Kiyoshi Hasegawa (admiral)
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'' Admiral was an admiral in the
Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrend ...
and the 18th
Governor-General of Taiwan The governor-general of Taiwan ( ja, 臺灣總督, Taiwan Sōtoku) was the head of the Government-General of Taiwan in the Japanese era (including Formosa and the Pescadores) when they were part of the Empire of Japan, from 1895 to 1945. The ...
during most of the Pacific War, serving from December 1940 to December 1944.


Early life and naval career

The second son of a doctor, Hasegawa was born in the village of Yashiro in the district of Asuwa,
Fukui Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Fukui Prefecture has a population of 778,943 (1 June 2017) and has a geographic area of 4,190 km2 (1,617 sq mi). Fukui Prefecture borders Ishikawa Prefecture to the north, G ...
, now incorporated into the city of Fukui. Having aspirations to join the Navy from an early age, in 1900 he graduated from high school and enrolled at the
Imperial Japanese Naval Academy The was a school established to train line officers for the Imperial Japanese Navy. It was originally located in Nagasaki, moved to Yokohama in 1866, and was relocated to Tsukiji, Tokyo in 1869. It moved to Etajima, Hiroshima in 1888. Students st ...
on 17 December. He graduated as a midshipman on 14 December 1903, ranking sixth in his class of 173, and joined the crew of the cruiser . He transferred to the battleship on 4 January 1904. As Hasegawa had graduated on the eve of the
Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...
, his class did not make the usual long-distance navigational training voyages, which only resumed after the conflict. On 23 May, Hasegawa was transferred to the battleship . He received minor wounds at the
Battle of the Yellow Sea The Battle of the Yellow Sea ( ja, 黄海海戦, Kōkai kaisen; russian: Бой в Жёлтом море) was a major naval battle of the Russo-Japanese War, fought on 10 August 1904. In the Russian Navy, it was referred to as the Battle of 10 A ...
on 10 August, and was commissioned an
ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...
on 10 September. Serving at the decisive Battle of Tsushima on 27 May 1905, Hasegawa was promoted to sub-lieutenant on 5 August. He was wounded when the ''Mikasa'' exploded and sank at
Sasebo is a core city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It is also the second largest city in Nagasaki Prefecture, after its capital, Nagasaki. On 1 June 2019, the city had an estimated population of 247,739 and a population density of 581 persons p ...
on 11 September. He was then assigned to the cruiser and embarked on a training cruise from 15 February 1906, returning to
Sasebo is a core city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It is also the second largest city in Nagasaki Prefecture, after its capital, Nagasaki. On 1 June 2019, the city had an estimated population of 247,739 and a population density of 581 persons p ...
on 25 August. He rejoined the ''Mikasa'' five days later after her reconstruction had been completed. Hasegawa was assigned to the destroyer ''Shirotae'' on 23 February 1907, and was promoted to
lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...
on 25 September 1908. Hasegawa enrolled at the
Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associ ...
as a Class B student on 25 May 1909, and entered the naval torpedo school on 24 November. Graduating on 23 May 1910, on 25 May he was assigned to the armoured cruiser as a squad leader, and assigned to the on 24 June. On 16 October, he embarked on a cruise which took him to
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,
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and Acapulco, returning to Japan on 6 March 1911. Appointed to the staff of the Second Fleet on 11 March, he was appointed an instructor at the Naval War College torpedo school on 1 December. He enrolled at the Naval War College as a Class A student on 1 December 1912, and was promoted to
lieutenant-commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...
on 1 December 1913. He graduated on 27 May 1914, ranking second in his class of 16, and briefly commanded the destroyer ''Mikazuki'' before being assigned as the aide to the admiral of the Second Fleet. During
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, Hasegawa participated in the
Siege of Tsingtao The siege of Tsingtao (or Tsingtau) was the attack on the German port of Tsingtao (now Qingdao) in China during World War I by Japan and the United Kingdom. The siege was waged against Imperial Germany between 27 August and 7 November 1914. ...
in October 1914. In February 1915, he was assigned to the Personnel Department of the Navy Ministry and on 1 April 1916 was appointed assistant secretary to the Minister of the Navy and future
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
Admiral
