Kenji Doihara
After the Japanese Kwantung Army completed military control over southern Manchuria in early January 1932, occupying Jinzhou and Shanhaiguan, it turned to the north to secure the remainder of Manchuria. When negotiations with Generals Ma Zhanshan and Ting Chao had come to naught, Japanese Colonel Kenji Doihara in early January 1932 requested that General Xi Qia advance with his forces to take Harbin from the last major Kuomintang force in the north led by General Ting Chao. General Xi Qia advanced to Shuangcheng on 25 January, and fighting began on the morning of the 26th. However, Xi Qia's troops soon suffered a serious reverse and Doihara was forced to call upon the Kwantung Army to assist. To justify this, Colonel Doihara created the Harbin Incident.