Jump to content

Osami Nagano

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Justradical (talk | contribs) at 18:30, 12 March 2020 (→Naval career). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Marshal Admiral
Osami Nagano
永野 修身
Minister of the Imperial Japanese Navy
In office
9 March 1936 – 2 February 1938
MonarchShōwa
Prime MinisterKoki Hirota
Preceded byŌsumi Mineo
Succeeded byYonai Mitsumasa
Chief of the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff
In office
9 April 1941 – 21 February 1944
Prime Minister
Preceded byPrince Fushimi Hiroyasu
Succeeded byShimada Shigetarō
Personal details
Born(1880-06-15)June 15, 1880
Kōchi, Kōchi Prefecture, Japan
DiedJanuary 5, 1947(1947-01-05) (aged 66)[1]
Sugamo Prison, Tokyo, Japan
Awards
Military service
AllegianceEmpire of Japan
Branch/serviceImperial Japanese Navy
Years of service1900–1947
RankMarshal Admiral
Commands
Battles/warsWorld War I World War II

Template:Japanese name

Osami Nagano (永野 修身, Nagano Osami, June 15, 1880 – January 5, 1947) was a Japanese career naval officer and Admiral of the Fleet in the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1943. Holding the title of Marshal Admiral, he was more of an administrative officer than a sea commander. From April 1941 to February 1944, he served as Chief of the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff. He was the founder of the Chiba Institute of Technology. Nagano was arrested by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East but died of natural causes in prison during the trial.

Biography

Nagano was born in Kōchi to an ex-samurai family. In 1900, he graduated from the 28th class of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy, ranked second in his class of 105 cadets. After midshipman service on the cruiser Hashidate and battleship Asahi, he was commissioned an ensign and assigned to the cruiser Asama. During the Russo-Japanese War, he served in a number of staff positions. The closest he came to combat was as commander of a land-based heavy naval gun unit during the siege of Port Arthur.[citation needed]

After his promotion to lieutenant in 1905, Nagano served on the battleship Shikishima. From 1905 to 1906, he studied naval artillery and navigation. From 1906 to 1908, he was chief gunnery officer on the cruiser Itsukushima. In 1909, he graduated from the Japanese Naval War College.

In 1910, Nagano was promoted to lieutenant commander and assigned as chief gunnery officer on the battleship Katori. From January 1913 to April 1915, he was a language officer in the United States, during which time he studied at Harvard Law School.

During World War I, Nagano was executive officer on the cruisers Nisshin and cruiser Iwate. In 1918, he was promoted to captain. In 1919, he received his first (and only) ship command, the cruiser Hirado.[3]

From December 1920, Nagano was a military attaché to the United States, in which capacity he attended the Washington Naval Conference. In November 1923, he returned home, although he returned to the United States on official visits in 1927 and 1933. In December 1923, he was promoted to rear admiral.

In February 1924, Nagano was chief of the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff Third Section (Intelligence). From December 1924, he commanded the 3rd Battleship Division. From April 1925, he commanded the 1st China Expeditionary Fleet. In December 1927, he was promoted to vice admiral.

From 1928 to 1929, Nagano was commandant of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy. Nagano introduced and influenced Progressive education method such as Dalton Plan to Japanese Naval Academy.[4] [title missing][author missing]

From 1930 to 1931, he was vice chief of the Navy General Staff, in which capacity he attended the Geneva Naval Conference. He attended the London Naval Conference 1930. From 1933 to 1934, he was commander in chief of the Yokosuka Naval District. On 1 March 1934, he was promoted to admiral and appointed to the Supreme War Council. Nagano was the chief naval delegate to the London Naval Conference 1935.[citation needed] Japan withdrew in protest from the 1935 London Conference after it was denied naval parity with the United States and Great Britain.

In 1936, Nagano was appointed Navy Minister under Prime Minister Kōki Hirota. In 1937, he was appointed Combined Fleet commander-in-chief.

From 1941, Nagano was chief of the Imperial Japanese Naval General Staff, serving as the most senior officer in the Japanese navy during most of World War II. However, he did not provide strong leadership and entrusted too much strategic planning to hard-line subordinates.[5] Although he was a proponent of the Nanshin-ron, he was against war with the United States. Nagano pretended to go south in order to avoid the Japanese Army from participating in the war between Germany and the Soviet Union.[according to whom?] He tried to avoid Japan waging war with the Soviet Union and the United States.[disputed – discuss] On July 30, 1941, when the US announced the petroleum embargo, he met Emperor Showa and said that Japan is not likely to win even if fighting.[citation needed] Nagano urged for Japan's alliance with Germany to be annulled, but Emperor Hirohito refused because it would go against international fidelity.[citation needed][disputed – discuss] At a conference on November 1, 1941, Osami Nagano proposed an anti-war plan, but this was struck down by Prime Minister Tojo Hideki.[6] [7][unreliable source?]. He concluded that if Japan were able to take over British and Dutch colonies in Asia without directly attacking the United States, the isolationist factions with the American government would prevent the United States from declaring war against Japan. [citation needed] He was against Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto's planned attack on Pearl Harbor, but reluctantly gave his approval for the attack after Yamamoto threatened to resign as Combined Fleet commander.[8]

