Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff
The Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff (軍令部 Gunreibu) was the highest organ within the Imperial Japanese Navy. In charge of planning and operations, it was headed by an Admiral headquartered in Tokyo.
History
Created in 1893, the Navy General Staff took over operational (as opposed to administrative) authority over the Imperial Japanese Navy from the Navy Ministry. It was responsible for the planning and execution of national defense strategy. Through the Imperial General Headquarters it reported directly to the Emperor, not to the Prime Minister, Diet of Japan or even the Navy Ministry. It was always headed by an admiral on active duty, and was based in Tokyo.
"The ministry was responsible for the naval budget, ship construction, weapons procurement, personnel, relations with the Diet and the cabinet and broad matters of naval policy. The General Staff directed the operations of the fleet and the preparation of war plans".[1]
After the Washington Naval Conference of 1921-22, where Japan agreed to keep the size of its fleet smaller than that of the United Kingdom and the United States, the Imperial Japanese Navy became divided into the mutually hostile Fleet Faction and Treaty Faction political cliques. The Navy Ministry tended to be pro-Treaty Faction and was anxious to maintain the Anglo-Japanese Alliance. However the Navy General Staff came to be dominated by the Fleet faction, and gradually gained ascendancy in the 1930s with increasing Japanese militarism.The Navy General Staff pushed through the attack on Pearl Harbor against the wishes of the more diplomatic Navy Ministry.
After 1937, both the Navy Minister and the Chief of the Navy General Staff were members of the Imperial General Headquarters.
With the defeat of the Empire of Japan in World War II, the Navy General Staff was abolished together with the Imperial Japanese Navy by the American occupation authorities in November 1945 and was not revived by the post-war Constitution of Japan.
Organization
The General Staff was organized as follows:
- 1st Section: Operations Bureau
- 2nd Section: Weapons and Mobilization Bureau
- 3rd Section: Intelligence Bureau
- 4th Section: Communications Bureau
Chiefs of the Naval General Staff
| # | Date | Name |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 Mar 1889 - 17 May 1889 | Rear Admiral Itō Toshiyoshi |
| 2 | 17 May 1889 - 17 Jun 1891 | Rear Admiral Arichi Shinanojo |
| 3 | 17 Jun 1891 - 12 Dec 1892 | Rear Admiral Inoue Yoshika |
| 4 | 12 Dec 1892 - 18 Jul 1894 | Vice Admiral Nakamuta Kuranosuke |
| 5 | 18 Jul 1894 - 11 May 1895 | Vice Admiral Kabayama Sukenori |
| 6 | 11 May 1895 - 20 Dec 1905 | Vice Admiral Itoh Sukeyuki |
| 7 | 20 Dec 1905 - 1 Dec 1909 | Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō |
| 8 | 1 Dec 1909 - 22 Apr 1914 | Vice Admiral Ijuin Gorō |
| 9 | 22 Apr 1914 - 1 Dec 1920 | Vice Admiral Shimamura Hayao |
| 10 | 1 Dec 1920 - 15 Apr 1925 | Admiral Yamashita Gentarō |
| 11 | 15 Apr 1925 - 22 Jan 1929 | Admiral Suzuki Kantarō |
| 12 | 22 Jan 1929 - 11 Jun 1930 | Admiral Kato Hiroharu |
| 13 | 11 Jun 1930 - 2 Feb 1932 | Vice Admiral Taniguchi Naomi |
| 14 | 2 Feb 1932 - 9 Apr 1941 | Admiral Prince Fushimi Hiroyasu |
| 15 | 9 Apr 1941 - 21 Feb 1944 | Admiral Nagano Osami |
| 16 | 21 Feb 1944 - 2 Aug 1944 | Admiral Shimada Shigetarō |
| 17 | 2 Aug 1944 - 29 May 1945 | Admiral Oikawa Koshirō |
| 18 | 29 May 1945 - 15 Oct 1945 | Admiral Toyoda Soemu |
Notes
- ↑ Spector
References
Books
- Asada, Sadao (2006). From Mahan to Pearl Harbor: The Imperial Japanese Navy and the United States. US Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-042-8.
- Schencking, J. Charles (2005). Making Waves: Politics, Propaganda, And The Emergence Of The Imperial Japanese Navy, 1868-1922. Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-4977-9.
- Spector, Ronald (1985). Eagle Against the Sun. New York: Vintage Books. ISBN 0-394-74101-3.
External links
- "Foreign Office Files for Japan and the Far East". Adam Matthew Publications. Accessed 2 March 2005.