The army chief caught between imperial command and surrender
On September 2, 1945, he signed the surrender instrument on behalf of Imperial General Headquarters.
Yoshijirō Umezu was a senior general of Imperial Japan who helped direct military rule and continental policy in China and Manchuria. As Army Chief of Staff from 1944, he argued for continuing the war, yet refused to support a military coup and enforced the emperor’s surrender order. On September 2, 1945, he signed the instrument of surrender for Imperial General Headquarters, then received a life sentence at the International Military Tribunal for the Far East for responsibility in waging aggressive war and died in prison.
Career Timeline
- 1904Second lieutenant, 1st Infantry Regiment
- 1919–1921Military attaché in Switzerland
- 1934–1935Commander, China Garrison Army
- 1939–1944Commander and commander-in-chief, Kwantung Army
- 1944–1945Chief of the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff
- 1945Signed the surrender instrument for Imperial General Headquarters
- 1948–1949Life imprisonment at the IMTFE, died in custody