The theorist who designed Japan's Manchurian expansion
“Who starts a war just because he wants oil?”
Kanji Ishiwara was an Imperial Japanese Army officer and military thinker who viewed Manchuria as a strategic base for a future war against the United States. As a Kwantung Army planner in 1931, he worked with Seishirō Itagaki to use the railway sabotage as a pretext for the Mukden Incident and the occupation of Manchuria. He later opposed an all-out war in China, confronting the consequences of his own expansionist project before his conflict with Hideki Tōjō ended his active career.
Career Timeline
- 1909Graduated from Army Academy, commissioned infantry second lieutenant
- 1915–1918Studied at Army War College, graduated second
- 1921–1925Army War College instructor, studied in Germany
- 1928–1931Kwantung Army chief operations planner and operations chief
- 1935–1937Army General Staff operations chief and director
- 1937–1938Deputy chief of staff, Kwantung Army
- 1939–1941Lieutenant general, commander of 16th Division, retired to reserve
- 1941–1945Director of Ritsumeikan national defense institute, led East Asia League movement