Mitsumasa Yonai
The Army strongly favored General Hisaichi Terauchi; however, they could not afford to recall him to Japan from his role as commander-in-chief of all Japanese forces in Southeast Asia. The civilian government, especially Kōichi Kido and Fumimaro Konoe, also did not favor Koiso, due to Koiso's previous involvement with the ultranationalist "Sakura Kai" and its attempted coup d'état against the government in 1931 (i.e. the "March Incident"). These reservations were shared by the Emperor in his Privy Council meetings. Koiso was supported by Mitsumasa Yonai and Hiranuma Kiichirō, and as no consensus could be reached on a more suitable alternative, their arguments prevailed. Moreover, Mitsumasa Yonai was appointed vice-Prime Minister as a way of dealing with strong objections to Koiso.