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The Imperial Japanese Army ( from 1867 to 1945 when it was Imperial Japan . It was controlled by the Imperial General Headquarters and the Ministry Of War Of Japan . HISTORY The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) was created to replace the traditional Japanese Samurai with a modern European -style Conscript army during the chain of events, known as Meiji Restoration , that led to the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate (''bakufu'') and the restoring of Imperial rule in Japan. It was originally known simply as the Army (''rikugun'') but after 1928, as part of the Army's turn toward romantic nationalism and also in the service of its political ambitions, it retitled itself the Imperial Army (''kōgun''). The Imperial Japanese Army was initially developed with the assistance of French and later German advisors only after Franco-Prussian War ; eventually it had grown to become the most Modern army in Asia , well-trained, well equipped and high in morale. However, it was basically an Infantry force which at times was deficient in Artillery , Tank s and other armoured vehicles when compared with its European contemporaries. Since Japan had no independent Air Force , the Imperial Japanese Army also developed a potent air arm, the Army Air Service equipped with modern locally-built Aircraft with the primary mission of tactically supporting the ground operations. The Imperial Japanese Army saw combat during the Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895) , the occupation of Formosa in 1895 and the Russo-Japanese War of 1905; during the occupation of Korea in 1910; at the seizing of the German territory at Qingdao during World War I ; at the occupation of Manchukuo in 1931 ; and throughout the Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) . From December 1941 the Imperial Japanese Army served as the main instrument in the Japanese Empire's expansion across East Asia during World War II. It was finally dissolved in September 1945 by the Allied forces, and later replaced by Japan Self-Defense Forces . Throughout the second Sino-Japanese War and World War II the Imperial Japanese Army had gained a reputation both for its fanaticism and for its brutality against Prisoners Of War and Civilian s alike. After Japan surrendered in the summer of 1945 many Imperial Japanese Army officers and enlisted men were tried and punished for committing numerous Atrocities and War Crime s. Several reasons are theorized for the especially brutal and unmerciful behavior exhibited by many members of the IJA towards their adversaries or non-Japanese civilians. One is probably the brutal behavior that they themselves experienced. The IJA was known for the extremely harsh treatment of its enlisted soldiers, including beatings, unnescessarily strenuous duty tasks, lack of adequate food, and other violent or harsh disciplinary tactics. Also, the ideology in which IJA members were indoctrinated, described in further detail below, of their own inherent superiority over their adversaries may have had a part. Finally, the Japanese Culture , often described as one of "group shame" over "internal shame" is believed by many to facilitate actions by groups that the individuals involved wouldn't have considered doing if acting on their own. IDEOLOGY and other forms of Japanese Buddhism with Shinto . Service in the Japanese military was seen as service to the Emperor . Each soldier in theory believed it was a great honor to die for the Emperor as the samurai concept "to serve" was deeply ingrained in all the soldiers culture. The concept of ''''" before charging into battle, believing that the exuberant cheer would indicate their willingness to die with honor. Every soldier accepted that they were expected to serve stoically as part of their Bushido , represented in the idea of death before dishonor. Sadao Araki , an Army theorist, devised the contemporary adaptation to bushido code as a Seishin Kyoiku (spiritual training) doctrine for the army. As such, each soldier would leave everything behind when going into the service, needing nothing but honor. Indeed, honor as represented by name and face meant everything to these soldiers. Yamato Damashi is an old Nippon spirit of self-pride and persistence in the face of grave danger, a sort of Kokoro . Tied in with this concept of bushido was immense, religious respect for the Emperor. Although the Emperor was practically a figurehead, with the real power being held by the bureaucrats underneath him, he was still considered a divine figure. In theory the commander in chief, the Emperor usually went along with whatever the government "asked" him to do. The IJA had only two Emperor commander in chiefs, Taishō and Shōwa . The Emperor wore the commander in chief's uniform, and was saluted by the Imperial Forces, at all ceremonial functions involving the IJA forces. At the time, the Imperial government could only mobilize the military if the cabinet ministers came to a unanimous consensus on the order. The role of the Emperor lay in giving his blessing to execute and bind such orders. Since the Emperor was required to be present at all Imperial government meetings for their decision to be binding, The Emperor silently observed all the official arguments made by the ministers. Presuming his consent was given, these requests became the orders of the Emperor, enforceable upon the people of Japan. SPECIAL RESERVED POWER OF THE EMPEROR Only in rare moments of Imperial council, where the government ministers are completely unable to agree, and where the votes of all the government ministers tallies as even, do the government ministers asks for the Emperor's opinion. In those moments the Emperor acted as a tie breaker in giving an opinion, on decisions only within the choices presented him by the government ministers. In World War II, the Imperial Japanese government used this special ability of the Emperor Hirohito to decide to end the war. In 1945, executing the will of the Imperial government, Emperor Hirohito for the first and last time directly ordered via recorded radio broadcast to all of Japan, as his last role as commander in chief, the surrender to United States forces. STRENGTH
Total military in August 1945 was 6,095,000. Arsenals Additionally Japanese Army managed various Arsenal s:
CASUALTIES Over the course of the Imperial Japanese Army's existence, 1.7 million soldiers were either Killed , Wound ed, missing and Captured .
:2,566,000 Armed Forces dead including non-combat deaths, plus 672,000 civilian dead. ::includes 1,506,000 killed in action :810,000 missing in action/prisoners of war. SEE ALSO
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