Overview

This is a study of the impact of inter-war naval arms control policy-making on the domestic politics of Japan, especially the areas of civil-military, inter-military (Army/Navy) and especially intra-military (Navy) relations and on the professional and political career of one leading naval figure, Admiral Kato Kanji (1873-1939). Relying almost exclusively on contemporary Japanese language sources, the author provides the first substantial biography of a pre-war Japanese naval leader. In a distinguished career spanning the period which witnessed the emergence of the Imperial Navy as a key player in domestic and international politics, Kato Kanji occupied a controversial role in both naval politics and the evolution of civil-military relations. Kato's career also paralleled a series of international naval arms control debates which divided the naval establishment into competing factions, contributed to a reorganization of the Naval General Staff, and culminated in a greatly expanded role for uniformed officers in the political arena. Although Kato occupied all the top educational and command posts within the Imperial Army, his professional career was effectively terminate by the 'Supreme Command Crisis of 1930'. Never promoted to Admiral of the Fleet, Kato's appointment to the Governor Generalship of Formosa was subsequently blocked, as was the possibility of ascending to the Prime Ministership. In this re-appraisal of Kato's career, the author challenges the conventional and negative interpretation of both Kato's role in the naval politics and factions

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9780700713158

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Ian Gow

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