# Organization of Japanese forces in Southeast Asia

Organization of Japanese forces in the South-East Asian theatre of World War II.

## Southern Army Command (Indochina HQ)

* Hisaichi Terauchi, Commander of Southern Army
* Seiichi Aoki, Assistant Chief of Staff Southern Army
* Kitsuju Ayabe, Vice Chief of Staff Southern Army
* Masazumi Inada, Vice Chief of Staff Southern Army
* Jo Iimura, Chief of Staff Southern Army

## Japanese Forces in Hong-Kong

* Takeo Ito: Commanding Officer Infantry Group 38th Division, Hong Kong
* Rensuke Isogai: Governor-General of Hong Kong
* Major-General Ichiki: Head Secretariat to Governor-General of Hong Kong
* Juro Adachi: General Officer Commanding Hong Kong Defence Force
* Major-General Arisue: Chief of Staff 23rd Army, China-Hong Kong

## Conformation of Indochina Army Garrison
### Commanders-in-Chief Indochina Army Garrison

* Yuitsu Tsuchihashi:- Commanding General, Indo-China Garrison Army
* Hisaichi Terauchi:- Commander-in-Chief, Southern Army, Field Marshal; formally surrendered his command, Saigon, was moved to Malaya, died at his quarters, Johore Bahru, of cerebral hemorrhage

### Chief of Staff Indochina Army Garrison

* Shinichi Tanaka:- Chief of Staff, Inspectorate General, LOC; inspection tour, French Indo-China, LtGen, inspection tours of French Indo-China, Thailand, Malaya, Philippines

### Staff officers, Indochina Army Garrison

* Masutaro Nakai:- Staff Officer, French Indo-China Expeditionary Army

### Commander of Transportation regiment Imperial Guards, Indochina detachment

* Nobuyoshi Obata:- Commanding Officer, Transportation Regiment, Imperial Guard Division, (Tokyo; French Indo-China; Malaya; Sumatra)

### Commanders of Regular Armies, Indochina Army Garrison

* Yuitsu Tsuchihashi:- Commanding General, Thirty-eighth Army (Indo-China)
* Lieutenant-General Chijisima: Governor-General of Indo-China
* Shōjirō Iida: General Officer Commanding 25th Army, Indo-China

### Unit in Indochina

* 11th Base Unit (Saigon)
* Fifteenth Army Detachment
* Imperial Guard Division in South French Indo-China
* 55th Division headquarters were in French Indo-China

### Air Squadrons in Indochina area

* Japanese Navy units:
** Genzan Air Group
** Mihoro Air Group
* Japanese Army units:
** 64th Sentai
** 3rd Sentai:- about 430 planes, In South French Indo-China
* Kiyotake Kawaguchi, command the Kawaguchi Expeditionary Detachment struck at British Borneo.
* Utata Fukunaga : Commanding Officer 16th Field Transport Command, Malaya
* Lieutenant-General Inoue: General Officer Commanding 94th Division, Malaya
* Teizo Ishiguro Led the Twenty-ninth Army (with 94th Division, etc.): Malay Peninsula

### Structures of Japanese forces in Penang Region

* Masakichi Itami: Governor-General of Penang Region

## Organization of Japanese forces in Philippines
### Operative Commanders in Philippine Campaign

* Masaharu Homma:- Fourteenth Army Commander, (Philippines Campaign)
* Kenzo Kitano:- 4th Division Commander, from Shanghai to Philippines campaign
* Makino Shiro:- 16th Division Commander (Leyte)
* Sōsaku Suzuki:- Thirty-fifth Army Commander (Central and Southern Philippines), killed in action
* Yuitsu Tsuchihashi:- 48th Division Commander (Philippines operation)
* Tadasu Kataoka:- 1st Division Chief
* Tsuyuo Yamagata:- 26th Division Commander
* Shigenori Kuroda:- Fourteenth Army Commander
* Shinpei Fukuei:- led the 102nd Division
* Shizuo Yokoyama:- led the 8th Division (Shinbu Group)
* Rikichi Tsukada:- command the 10th Division and 1st Raiding Group (Kembu Group)
* Fourteenth Area Army (Shobu Group)
* Tomoyuki Yamashita:- Twenty-fifth Army Commander, (took Singapore, conquered Bataan and Corregidor), also Fourteenth Area Army Commander, arrived Manila, directed Philippines Campaign, surrendered, Baguio

