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was a lieutenant general in the
Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...
during the
Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...


Biography

The younger son of a farmer in
Aichi Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,461,111 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the ...
, Sakai attended military preparatory schools and graduated from the 18th class of the
Imperial Japanese Army Academy The was the principal officer's training school for the Imperial Japanese Army. The programme consisted of a junior course for graduates of local army cadet schools and for those who had completed four years of middle school, and a senior course f ...
in 1905. He was commissioned into the Guard's 4th Infantry Regiment. He graduated from the 24th class of the Army Staff College with honors in 1912. After serving in a staff position within the personnel department of the
Imperial Japanese Army General Staff The , also called the Army General Staff, was one of the two principal agencies charged with overseeing the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). Role The was created in April 1872, along with the Navy Ministry, to replace the Ministry of Military Af ...
, Sakai was dispatched to
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
as a
military attaché A military attaché or defence attaché (DA),Defence Attachés
''Geneva C ...
from 1915 to 1917, and was thus able to observe the fighting in
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
firsthand as an official observer from the Japanese government. On his return to Japan, Sakai was again assigned to staff positions, but due to his fluency in French and European experience, was selected to participate in the Japanese delegation to the
Versailles Peace Treaty The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed on 28 June 1919. As the most important treaty of World War I, it ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allied Powers. It was signed in the Palace of Versailles, exactl ...
negotiations. His rise through the ranks was steady and rapid thereafter:
major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...
in 1921, lieutenant colonel in 1925,
colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...
in 1929, and major general in 1931.Ammenthorp, The Generals of World War II From 1927 to 1929, Sakai served on Japan's delegation to
League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...
. On his return to Japan, he was given command of the IJA 22nd Infantry Regiment from 1929 to 1931 and served as an instructor at the Army War College from 1931 to 1934. He was Commandant of the Imperial Japanese Army Academy from 1934 to 1936. In 1936, Sakai was appointed commander of the IJA 24th Infantry Brigade, and was assigned to
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
with tensions rising in the prelude to the
Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...
. From 1937 to 1938, he was commander of the
IJA 1st Independent Mixed Brigade The 1st Independent Mixed Brigade or 1st Mixed Brigade (獨立混成第1旅團) was an experimental combined arms formation of the Imperial Japanese Army. In July 1937, at the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War, the brigade was known as the S ...
under the
Kwantung Army The Kwantung Army (Japanese language, Japanese: 関東軍, ''Kantō-gun'') was a Armies of the Imperial Japanese Army, general army of the Imperial Japanese Army from 1919 to 1945. The Kwantung Army was formed in 1906 as a security force for th ...
, which participated in
Operation Chahar Operation Chahar (), known in Chinese as the Nankou Campaign (), occurred in August 1937, following the Battle of Beiping-Tianjin at the beginning of Second Sino-Japanese War. This was the second attack by the Kwantung Army and the Inner Mongo ...
to seize
Chahar Province Chahar (; ), also known as Chaha'er, Chakhar or Qahar, was a province of the Republic of China in existence from 1912 to 1936, mostly covering territory in what is part of Eastern Inner Mongolia. It was named after the Chahar Mongols. Administ ...
from China. This brigade, with 744 vehicles, consisted of two tank battalions, a mechanized infantry regiment, field artillery, and engineering battalion, and was Japan's first mechanized brigade. However, during the Chahar campaign, the brigade was split into numerous small detachments for infantry support and was unable to achieve its full potential as an assault brigade. The small detachments suffered extensive damage and Sakai was in frequent conflict with the chief of staff of the Kwantung Army, Genera;
Hideki Tojo was a Japanese general and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1941 to 1944 during the Second World War. His leadership was marked by widespread state violence and mass killings perpetrated in the name of Japanese nationalis ...
over the strategy which the Kwantung army headquarters dictated. After the end of the operation, the brigade was dissolved and Sakai was transferred to rear echelon operations as commander of the IJA 7th Depot Division in 1938 and the IJA 109th Division in 1939. He retired from active service in 1940. During the final stages of the
Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...
, he was recalled to active duty, but served in an advisory capacity to the Army General Staff from November 1943. Although not a member of the
Imperial Way Faction The ''Kōdōha'' or was a political faction in the Imperial Japanese Army active in the 1920s and 1930s. The ''Kōdōha'' sought to establish a military government that promoted totalitarian, militaristic and aggressive imperialist ideals, an ...
, he had close ties to Genera
Heisuke Yanagawa was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II. Japanese forces under Yanagawa's command committed the 1937 Nanjing Massacre. Biography Born in what is now part of Nagasaki city, Nagasaki prefecture, Yanagawa was raised in Ōita P ...
and provided information to
Fumimaro Konoe was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1937 to 1939 and from 1940 to 1941. He presided over the Japanese invasion of China in 1937 and breakdown in relations with the United States, which shortly after his t ...
and others who were attempting to remove Prime Minister
Hideki Tojo was a Japanese general and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1941 to 1944 during the Second World War. His leadership was marked by widespread state violence and mass killings perpetrated in the name of Japanese nationalis ...
from power. After the end of the war, he worked as a professor at
Ritsumeikan University is a private university in Kyoto, Japan, that traces its origin to 1869. In addition to its main campus in Kyoto, the university also has satellite campuses in Ibaraki, Osaka and Kusatsu, Shiga. Today, Ritsumeikan University is known as one o ...
, where he was known for his thesis on French President
Georges Clemenceau Georges Benjamin Clemenceau (28 September 1841 – 24 November 1929) was a French statesman who was Prime Minister of France from 1906 to 1909 and again from 1917 until 1920. A physician turned journalist, he played a central role in the poli ...
and for war theory and strategy.


Notes


References

* Jowett, Phillip S., Rays of The Rising Sun, Armed Forces of Japan's Asian Allies 1931–45, Volume I: China & Manchuria, 2004. Helion & Co. Ltd., 26 Willow Rd., Solihull, West Midlands, England.


External links

*
Imperial Japanese Army Bio site (Japanese)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sakai, Koji 1885 births 1973 deaths Military personnel from Aichi Prefecture Imperial Japanese Army generals of World War II Academic staff of Ritsumeikan University