was a Marshal Admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy and one of the leaders of Japan's military during most 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 ...

. In April 1941, he became Chief of 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 ...

. In this capacity, he served as the navy's commander-in-chief in the Asia-Pacific theater until his removal in February 1944. After the war, he was arrested by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East but died of natural causes in prison during the trial.

Early life and career

Nagano was born in Kōchi to an ex-''

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

'' family. In 1900, he graduated from the 28th class of 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 ...

, ranking second in a class of 105 cadets. After completing service as a midshipman on the cruiser and the battleship , he 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 ...

and assigned to the cruiser . During 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 ...

, he served in a number of staff positions. The closest he came to combat was commanding a land-based heavy naval gun unit during the siege of Port Arthur. After his promotion 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 ...

in 1905, Nagano served on the battleship . From 1905 to 1906, he studied

naval artillery Naval artillery is artillery mounted on a warship, originally used only for naval warfare and then subsequently used for shore bombardment and anti-aircraft roles. The term generally refers to tube-launched projectile-firing weapons and exclude ...

and navigation. From 1906 to 1908, he was chief gunnery officer on the cruiser . In 1909, he graduated from the Japanese

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 ...

. In 1910, Nagano 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 ran ...

and assigned as chief gunnery officer on the battleship . From January 1913 to April 1915, he was a language officer in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, during which time he studied at Harvard Law School. 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 ...

, Nagano was executive officer on the cruisers and cruiser . In 1918, he was promoted to captain. In 1919, he received his first (and only) ship command, the cruiser .Tucker, ''World War II:An Encyclopedia'', page 529 From December 1920, Nagano was a military attaché to the United States. In this capacity, he attended the

Washington Naval Conference The Washington Naval Conference was a disarmament conference called by the United States and held in Washington, DC from November 12, 1921 to February 6, 1922. It was conducted outside the auspices of the League of Nations. It was attended by nine ...

. In November 1923, he returned home, although he returned to the United States on official visits in 1927 and 1933. In December 1923, he was promoted to rear admiral.

Rise to Imperial Navy Leadership

In February 1924, Nagano was chief of the

Third Section (Intelligence). From December 1924, he commanded the 3rd Battleship Division. From April 1925, he commanded the

1st China Expeditionary Fleet The was a fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy organized after the Battle of Shanghai. It reported directly to the Imperial General Headquarters and had the same organizational level as the Combined Fleet. This article handles their predecessor fl ...

. In December 1927, he was promoted to vice admiral. From 1928 to 1929, Nagano was commandant of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy. Nagano introduced and influenced

Progressive education Progressive education, or protractivism, is a pedagogical movement that began in the late 19th century and has persisted in various forms to the present. In Europe, progressive education took the form of the New Education Movement. The term ''pr ...

method such as

Dalton Plan The Dalton Plan is an educational concept created by Helen Parkhurst. It is inspired by the intellectual ferment at the turn of the 20th century. Educational thinkers such as Maria Montessori and John Dewey influenced Parkhurst while she create ...

to Japanese Naval Academy. From 1930 to 1931, he was vice chief of the Navy General Staff, in which capacity he attended the Geneva Naval Conference. He attended the

London Naval Conference 1930 The London Naval Treaty, officially the Treaty for the Limitation and Reduction of Naval Armament, was an agreement between the United Kingdom, Japan, France, Italy, and the United States that was signed on 22 April 1930. Seeking to address is ...

. From 1933 to 1934, he was commander in chief 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 ...

. On 1 March 1934, he was promoted to admiral and appointed to the Supreme War Council. Nagano was the chief naval delegate to the

London Naval Conference 1935 The Second London Naval Treaty was an international treaty signed as a result of the Second London Naval Disarmament Conference held in London, the United Kingdom. The conference started on 9 December 1935 and the treaty was signed by the parti ...

. Japan withdrew in protest from the 1935 London Conference after it was denied naval parity with the United States and

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

. In 1936, Nagano was appointed Navy Minister under

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 ...

Kōki Hirota was a Japanese diplomat and politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1936 to 1937. Originally his name was . He was executed for war crimes committed during the Second Sino-Japanese War at the Tokyo Trials. Early life Hirota was ...

