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Imperial Japanese Navy HQ, 1930s

The Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff (軍令部, Gunreibu) was the highest organ within the Imperial Japanese Navy. In charge of planning and operations, it was headed by an Admiral headquartered in Tokyo.

History

Created in 1893, the Navy General Staff took over operational (as opposed to administrative) authority over the Imperial Japanese Navy from the Navy Ministry. It was responsible for the planning and execution of national defense strategy. Through the Imperial General Headquarters it reported directly to the Emperor, not to the Prime Minister, Diet of Japan or even the Navy Ministry. It was always headed by an admiral on active duty, and was based in Tokyo.

"The ministry was responsible for the naval budget, ship construction, weapons procurement, personnel, relations with the Diet and the cabinet and broad matters of naval policy. The General Staff directed the operations of the fleet and the preparation of war plans".^[1]

After the Washington Naval Conference of 1921-22, where Japan agreed to keep the size of its fleet smaller than that of the United Kingdom and the United States, the Imperial Japanese Navy became divided into the mutually hostile Fleet Faction and Treaty Faction political cliques. The Navy Ministry tended to be pro-Treaty Faction and was anxious to maintain the Anglo-Japanese Alliance. However the Navy General Staff came to be dominated by the Fleet faction, and gradually gained ascendancy in the 1930s with increasing Japanese militarism.The Navy General Staff pushed through the attack on Pearl Harbor against the wishes of the more diplomatic Navy Ministry.

After 1937, both the Navy Minister and the Chief of the Navy General Staff were members of the Imperial General Headquarters.

With the defeat of the Empire of Japan in World War II, the Navy General Staff was abolished together with the Imperial Japanese Navy by the American occupation authorities in November 1945 and was not revived by the post-war Constitution of Japan.

Organization

The General Staff was organized as follows:

• 1st Section: Operations Bureau


• 2nd Section: Weapons and Mobilization Bureau


• 3rd Section: Intelligence Bureau


• 4th Section: Communications Bureau

Chiefs of the General Staff

№		Chief of the General Staff	Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Toshiyoshi, ItōRear Admiral Baron Itō Toshiyoshi (1840–1921)	8 March 1889	17 May 1889	7001700000000000000♠70 days
2		Shinanojō, ArichiRear Admiral Baron Arichi Shinanojō (1843–1919)	17 May 1889	17 June 1891	7002761000000000000♠2 years, 31 days
3		Yoshika, InoueRear Admiral Viscount Inoue Yoshika (1845–1929)	17 June 1891	12 December 1892	7002544000000000000♠1 year, 178 days
4		Kuranosuke, NakamutaVice Admiral Viscount Nakamuta Kuranosuke (1837–1916)	12 December 1892	18 July 1894	7002583000000000000♠1 year, 218 days
5		Sukenori, KabayamaAdmiral Count Kabayama Sukenori (1837–1922)	18 July 1894	11 May 1895	7002297000000000000♠297 days
6		Sukeyuki, ItōMarshal Admiral Count Itō Sukeyuki (1843–1914)	11 May 1895	20 December 1905	7003387500000000000♠10 years, 223 days
7		Heihachirō, TōgōAdmiral Marquis Tōgō Heihachirō (1848–1934)	20 December 1905	1 December 1909	7003144200000000000♠3 years, 346 days
8		Gorō, IjuinAdmiral Baron Ijuin Gorō (1848–1934)	1 December 1909	22 April 1914	7003160300000000000♠4 years, 142 days
9		Hayao, ShimamuraAdmiral Baron Shimamura Hayao (1858–1923)	22 April 1914	1 December 1920	7003241500000000000♠6 years, 223 days
10		Gentarō, YamashitaAdmiral Baron Yamashita Gentarō (1863–1931)	1 December 1920	15 April 1925	7003159600000000000♠4 years, 135 days
11		Suzuki, KantarōAdmiral Baron Kantarō Suzuki (1868–1948)	15 April 1925	22 January 1929	7003137800000000000♠3 years, 282 days
12		Kato, KanjiAdmiral Kanji Kato (1870–1939)	22 January 1929	11 June 1930	7002505000000000000♠1 year, 140 days
13		Naomi, TaniguchiVice Admiral Taniguchi Naomi [ja] (1870–1941)	11 June 1930	2 February 1932	7002601000000000000♠1 year, 236 days
14		Hiroyasu, FushimiMarshal Admiral Prince Fushimi Hiroyasu (1875–1946)	2 February 1932	9 April 1941	7003335400000000000♠9 years, 66 days
15		Osami, NaganoMarshal Admiral Nagano Osami (1880–1947)	9 April 1941	21 February 1944	7003104800000000000♠2 years, 318 days
16		Shigetarō, ShimadaAdmiral Shimada Shigetarō (1883–1976)	21 February 1944	2 August 1944	7002163000000000000♠163 days
17		Koshirō, OikawaAdmiral Oikawa Koshirō (1883–1958)	2 August 1944	29 May 1945	7002300000000000000♠300 days
18		Soemu, ToyodaAdmiral Toyoda Soemu (1885–1957)	29 May 1945	15 October 1945	7002139000000000000♠139 days

See also

• Ministry of the Navy (Japan)

Notes

References

Books

• 
  Asada, Sadao (2006). From Mahan to Pearl Harbor: The Imperial Japanese Navy and the United States. US Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-042-8..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
  


• 
  Schencking, J. Charles (2005). Making Waves: Politics, Propaganda, And The Emergence Of The Imperial Japanese Navy, 1868-1922. Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-4977-9.
  


• 
  Spector, Ronald (1985). Eagle Against the Sun. New York: Vintage Books. ISBN 0-394-74101-3.
  

External links

• "Foreign Office Files for Japan and the Far East". Adam Matthew Publications. Accessed 2 March 2005.