In 1943, Nagano was promoted to marshal admiral. By 1944, however, Japan had suffered serious military setbacks and Nagano had lost the confidence of Emperor Hirohito.[9] With the emperor's approval, Prime Minister Hideki Tōjō and Navy Minister Shigetarō Shimada removed Nagano from his post and replaced him. Nagano spent the remainder of the war as an advisor to the government.

Remark

  • According to the opinion of the Japanese government, if Japan accepts the demand of the United States, Japan will perish. However, even if Japan fights against the United States, Japan may perish. That is, accepting the request of the United States will destroy Japan without fighting the United States. Even if we fight against the United States, if Japan can not avoid the danger of extinction, if Japan defeats without fighting with the United States, the Japanese people will truly disappear from the earth. However, if Japanese people can fight and show the spirit of defending Japan, even if Japan fights against America, our descendants will always rebuild Japan. We hope to solve problems in diplomatic negotiations. But unfortunately we will be fighting if we are to be commanded to wage war.（September 6, 1941, Osami Nagano）[10] [title missing]

War crimes trial

After World War II in 1945, the American Occupation forces arrested Nagano. He was charged with Class A war criminal charges before the International Military Tribunal for the Far East in Tokyo. When US naval officers interrogated him, he was described as "thoroughly cooperative," "keenly alert," "intelligent," and "anxious to develop American friendship."[11] James Otto Richardson praised Attack on Pearl Harbor and praised Osami Nagano[12]. The last Fleet Admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy, he died of a heart attack due to complications arising from pneumonia in Sugamo Prison in Tokyo before the conclusion of his trial.

IJN Insignia Rank Date
海軍少尉候補生 Kaigun Shōi Kōhōsei
(Midshipman) 		13 December 1900
海軍少尉 Kaigun Shōi
(Ensign) 		18 January 1902
海軍中尉 Kaigun Chūi
(Sub-Lieutenant/Lieutenant Junior Grade) 		26 September 1903
海軍大尉 Kaigun Daii
(Lieutenant) 		12 January 1905
海軍少佐 Kaigun Shōsa
(Lieutenant-Commander) 		1 December 1910
海軍中佐 Kaigun Chūsa
(Commander) 		1 December 1914
海軍大佐 Kaigun Daisa
(Captain) 		1 December 1918
海軍少将 Kaigun Shōshō
(Rear-Admiral) 		1 December 1923
海軍中将 Kaigun Chūjō
(Vice-Admiral) 		1 December 1927
海軍大将 Kaigun Taishō
(Admiral) 		1 March 1934
元帥海軍大将 Gensui Kaigun Taishō
(Marshal-Admiral) 		21 June 1943

References

Books

  • D'Albas, Andrieu (1965). Death of a Navy: Japanese Naval Action in World War II. Devin-Adair Pub. ISBN 0-8159-5302-X.
  • Dull, Paul S. (1978). A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1941-1945. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-097-1.
  • Evans, David (1979). Kaigun: Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887-1941. US Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-192-7.
  • Parshall, Johnathan (2005). Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway. Potomac Books. ISBN 1-57488-923-0.
  • Tucker, Spencer C (2011). World War II at Sea:An Encyclopedia. ABC-Clio Inc. ISBN 1-59884-457-1.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Osami Nagano.

Notes

  1. ^ Nishida, Imperial Japanese Navy
  2. ^ a b Nagano Osami at navalhistory.flixco.info
  3. ^ Tucker, World War II:An Encyclopedia, page 529
  4. ^ JapaneseBOOK”戸高一成『証言録 海軍反省会』2009”
  5. ^ Parshall, Shattered Sword
  6. ^ Japanese book,”鳥居民『山本五十六の乾坤一擲』”
  7. ^ JapaneseBOOK”Takushiro Hattori『大東亜戦争全史』1969”
  8. ^ Evans. Kaigun. page 528-529
  9. ^ D’Abas, Death of a Navy
  10. ^ JapaneseBOOK”Toshio Motoya『【増補版】理論近現代史学　本当の日本の歴史』2017”
  11. ^ USSBS, Interrogations of Japanese Officials
  12. ^ JapaneseBOOK”Hiroyuki Agawa『大人の見識』2007”
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Osami_Nagano&oldid=945243990"