Army Ministry

The Army Ministry of Japan (陸軍省, Rikugunshō), more popularly known as the Ministry of War of Japan, was the department in the Government of Japan charged with the administration of the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). It existed from 1872 to 1945.

History

The Army Ministry was created in April 1872, along with the Navy Ministry, to replace the Ministry of Military Affairs (Hyōbushō) of the early Meiji government of Japan.

Initially, the Army Ministry was in charge of both administration and operational command of the Imperial Japanese Army. However, with the creation of the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff in December 1878, it was left with only administrative functions. Its primary role was to secure the army budget, weapons procurement, personnel, relations with the Diet of Japan and the Cabinet and broad matters of military policy.

The post of Army Minister was politically powerful. Although a member of the Cabinet after the establishment of the cabinet system of government in 1885, the Army Minister was answerable directly to the Emperor (the commander-in-chief of all Japanese armed forces under the Meiji Constitution) and not the Prime Minister.

The post of Army Minister was usually filled by an active-duty general in the Imperial Japanese Army. This practice was made into law under the "Military Ministers to be Active-Duty Officers Law" (軍部大臣現役武官制, Gumbu daijin gen'eki bukan sei) in 1900 by Prime Minister Yamagata Aritomo to curb the influence of political parties into military affairs. Abolished in 1913 under the administration of Yamamoto Gonnohyoe, the law was revived again in 1936 at the insistence of the Army General Staff by Prime Minister Hirota Kōki. The ability of the Army to refuse to nominate an Army Minister gave it effective veto power over the formation of any civilian administration, and was a key factor in the erosion of representative democracy and the rise of Japanese militarism.

The Ministry was abolished in December 1945 after the end of World War II during the American Occupation of Japan.

Organization

Under-Secretary of the Army (Vice Minister)
- Military Affairs Bureau
- Personnel Bureau
- Weapons Bureau
- Army Service Bureau
- Administration Bureau
- Intendance (Accounts and Supply)
- Medical
- Judicial Bureau
- Economic Mobilization Bureau
- Aeronautical Department
- Economic Mobilization (abolished in April 1945)

The Army Ministry and Imperial General Headquarters were located was located in Ichigaya Heights, in which is now part of Shinjuku, Tokyo.

Ministers of Army of Japan

#	Dates		Name
1	22 December 1885	17 May 1891	Ōyama Iwao
2	17 May 1891	8 August 1892	Takashima Tomonosuke
3	8 August 1892	31 August 1896	Ōyama Iwao
4	31 August 1896	18 September 1896	Saigō Tsugumichi
5	18 September 1896	20 September 1896	Ōyama Iwao
6	20 September 1896	12 January 1898	Takashima Tomonosuke
7	12 January 1898	23 December 1900	Katsura Tarō
8	23 December 1900	27 March 1902	Kodama Gentarō
9	27 March 1902	30 August 1911	Terauchi Masatake
10	30 August 1911	2 April 1912	Ishimoto Shinroku
11	5 April 1912	21 December 1912	Uehara Yūsaku
12	21 December 1912	24 June 1913	Kigoshi Yasutsuna
13	24 June 1913	16 April 1914	Kusunose Yukihiko
14	16 April 1914	30 March 1916	Oka Ichinosuke
15	30 March 1916	29 September 1918	Ōshima Ken'ichi
16	29 September 1918	9 June 1921	Tanaka Giichi
17	9 June 1921	24 August 1923	Yamanashi Hanzō
18	24 August 1923	2 September 1923	Tanaka Giichi
19	2 September 1923	20 April 1927	Ugaki Kazushige
20	20 April 1927	2 July 1929	Shirakawa Yoshinori
21	2 July 1929	14 April 1931	Ugaki Kazushige
22	14 April 1931	13 December 1931	Minami Jirō
23	13 December 1931	23 January 1934	Araki Sadao
24	23 January 1934	5 September 1935	Hayashi Senjūrō
25	5 September 1935	9 March 1936	Kawashima Yoshiyuki
26	9 March 1936	2 February 1937	Terauchi Hisaichi
27	2 February 1937	9 February 1937	Nakamura Kōtarō
28	9 February 1937	3 June 1938	Sugiyama Hajime
29	3 June 1938	30 August 1939	Itagaki Seishirō
30	30 August 1939	22 July 1940	Hata Shunroku
31	22 July 1940	22 July 1944	Tōjō Hideki
32	22 July 1944	7 April 1945	Sugiyama Hajime
33	7 April 1945	14 August 1945	Anami Korechika
34	17 August 1945	23 August 1945	Higashikuni Naruhiko
35	23 August 1945	1 December 1945	Shimomura Sadamu

References

Edgerton, Robert B. (1999). Warriors of the Rising Sun: A History of the Japanese Military. Westview Press. ISBN 0813336007.
Harries, Meirion (1994). Soldiers of the Sun: The Rise and Fall of the Imperial Japanese Army. Random House. ISBN 0679753036.
"Foreign Office Files for Japan and the Far East". Adam Matthew Publications. Accessed 2 March 2005.