### Commanding Generals of Army Units in the Philippines

* Yoshiharu Iwanaka: General Officer Commanding 2nd Armored Division, Philippines
* Torao Ikuta: Commandant Manila Garrison
* Masaharu Homma General Officer Commanding 14th Army, Philippines
* Takichi Hōjō: Commanding Officer 54th Independent Mixed Brigade, Philippines
* Lieutenant-General Igatu: General Officer Commanding Prisoner of War Camps Philippines
* Masatsugu Araki: Commanding Officer 79th Brigade, Philippines
* Isamu Chō: Southern Army Liaison Officer to 14th Army, Philippines
* Shinpei Fukei: General Officer Commanding 102nd Division, Philippines and General Officer Commanding 102nd Division, Philippines
* Jiro Harada: General Officer Commanding 10th Division and General Officer Commanding 100th Division, Philippines
* Yoshihide Hayashi: Director-General of Military Administration Philippines

### Commanders of Army Air Force, during Philippines Campaign

* Kioji Tominaga:- Fourth Air Army Commander; arrived Manila—engaged in Philippines Campaign

### Commanders of Japanese Army Airborne units, Philippines Campaign

* Rikishi Tsukada:- Commanding General, 1st Airborne Raiding Group, moved to Luzon-participated in battle for Clark Field

### Units in Philippines

* 31st Special Base Unit (Manila)
* 32nd Special Base Unit (Davao)
* 33rd Special Base Unit (Cebu)
* 18th Division (Leyte Island)
* 102d Division (Visayas)
* 100th Division Davao (Mindanao)
* 30th Division Cagayan (Mindanao)
* 54th Independent Mixed Brigade Zamboanga (Mindanao)
* 55th Independent Mixed Brigade (Jolo Island)
* 4th Tank Regiment - Lieut. Colonel Kumagaya
* 7th Tank Regiment - Colonel Sonoda
* 7th Independent Tank Company - Captain Kono
* 1st Independent Tank Company - Captain Uchida
* 2nd Independent Tank Company - Captain Kurobe
* Itoh SNLF Tank Company - Major Itoh
* 2nd Tank Division - Lieut. General Iwanaka
* 8th Independent Tank Company - 1st Lt. Matsumoto
* 9th Independent Tank Company - 1st Lt. Nakajima
* Iwashita Independent Tank Company - Captain Iwashita
* Sumi Independent SP Gun Company - Captain Sumi
* 3rd Tank Brigade - Brigadier General Shigemi
* 6th Tank Regiment - Colonel Ida
* 10th Tank Regiment - Colonel Harada
* 4th Tank Brigade
* 11th Tank Regiment

### Air Squadrons in Philippines

* Japanese Navy
** First Air Fleet
** Tainan Air Group
** Takao Air Group
** 204th Air Group
** 1st Air Group
* Japanese Army
** Fourth Air Army
** 11th Air Fleet
** 2nd Sentai
** 14th Sentai
** 30th Sentai
** Tachikawa Air Unit (technical evaluations on captured equipment)
** 4th Air Division
** 7th Air Division
** 2d Air Division

## Organization of Japanese units in Singapore
### Commander in Chief, Seventh Area Army

* Seishirō Itagaki, Commander in Chief, Seventh Area Army (Singapore)

### Deputy Chief of Staff, Singapore Units

* Kitsuju Ayabe:- Deputy Chief of Staff, Southern Army (Singapore)

### Officers attached to Seventh Area Army HQ

* Kitsuju Ayabe:- assigned to Seventh Area Army Headquarters (Singapore)

### Chief of Staff, Seventh Area Army

* Kitsuju Ayabe:- Chief of Staff, Seventh Area Army, till end of War

### Chiefs of Unit 9420, Singapore

* Rioichi Naito:- founder of Oka Unit (Unit 9420)
* Masataka Kitagawa:- Commander of Unit 9420