Katō Tomosaburō Marshal-Admiral Viscount was a career officer in the Imperial Japanese Navy, cabinet minister, and Prime Minister of Japan from 1922 to 1923. Biography Born in Hiroshima, Aki Province (modern Hiroshima Prefecture) to a ''samurai'' family, Ka ...
. On 1 December 1917, he was assigned as an assistant
naval attaché A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It includ ...
at the Japanese embassy in
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, and was promoted to commander a year later. As anti-Japanese and general sentiments against the "
yellow peril The Yellow Peril (also the Yellow Terror and the Yellow Specter) is a racial color metaphor that depicts the peoples of East and Southeast Asia as an existential danger to the Western world. As a psychocultural menace from the Eastern world ...
" remained high, fears of spying prompted embassy officials to ban the use of the Japanese language within the embassy and to only speak in English; however, Hasegawa personally felt the Americans genuinely had decent motives. He became good friends with
Yamamoto Isoroku was a Marshal Admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and the commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet during World War II until he was killed. Yamamoto held several important posts in the IJN, and undertook many of its changes and reor ...
, his successor as naval attaché. Hasegawa was promoted to naval attaché in Washington on 20 March 1919, and returned to Japan the following year, resuming service in the Personnel Department of the Navy Ministry. On 1 December 1922, Hasegawa was promoted to captain and appointed director of the Personnel Department. He was appointed to the
Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff The 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 adminis ...
the following 1 November. Though Hasegawa had differences with his superior Admiral Katō, they maintained harmonious relations. Hasegawa was also in favour of allowing all qualified candidates admittance to the Naval Academy and Naval War College, regardless of political affiliation. This cemented his friendship with a fellow captain and future vice-admiral, Terashima Ken (1882 - 1972); they remained friends until Hasegawa's death. Hasegawa was again appointed naval attaché in Washington on 10 November, returning to Japan on 15 April 1926. He was given the command of the coastal defence vessel and former cruiser on 1 May, and received the command of the on 1 December. Hasegawa was promoted to rear admiral on 1 December 1927 and appointed commander of the
Yokosuka Naval District was the first of four main administrative districts of the pre-war Imperial Japanese Navy. Its territory included Tokyo Bay and the Pacific Ocean, Pacific coasts of central and northern Honshū from the Kii Peninsula to Shimokita Peninsula. Its h ...
. He was appointed commander of the Third Torpedo Squadron on 1 September 1929 and appointed commander of the Submarine Squadron on 30 November. The following year, he was appointed head of naval policy in the Navy Ministry, and appointed commander of the
Kure Naval Arsenal was one of four principal naval shipyards owned and operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy. History The Kure Naval District was established at Kure, Hiroshima in 1889, as the second of the naval districts responsible for the defense of the Ja ...
on 1 December 1931. Re-appointed to the Naval General Staff in October 1932, Hasegawa attended the
World Disarmament Conference The Conference for the Reduction and Limitation of Armaments, generally known as the Geneva Conference or World Disarmament Conference, was an international conference of states held in Geneva, Switzerland, between February 1932 and November 1934 ...
in
Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...
from April to October 1933. He was promoted to vice-admiral on 1 December 1933 and became Vice-Minister of the Navy in May 1934. In December 1936, Hasegawa was given command of a fleet, and was appointed commander of the
Third Fleet The United States Third Fleet is one of the numbered fleets in the United States Navy. Third Fleet's area of responsibility includes approximately fifty million square miles of the eastern and northern Pacific Ocean areas including the Bering ...
on 20 October 1937. The
Panay Incident The USS ''Panay'' incident on December 12, 1937, was a Japanese bombing attack on the U.S. Navy river gunboat and three Standard Oil Company tankers on the Yangtze River. They strafed survivors in the water. The boats were rescuing U.S. and ...
took place during his tenure as fleet commander. As Commander-in-Chief of the Third Fleet in China, Hasegawa met several Chinese admirals and generals, who respected Hasegawa for his civil behaviour. He was once again assigned to command the Yokosuka Naval District on 25 April 1938, and was promoted to full admiral on 1 December 1939.


