was a 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 ...

and very briefly Army Minister in the 1930s.

Biography

Nakamura was a native of

Ishikawa Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu island. Ishikawa Prefecture has a population of 1,096,721 (1 January 2025) and has a geographic area of 4,186 Square kilometre, km2 (1,616 sq mi). Ishikawa Pr ...

. He was educated in military preparatory schools from early youth, and graduated from the 13th 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 1901, and from the 21st class of the Army Staff College in 1909, where his classmates included

Hisaichi Terauchi Count was a '' Gensui'' (or field marshal) in the Imperial Japanese Army, commander of the Southern Expeditionary Army Group during World War II. Biography Early military career Terauchi was born in Tokyo Prefecture, and was the eldest son of ...

and

Yoshijirō Umezu (January 4, 1882 – January 8, 1949) was a Japanese general in World War II and Imperial Japanese Army General Staff, Chief of the Army General Staff during the final years of the conflict. He was convicted of Japanese war crimes, war crimes an ...

. Nakamura served in various administrative and staff positions within 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 ...

for almost his entire career. He was sent as a

military attaché A military attaché or defence attaché (DA),Defence Attachés
''Geneva C ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

from 1920 to 1921. After his promotion to lieutenant colonel, Nakamura was assigned command of the IJA 67th Infantry Regiment from 1922 to 1923. He returned to the General Staff from 1923 to 1927. In 1927, Nakamura was promoted to major general and commanded the IJA 39th Infantry Brigade. From 1929 to 1930, he was the

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

of the Chosen Army in

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

.Ammenthorp, The Generals of World War II Nakamura served as Chief of the Personnel Bureau in the General Staff from 1930 to 1932. He returned to the field as the commander of the Japanese China Garrison Army in 1932, and was shortly thereafter promoted to

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

. In 1934, Nakamura became commander of the 8th Army. He was recalled to Tokyo in December 1935 to serve as Deputy Inspector-General of Military Training. From 2 to 7 February 1937, Nakamura became Army Minister for a brief seven-day stint under

Prime Minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Senjūrō Hayashi. Afterwards, Nakamura was appointed commander of the Eastern District Army, and was promoted to full

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

in 1938. Nakamura then became commander of the Chosen Army from 1938 to 1941. From 1941 until his retirement due to poor health in 1943, Nakamura served as a member of the

Supreme War Council The Supreme War Council was a central command based in Versailles that coordinated the military strategy of the principal Allies of World War I: Britain, France, Italy, the United States, and Japan. It was founded in 1917 after the Russian Revolu ...

. Nakamura died shortly after the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

on 29 August 1947.

References

Books

External links

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Notes

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Nakamura, Kotaro 1881 births 1947 deaths Military personnel from Ishikawa Prefecture Imperial Japanese Army generals of World War II Ministers of the Imperial Japanese Army