. Later in 1937, he became commander-in-chief of the

Combined Fleet The was the main sea-going component of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Until 1933, the Combined Fleet was not a permanent organization, but a temporary force formed for the duration of a conflict or major naval maneuvers from various units norm ...

. By April 1941, he had risen to the very top of the Japanese Navy leadership to become chief of the Imperial Japanese Naval General Staff.

World War II

A staunch believer in ''

Nanshin-ron was a political doctrine in the Empire of Japan that stated that Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands were Japan's sphere of interest and that their potential value to the Empire for economic and territorial expansion was greater than elsewh ...

'', Admiral Nagano played a central role in Japan's decision to go to war with the United States. After Japanese forces occupied southern Indochina on 24 July 1941, the U.S. and its Western Allies froze Japanese assets within their borders thereby resulting in a halt on all oil shipments to Japan. At the end of the month, Nagano informed Emperor Hirohito that the nation's oil supply would run out in two years if the embargo was not lifted. Consequently, he advised that Japan should be ready for war within that timeframe if attempts at diplomacy failed. By September 1941, he and the Army's Chief of Staff, General

Hajime Sugiyama was a Japanese field marshal and one of the leaders of Japan's military throughout most of World War II. As Army Minister in 1937, Sugiyama was a driving force behind the launch of hostilities against China in retaliation for the Marco Polo Bri ...

, called for Japan to be placed on an immediate war-footing and for an end to all negotiations by mid-October. According to some Japanese sources, Nagano presented a peace proposal before a conference on November 1, 1941 but this was ultimately struck down by Prime Minister Tojo Hideki.. Viewing it as a needless diversion of Japan's carrier fleet, Nagano initially opposed Admiral

Isoroku Yamamoto 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 ...

's planned

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii ...

, but reluctantly gave his approval for the attack after Yamamoto threatened to resign as Combined Fleet commander. In 1943, Nagano was promoted to marshal admiral. By 1944, however, Japan had suffered serious military setbacks and Nagano had lost the confidence of

Emperor Hirohito Emperor , commonly known in English-speaking countries by his personal name , was the 124th emperor of Japan, ruling from 25 December 1926 until his death in 1989. Hirohito and his wife, Empress Kōjun, had two sons and five daughters; he was ...

. With the emperor's approval, Prime Minister

Hideki Tōjō Hideki Tojo (, ', December 30, 1884 – December 23, 1948) was a Japanese politician, general of the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA), and convicted war criminal who served as prime minister of Japan and president of the Imperial Rule Assista ...

and Navy Minister Shigetarō Shimada removed Nagano from his post and replaced him. Nagano spent the remainder of the war as an advisor to the government.

Remark

*According to the opinion of the Japanese government, if Japan accepts the demand of the United States, Japan will perish. However, even if Japan fights against the United States, Japan may perish. That is, accepting the request of the United States will destroy Japan without fighting the United States. Even if we fight against the United States, if Japan can not avoid the danger of extinction, if Japan defeats without fighting with the United States, the Japanese people will truly disappear from the earth. However, if Japanese people can fight and show the spirit of defending Japan, even if Japan fights against America, our descendants will always rebuild Japan. We hope to solve problems in diplomatic negotiations. But unfortunately we will be fighting if we are to be commanded to wage war.（September 6, 1941, Osami Nagano）

War crimes trial

After World War II in 1945, the American Occupation forces arrested Nagano. He was charged with Class A war criminal charges before the International Military Tribunal for the Far East in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

. When US naval officers interrogated him, he was described as "thoroughly cooperative," "keenly alert," "intelligent," and "anxious to develop American friendship."USSBS, Interrogations of Japanese Officials He died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

due to complications arising from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

in Sugamo Prison in Tokyo before the conclusion of his trial.

Naval career

References

Books

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External links

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Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nagano, Osami 1880 births 1947 deaths People from Kōchi Prefecture Harvard Law School alumni Imperial Japanese Navy marshal admirals Japanese military personnel of the Russo-Japanese War Japanese admirals of World War II Japanese military personnel of World War I Ministers of the Imperial Japanese Navy Japanese people who died in prison custody Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun Recipients of the Order of the Sacred Treasure Recipients of the Order of the Golden Kite Japanese naval attachés