### Commanders of regular Armies, Malay Peninsula

* Twenty-ninth Army Commander, Teizo Ishiguro
* 94th Division, Commander Teizo Ishiguro (HQ in Malay Peninsula)
* Satoshi Kinoshita (木下敏 中将): Commander of Third Air Army was assigned to Singapore, where it controlled the 5th, 7th, and 9th Air Divisions, etc.
* Major-General Arimina: Commandant Changi Jail, Singapore
* Kitsuju Ayabe: Chief of Staff 7th Area Army, Singapore
* Shinpei Fukei: Commandant Prisoner of War Camps, Singapore
* Kenji Doihara: Commander in Chief 7th Area Army, Singapore
* Masazumi Inada: Commanding Officer 3rd Shipping Transport Command, Singapore
* Kiyotake Kawaguchi, commanded the Kawaguchi Expeditionary Detachment striking at British Borneo.
* Utata Fukunaga: Commanding Officer 16th Field Transport Command, Malaya
* Lieutenant-General Inoue: General Officer Commanding 94th Division, Malaya
* Teizo Ishiguro: Led the Twenty-ninth Army (with 94th Division, etc.): Malay Peninsula

### Structures of Japanese forces in Penang Region

* Masakichi Itami: Governor-General of Penang Region

### Operative units in Malaya area

* 1st Tank Regiment - Colonel Mukaida
* 6th Tank Regiment - Colonel Kawamura
* 14th Tank Regiment - Colonel Kita

### Chiefs of Regular Armies, Singapore Campaign

* Tomoyuki Yamashita:- Twenty-fifth Army Commander, (took Singapore, conquered Bataan and Corregidor)

### Japanese Units in Singapore, Andaman and Malaya

* 10th Special Base Unit (Singapore)
* 12th Special Base Unit (Andaman)
* 15th Base Unit (Penang)
* Seventh Area Army (Singapore) - Kenji Doihara
* Sixteenth Army
* Twenty-fifth Army
* Twenty-ninth Army

### Japanese Army organization in Andaman/Nicobar Islands

* Yoshisuke Inoue: Commanding Officer 35th Independent Mixed Brigade, Andaman Islands
* Major-General Saburo Isoda: Japanese Liaison Officer to Indian National Army
* Toshio Itsuki: Commanding Officer 36th Independent Mixed Brigade, Nicobar Islands
* Hideo Iwakuro: Japanese Liaison Officer to Indian National Army

### Japanese Air Force Commanders in Singapore

* Satoshi Kinoshita (木下敏 中将):- Chief of Third Air Army (HQ in Singapore)

### Air Units in Malaya, Singapore

* Japanese Navy
** Kanoya Air Group
** Genzan Air Group
** 22nd Koku Sentai
* Japanese Army
** Tachikawa Air Unit (technical evaluations on captured equipment)
** 5th Air Division
** 7th Air Division
** 9th Air Division

## Organization of Burmese Army Detachment
### Commanders-in-Chief, Burma Area Army

* Masakazu Kawabe:- Commanding General, Burma Area Army
* Heitarō Kimura:- Commanding General, Burma Area Army

### Chief of Staff, Burma Area Army

* Shinichi Tanaka:- Chief of Staff, Burma Area Army

### Commanders in regular Armies, Burma Area

* Shinichi Tanaka:- 18th Division Commander (Burma)
* Masakazu Kawabe led the (Burma Area Army)
* Shozo Sakurai Commanded the Twenty-eighth Army
* Kōtoku Satō command the 31st Division
* Yuzo Matsuyama 56th Division, commanded by Lieutenant General
* Masabumi Yamauchi led the 15th Division
* Renya Mutaguchi, who had command of the Fifteenth Army
* Hideo Iwakuro: Chief of Staff 55th Division, Burma and Chief of Staff 28th Army, Burma
* Takeakira Isomura: Deputy Chief of Staff Burma Area Army, Burma
* Haruki Isayama, : Chief of Staff 15th Army, Burma
* Shōjirō Iida: General Officer Commanding 15th Army, Thailand-Burma
* Masaki Honda: General Officer Commanding 33rd Army, Burma
* Jiro Ichida : Vice Chief of Staff Burma Area Army
* Tuyoji Hirano,: Commanding Officer Kempeitai 25th Army, Sumatra
* Toshiji Aida : Commanding Officer Infantry Group 18th Division, Burma
* Iwaichi Fujiwara: Chief of Intelligence 15th Army, Burma
* Tadashi Hanaya: General Officer Commanding 55th Division, Burma
* Yoshihide Hayashi: Commanding Officer 24th Independent Mixed Brigade, Burma and General Officer Commanding 53rd Division, Burma

### Operative units in Burma

* 1st Company/2nd Tank Regiment - First Lieut. Okada
* 14th Tank Regiment - Lieut.Colonel Ueda

