Seishirō Itagaki
General Seishirō Itagaki (板垣 征四郎, Itagaki Seishirō, 21 January 1885 – 23 December 1948) was a Japanese military officer and politician who served as a general in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II and War Minister from 1938 to 1939.
Seishirō Itagaki | |
|---|---|
板垣征四郎 | |
Itagaki in 1938 | |
| Minister of War of the Japanese Empire | |
| In office 3 June 1938 – 30 August 1939 | |
| Monarch | Shōwa |
| Prime Minister | |
| Preceded by | Hajime Sugiyama |
| Succeeded by | Shunroku Hata |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 21 January 1885 Morioka, Iwate, Japan |
| Died | 23 December 1948 (aged 63) Sugamo Prison, Tokyo, Occupied Japan |
| Cause of death | Execution by hanging |
| Alma mater | Imperial Japanese Army Academy |
| Profession | Military |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Empire of Japan |
| Branch/service | Imperial Japanese Army |
| Years of service | 1904–1945 |
| Rank | General |
| Commands | |
| Battles/wars | Russo-Japanese War
Japanese invasion of Manchuria Pacification of Manchukuo Second Sino-Japanese War World War II |
Itagaki was a main conspirator behind the Mukden Incident and held prestigious chief of staff posts in the Kwantung Army and China Expeditionary Army during the early Second Sino–Japanese War. Itagaki became War Minister but fell from grace after Japanese defeat in the Soviet–Japanese border conflicts, serving as general for several field armies until surrendering Japanese forces in Southeast Asia in 1945. Itagaki was convicted of war crimes by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East and executed in 1948.