Governor-General of Taiwan

Hasegawa was appointed a military councillor on 1 May 1940, and appointed the 18th Governor-General of Taiwan on 27 November; though it was customary for Governors-General to be retired military officers, the Naval Minister, Koshirō Oikawa, insisted on Hasegawa's remaining on active service. Hasegawa arrived in Taihoku (Taipei) on 16 December. An anecdote is given that at the new Governor-General's official welcoming ceremony; he picked up a maid in a burst of exuberance and sat her on his lap, which astonished many of those present. During Hasegawa's tenure as Governor-General, a preparatory course for Taihoku Imperial University was set up and compulsory education at the elementary level strengthened. He moderated the radical Kominka (Japanization) movement in Taiwan promoted by his predecessor,
Seizō Kobayashi Admiral was a Japanese naval commander, commander of the Combined Fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy (1931–1933) and the 17th Governor-General of Taiwan (1936–1940). Early life and career Kobayashi was born in 1877 in Hiroshima and pursued ...
, who wanted to replace
Taiwanese folk religion Taiwanese may refer to: * Taiwanese language, another name for Taiwanese Hokkien * Something from or related to Taiwan ( Formosa) * Taiwanese aborigines, the indigenous people of Taiwan * Han Taiwanese, the Han people of Taiwan * Taiwanese people, ...
by Japanese
Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...
. He relinquished his office on 30 December 1944 and returned to Japan.


Later naval career

Hasegawa had been considered as a candidate for Naval Minister in the new cabinet of Suzuki Kantarō; instead, he was appointed inspector-general of the Imperial Navy and headed an office conducting research into advanced naval technologies from 1 June 1945. The office continued to function until the surrender of Japan on 15 August. Along with all other Imperial officers, he entered the reserves on 30 November, after over four decades of service.


Postwar

Along with many other leading politicians and military commanders, Hasegawa was arrested in late 1946 as a suspected Class A war criminal by the American occupation authorities. As he had been commander of naval forces in China at the time of the ''Panay'' Incident, he was questioned by GHQ officers. However, Hasegawa made a formal apology to the American and British officers; impressing the court with his integrity, he was acquitted. Following his release from Sugamo Prison on 14 January 1947, in 1951 he sat on an advisory committee composed of former Imperial Japanese Navy officers to oversee the formation of the
Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force , abbreviated , also simply known as the Japanese Navy, is the maritime warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, tasked with the naval defense of Japan. The JMSDF was formed following the dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) ...
. Hasegawa died in Kamakura on the 25th anniversary of the end of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
, aged 87. His grave is at the Kamakure Reien Cemetery.


Honours

*Grand Cordon of the Order of the Sacred Treasure (29 April 1934) *Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun (13 August 1938) *
Order of the Golden Kite The was an order of the Empire of Japan, established on 12 February 1890 by Emperor Meiji "in commemoration of Jimmu Tennō, the Romulus of Japan". It was officially abolished 1947 by the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP) during the ...
, 1st Class (4 April 1942)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hasegawa, Kiyoshi 1883 births 1970 deaths Military personnel from Fukui Prefecture Japanese military personnel of the Russo-Japanese War Japanese military personnel of World War I Military personnel of the Second Sino-Japanese War Imperial Japanese Navy admirals Governors-General of Taiwan Grand Cordons of the Order of the Rising Sun Recipients of the Order of the Sacred Treasure, 1st class Recipients of the Order of the Golden Kite, 1st class Nanjing Massacre perpetrators Japanese admirals of World War II