry in the 1930s and 1940s, and Japan's role as the aggressor in Asia. He passed away in 1993 as the last WW2-era vice admiral.

Masaichi Niimi Interactive Map

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Masaichi Niimi Timeline