World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseBaron Shigeru Honjo was the commanding officer of the 11th Regiment in Manchuria from 1919 to 1921, acting as Chinese Warlord Zhang Zuolin's advisor. Between 1921 and 1924, he was the commander of the 4th Brigade and then made Military AttachÈ to China. In 1928, he was the commanding officer of the Japanese 10th Division. In 1931, he was made the Commander-in-Chief of the Kwantung Army, holding a plan to invade Manchuria that was to be enacted only if the Chinese provoked a major incident. On 18 Sep 1931, Colonel Seishiro Itagaki and Lieutenant Colonel Kanji Ishiwara instigated the Mukden Incident by planting explosives on the South Manchurian Railway, then launched the invasion plan without Honjo's consent. At first furious that Itagaki and Ishiwara overstepped his authority, Honjo was eventually persuaded and authorized the invasion after-the-fact. When he was relieved of command and returned to Japan in 1932, he was welcomed as a hero and was made a member of the Supreme War Council from 1932 to 1933. Between 1933 and 1936, he was the Chief Aide-de-Camp to Emperor Showa. He retired from active service in 1936, but remained an influential figure in Japanese politics on the side of the hawks led by Hideki Tojo. Near the end of the war, he became Privy Councilor to Emperor Showa. Upon his arrest as a suspected war criminal after Japan's surrender, he committed suicide.