Kenji Doihara
Kenji Doihara | |
|---|---|
Doihara in c. 1941~45 | |
| Nickname(s) | Lawrence of Manchuria, a reference to T. E. Lawrence |
| Born | 8 August 1883 Okayama, Japan |
| Died | 23 December 1948 (aged 65) Sugamo Prison, Tokyo, Occupied Japan |
| Cause of death | Execution by hanging |
| Allegiance | Empire of Japan |
| Branch | Imperial Japanese Army |
| Years of service | 1904–1945 |
| Rank | General |
| Commands | 14th Division Fifth Army Seventh Area Army |
| Battles / wars | Siberian Intervention Second Sino-Japanese War World War II |
| Awards | Order of the Rising Sun |
Kenji Doihara (土肥原 賢二, Doihara Kenji; 8 August 1883 – 23 December 1948) was a Japanese general and intelligence officer. He was instrumental in the Japanese invasion of Manchuria and the establishment of Manchukuo.
Born in Okayama Prefecture, Doihara became an officer in the Imperial Japanese Army and was involved in intelligence and political operations on the Chinese continent. In 1931, he was involved in the Mukden Incident, and was responsible for bringing the former Chinese Emperor Puyi to Manchuria, in order to install him as the nominal ruler of Manchukuo. Doihara continued to work to expand Japanese influence in China throughout the 1930s.
He held a number of senior military positions during the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Pacific War. After the surrender of Japan, he was convicted of war crimes by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, sentenced to death, and hanged in December 1948.