World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseSeishiro Itagaki was born in the city of Morioka in Iwate, Japan. He graduated from the Japanese Army Academy in 1904 and shortly after participated in the Russo-Japanese War. Between 1924 and 1926, he served as a military attaché at the Japanese embassy in China. Between 1926 and 1927, he was attached to the Army General Staff. In 1927, he was named the commanding officer of the 33rd Infantry Brigade of the 10th Division based in China. Between 1928 and 1929, he served with the 33rd Infantry Regiment of the Kwantung Army in China. In 1931, he was named the Chief of the Intelligence Section of the Kwantung Army. Later in the same year, he helped plan the Mukden Incident that escalated the conflict with China and soon led to the establishment of a Japanese-sponsored puppet kingdom in northeastern China. Between 1932 and 1934, he served as a military advisor to the said puppet kingdom, Manchukuo. He became the vice chief of staff of the Kwantung Army in 1934, and the chief of staff in 1936. Between 1937 and 1938, Itagaki was the commanding officer of the 5th Division in China; in this role, he played a part in the Battle of Beijing and Tianjin and other engagements during the opening chapters of WW2 in Asia. Between 3 Jun 1938 and 30 Aug 1939, he served as the War Minister under Prime Minister Konoe Fumimaro and Hiranuma Kiichiro. As the War Minister, in Dec 1938, as one of the Five Minister Council under the leadership of Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe, declared that the deportation of Jews in Japan, including occupied territories in China and Korea, was prohibited; this decision was made in accordance to Konoe's Hakko Ichu ("all the world under one roof") policy. Between 1939 and 1941, he served as the chief of staff of the Japanese Army's China Expeditionary Army. In Jul 1941, he was given command of the Chosen Army in Korea; although a promotion, this assignment to a rear area command meant Itagaki was to play only a minor role in the rest of the war. In Apr 1945, he was reassigned to the Seventh Area Army in Singapore and Malaya. In Sep 1945, he surrendered Japanese forces in Southeast Asia to British Admiral Louis Mountbatten in Singapore. He was found guilty of war crimes by the International Military Tribunal, Far East in Tokyo, Japan and was sentenced to death by hanging, which was carried out in Dec 1948 at Sugamo Prison in Tokyo.

Seishiro Itagaki Interactive Map

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Seishiro Itagaki Timeline