Soemu Toyoda Biography . Early career . Toyoda was born in what is now part Kitsuki city , Oita prefecture . He graduated from the 33rd class of the Imperial Japanese Navy Academy in 1905 , ranked 26th out of 176 cadets . He served his midshipman duty aboard the cruiser s and , and after being commissioned as an ensign on 20 December 1906 , he was assigned to the destroyer . He was promoted to sub - lieutenant on 25 September 1908 . Toyoda returned to school , becoming a torpedo and naval artillery expert . As a lieutenant from 1 December 1911 , he served on the battlecruiser . He graduated from the Naval War College ( Japan ) with honors in 1915 , and was promoted to lieutenant commander on 1 April 1917 . From 1917 - 1919 , he was " aide - de - camp " to Admiral Yoshimasa Motomaro . From 1919 - 1922 , he was sent as naval attaché to the United Kingdom , during which time he was promoted to commander on 1 December 1921 . After his return to Japan , Toyoda was assigned as executive officer on the cruiser . He subsequently served in a number of staff positions , was promoted to captain on 1 December 1925 , and received his first command : the cruiser in 1926 . In December 1930 , he became captain of the battleship . During the London Naval Conference , he accompanied Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto to London in 1931 . On 1 December 1931 , Toyoda was promoted to rear admiral . From December 1931 - February 1933 , Toyoda was chief of the Second Section of the Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff , and promoted to vice admiral on 15 November 1935 . From 1935 - 1937 , Toyoda was Director of the Bureau of Naval Affairs , and on 20 October 1937 , became Commander - in - Chief of the IJN 4th Fleet . He subsequently became Commander in Chief of the IJN 2nd Fleet on 15 November 1938 . Both fleets were active in the Second Sino - Japanese War in support of the invasion of China . From 1939 - 1941 , he was Director of Naval Shipbuilding Command . World War II . Promoted to full admiral on 18 September 1941 , at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor , Toyoda was Commander - in - Chief of the Kure Naval District . Toyoda was strongly opposed to the war with the United States , which he viewed from the start as " unwinnable " . On 10 November 1942 , Toyoda became a member of the Supreme War Council , where he made a strong ( but mostly unsuccessful ) effort to increase funding and the capacity of Japan ' s industry toward naval aviation , over the opposition to the Army - dominated Imperial General Headquarters . On 21 April 1943 , Toyoda was re - assigned ( i . e . demoted ) from the Supreme War Council to command of Yokosuka Naval District . After the death of Admiral Mineichi Koga , Toyoda was appointed Commander in Chief of the Combined Fleet on 3 May 1944 . In June of the same year , he drafted and implemented " Plan " A - Go " " which resulted in the decisive defeat of the Imperial Japanese Navy under the command of Admiral Jisaburō Ozawa in the Battle of the Philippine Sea . He followed with " Plan " Sho - Go " " , which again resulted in another major defeat at the Battle of Surigao Strait . Toyoda was aware that both plans were major gambles , but as the Imperial Japanese Navy fleet was running out of fuel and other critical supplies , he felt that the potential gain offset the risk of losing a fleet that was about to become useless in any event . In the end , however , Toyoda ' s aggressive defensive strategy did not pay off . Nonetheless , Toyoda continued with the same strategy , approving " Plan " Ten - Go " " to send the battleship on its one - way final mission to Okinawa . Toyoda replaced Koshirō Oikawa as Chief of the Navy General Staff , after the latter resigned , and was the final supreme commander of the Imperial Japanese Navy from 29 May 1945 onward . Toyoda participated in numerous Imperial Conference s concerning the surrender of Japan . Initially , the Navy Minister , Mitsumasa Yonai , hoped that Toyoda would be able to exert a moderating influence over Army Chief of Staff Yoshijirō Umezu ( since both came from the same district of Japan ) . However , Toyoda joined Umezu in his protestations against the Potsdam Proclamation of 26 July . Toyoda was for termination of the war but insisted that the government push for more favorable terms . After the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki , Toyoda ' s position became even more hardline . He argued that the Japanese people should defend the Japanese home islands until the last man . Post - war . After the war , Toyoda was interrogated by Rear Admiral Ralph A . Ofstie in Tokyo on 14 November . He was viewed as " highly intelligent and widely informed " , and was observed to be a strong critic of the amount of political power the Army held in the Japanese government . He also expressed his opinion that the war with China should have been ended " even at some sacrifice " so that the men and resources could be redeployed to the Pacific theater . Toyoda was subsequently arrested by SCAP authorities , held in Sugamo Prison . Toyoda was charged with war crimes [ charged with violating " the laws and customs of war " ] , plead NOT GUILTY , was acquitted and later released . He was the only member of the Japanese armed forces charged with war crimes and acquitted . Toyoda published his memoirs in 1950 , and died in 1957 of a heart attack at the age of 72 .