Hitoshi Imamura
On January 18, 1942, the commander of 16th Army Lt. General Hitoshi Imamura arrived at Takao, Taiwan from his base at Saigon. He received an order to hasten the invasion preparation toward Java. But due to shipping shortages, he had to adjust the plans. On January 21, he arrived at Manila to inspect the Imperial Japanese Army 48th Division and to have discussion with the commander of the Imperial Japanese Navy 3rd Fleet. The Netherlands East Indies was invaded in a three-prong attack by using 3 groups: western, center and eastern group.