### Air Units in Burma

* Japanese Army units:
** 81st Sentai
* Japanese Navy units
** Kanoya Air Group
** Yamada Air Group
** Toko Air Group
** Seaplane tender Sagara Maru
** 22nd Koku Sentai

## Japanese Units in Thailand
### Eighteenth Area Army Commander

* Aketo Nakamura:- Eighteenth Area Army Commander
* Shihachi Katamura:- Fifteenth Army Commander
* Aketo Nakamura: Led The Eighteenth Area Army, was stationed in Thailand
* Masachika Hirata: General Officer Commanding 22nd Division, Thailand
* Tadashi Hanaya: Chief of Staff 18th Area Army, Thailand
* Shōjirō Iida: General Officer Commanding 15th Army, Thailand
* Katsumi Adachi: General Officer Commanding 4th Special Railway Corps, Thailand
* Hitoshi Hamada: Chief of Staff 39th Army, Thailand: Deputy Chief of Staff 18th Area Army, Thailand and Second Superintendent of Railways, Thailand

## Conformation of Japanese forces in the Dutch East Indies
### Commanders in Japanese forces detachment, Dutch East Indies

* Kenzo Kitano:- Nineteenth Army Commander (Headquarters: Amboina)
* Yuichiro Nagano:- Commander Sixteenth Army and 48th Division (Headquarters: Java)
* Moritake Tanabe:- Twenty-fifth Army and the Imperial Guard Division unit (Headquarters: Sumatra)
* Fusataro Teshima:- Second Army Commander with leading of 5th, 32nd, 35th, and 36th Divisions comprised the heart of this army.

### Commanders in Regular Armies, Dutch East Indies Campaign

* Kiyotake Kawaguchi:- Brigade Commander, 35th Infantry Brigade (MajGen), after outbreak of Pacific war, participated in Borneo invasion.
* Shizuo Sakaguchi: Commanded the Sakaguchi Detachment built around three infantry battalions detached on the eastern coast of Borneo.
* Moritake Tanabe: Commanding Twenty-fifth Army (with the Imperial Guard Division, etc.) Sumatra area.
* Hitoshi Imamura: Commanding 16th Army, Java, then 8th Area Army (responsible for 17th Army in the Solomons and 18th Army in New Guinea)
* Yuichiro Nagano: Commanding 16th Army, Java
* Kumachiki Hada: Commanding 16th Army, Java
* Major-General Akashi: Commanding Officer 56th Independent Mixed Brigade, Borneo
* Masao Baba General Officer Commanding 4th Division, Sumatra and General Officer Commanding 37th Army, Borneo
* Shinichi Endo: Commanding Officer 57th Independent Mixed Brigade, Celebes
* Major-General Ishiri: Commander in Moluccas Area
* Takeo Itō: Commanding Officer 40th Independent Mixed Brigade, New Ireland Island from 8 July 1944
* Shigeo Iwabe: Commanding Officer 28th Independent Mixed Brigade, Java
* Jo Iimura: Commander in Chief 2nd Area Army, Celebes

### Units in the Dutch East Indies

* 21st Special Base Unit (Surabaya)
* 22nd Special Base Unit (Balikpapan)
* 23rd Special Base Unit (Makassar)
* 25th Special Base Unit (Ambon)
* Second Area Army (in the Celebes)
* Thirty-seventh Army (in South Borneo) - Masao Baba
* 4th Tank Regiment - Lieut.Colonel Kumagaya
* 2nd Tank Regiment - Colonel Mori

### Units in Halmahera island (Dutch East Indies)

* Imperial Army detachment
** 32nd Division-Lieutenant-General Yoshiho Ishii
** 128th Independent Mixed Brigade
* Imperial Navy detachment
** 26th Special Base Force - Vice-Admiral Shinichi Ichinose. (It was disbanded in the late World War II)

### Japanese Air Units in the Dutch East Indies

* Japanese Navy
** Genzan Air Group
** Tainan Air Group
** 934th Air Fleet
** 36th Air Fleet
* ↑ L, Klemen (1999–2000). "Major-General Kiyotake Kawaguchi". Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941-1942.
* ↑ L, Klemen (1999–2000). "Major-General Shizuo Sakaguchi". Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941-1942.
* ↑ L, Klemen (1999–2000). "Lieutenant-General Hitoshi Imamura". Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941-1942. Archived from the original on 2021-04-12. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
* ↑ L, Klemen (1999–2000). "Major-General Takeo Ito". Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941-1942. Archived from the original on 2021-04-12.