Yoshitsugu Tatekawa

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Yoshitsugu Tatekawa (義次立川) (1880-1945) was a Japanese lieutenant-general and diplomat. He played an important role in the Mukden incident in 1931 as major-general and he concluded the 1941 Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact in 1941 as ambassador to the Soviet Union.

1 1931 Mukden Incident
2 1941 Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact
3 Career
4 See also
5 References

[edit] 1931 Mukden Incident

Main article: Mukden Incident.

Then-major-general Tatekawa was ordered by Minister of War Jirō Minami to go to Manchuria and prevent the military takeover of Manchuria by the Japanese Kwantung Army stationed there. Although the Kwantung Army was nominally subordinate to the Japanese High Command, its leadership demonstrated significant self-determination, as conspirators in the Army plotted the assassination of Zhang Zuolin in 1928 and the Mukden Incident (1931). However when Tatekawa arrived in Mukden, he did not prevent the take-over. Instead he informed the Japanese Kwantung officers that High Command wanted to prevent their plans and got himself drunk until he fell asleep, while the explosion at the South Manchurian Railway tracks took place. ^[1] Later on, he justified his mission failure by stating that he did not arrive on time. The explosion was used as a pretext for the military take-over of Manchuria, which let to the foundation of Manchukuo in 1932.

[edit] 1941 Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact

Main article: Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact.

The Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact was signed on April 13, 1941, two years after the Soviet-Japanese Border War (1939) by Vyacheslav Molotov on the Soviet side, and on the Japanese side by Taketawa as ambassador to the Soviet Union, and by Yosuke Matsuoka, the Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs. He also signed the declaration regarding the Mongolian's People Republic and Mantchukuo.

[edit] Career

1920-1922: Member of the Japanese Military Delegation to the League of Nations
1922-1923: Attached to 1st Cavalry Regiment
1923-1924: Commanding Officer 5th Cavalry Regiment
1924-1928: Chief of 4th Section (European & American Intelligence), 2nd Bureau, General Staff
1928-1929: Military Attaché to China
1929-1931: Head of 2nd Bureau, General Staff
1931: Head of 1st Bureau, General Staff
1931-1932: Member of the Japanese Delegation to the Geneva Disarmament Conference
1932: Attached to the General Staff
1932-1933: Permanent Representative of the Japanese Army to the League of Nations
1933-1934: General Officer Commanding 10th Depot Division
1934-1935: General Officer Commanding 10th Division
1935-1936: General Officer Commanding 4th Division
1936: Retired
1940-1942: Ambassador to Soviet Union