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 ...

during

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 ...

Career

A native of

Wakayama Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Wakayama Prefecture has a population of 876,030 () and a geographic area of . Wakayama Prefecture borders Osaka Prefecture to the north, and Mie Prefecture and Nara Prefecture to ...

, Hayashi was a graduate of the 26th 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 1914, and of the 35th class of the Army Staff College in 1923. At the outset of 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 ...

, he was assigned to 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 ...

, and was on the planning team for the successful

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 ...

in northern

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 ...

. From 1938-1940, Hayashi served with the garrison forces in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

. In 1940, during the preparations for the invasion of Southeast Asia, Hayashi was put in command of the Taiwan Army Research Section, tasked with investigating issues with tropical warfare. He was promoted to major general in 1941. From 1941-1942, Hayashi was Vice

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 IJA 14th Area Army. He was given a field command in 1943, when he was assigned command of the IJA 54th Division.Ammenthorp, The Generals of World War II In 1943-5, Hayashi was commander of the IJA 24th Independent Mixed Brigade in

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

. He became commander of the IJA 53rd Division in Burma in 1945. He was 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 normall ...

in 1945. After the

surrender of Japan The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was Hirohito surrender broadcast, announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally Japanese Instrument of Surrender, signed on 2 September 1945, End of World War II in Asia, ending ...

, he was held for investigation of possible

war crimes A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hos ...

and incarcerated at the

New Bilibid Prison The New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa, Metro Manila, is the main insular prison designed to house the prison population of the Philippines. It is maintained by the Bureau of Corrections (Philippines), Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) under ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. He pleaded guilty to war crimes at the

Philippine War Crimes Trial Between 1947 and 1949, 73 trials were conducted by the newly independent Philippines, Republic of the Philippines against 155 members of the Imperial Japanese Army and Imperial Japanese Navy, Navy who committed war crimes during the Japanese occupat ...

, including to his role in the murder of Chief Justice

José Abad Santos José Abad Santos y Basco (, ; February 19, 1886 – May 1, 1942) was the fifth chief justice of the Philippines, chief justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines. He briefly served as the acting president of the Philippines, president of ...

. Hayashi was sentenced to life in prison. On July 4, 1953, he, along with 113 other Japanese war criminals were pardoned by President

Elpidio Quirino Elpidio Rivera Quirino (; November 16, 1890 – February 29, 1956) was a Philippine nationality law, Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 6th President of the Philippines from 1948 to 1953. A lawyer by profession, Quirino entered p ...

References

Books

External links

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayashi, Yoshihide 1891 births 1978 deaths People from Wakayama Prefecture Imperial Japanese Army generals of World War II Japanese people imprisoned abroad Japanese people convicted of war crimes Japanese prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Inmates of the New Bilibid Prison Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by the Philippines Recipients of Philippine presidential pardons Foreign nationals imprisoned in the Philippines