Eastern District Army

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The Eastern District Army (東部軍 Tōbugun?) was a division of the Imperial Japanese Army responsible for the defense of Tokyo, Yokohama, and the surrounding area. It played an especially significant role in combating the August 15, 1945 scheme of Maj. Kenji Hatanaka, who sought to prevent the Emperor's announcement of Japan's surrender from being broadcast. At the time, the commander of the Tōbugun was Lt. Gen. Tanaka Shizuichi.

The Tōbugun was essential to Hatanaka's plan to take over the Imperial Palace, and so Hatanaka exhorted General Tanaka to aid him. The General refused, and later told his men to ignore Strategic Order 584, forged by Hatanaka and ordering the Eastern District Army to seize and defend the Palace; in short, to aid in the coup. Rather than send in his men to defeat the rebels by force, Tanaka traveled to the Palace and spoke to Hatanaka and the other rebel leaders personally, haranguing them, and putting an end to the coup.

[edit] Reference

  • Brooks, Lester (1968). "Behind Japan's Surrender: The Secret Struggle That Ended an Empire." New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company.
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