Yoshijiro Umezu was born on 4 January 1882. In the 1920s Umezu was a member of the Tosei-Ha (Control Group) led by General Kazushige Ugaki along with General Sugiyama, Koiso Kuniaki, Tetsuzan Nagata and Hideki Tojo (see “related cases”). They represented a moderate faction within the armed forces, in opposition to the radical movement of the Koda-Ha (Action Group) led by Sadao Araki.
Yoshijiro Umezu was an army officer in command of Japanese troops in North China from 1934 to 1936. Umezu became Vice-Minister of War from March 1936 to May 1938, at the time the National Policy plans of 1936 and the Plan for Important Industries of 1937 were decided upon. According to the judgement of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE), theses were in fact military plans which were one of the prime causes of the Pacific War.
Yoshijiro Umezu was a member of the Cabinet Planning Committee as well as of many other boards and commissions “which largely contributed to the formulation of the aggressive plans of the conspirators and to preparations necessary for the execution of these plans”, according to the IMTFE judgement.
As Commander of the Kwantung Army from 1939 to 1944, he prepared and launched the attack on the USSR. During this same period, he continued to be responsible for the direction of the economy of Manchukuo.
Yoshijiro Umezu served as Chief of the Army General Staff from July 1944 until the Japanese surrender, and it was in this capacity that he signed the instrument of surrender with the United States. He died on 8 January 1949.
