Hideo Iwakuro Biography . Early career . Iwakuro was born on Kurahashi - jima in the Inland Sea ( then part of Aki County , Hiroshima prefecture ) . Although he grew up on the island neighboring Etajima ( where the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy was located ) , Iwakuro had no interest in a naval career , and was sent for schooling to a military academy in Nagoya . He graduated from the 30th class of the Imperial Japanese Army Academy in 1918 , and was assigned to the 16th Infantry Regiment , based at Shibata city in the Hokuetsu region of Japan . In September 1920 , Iwakuro ' s regiment was assigned as part of the Japanese expeditionary force participating in the Siberian Intervention , and Iwakuro participated in numerous combat missions against Bolshevik partisan s . In 1921 , Iwakuro was transferred to the Taiwan Army of Japan , and was based in Taichung . He returned to mainland Japan in 1926 to attend the 38th class of the Army War College ( Japan ) , and it was shortly after graduation that he became a member of the " Sakura Kai " ultranationalist secret society . In 1932 , he was transferred to Manchuria shortly after the Manchurian Incident and assigned to the Kwantung Army , where he held a number of staff positions and was actively involved in planning the independence of Manchukuo , and its future economic development under Imperial Japanese Army management . Spymaster . Iwakuro was recalled to Japan shortly after the February 26 Incident of 1936 , and was a member of the court marshal of the perpetrators . He was then assigned to Army Intelligence , where he oversaw the wiretapping of foreign embassies , interception of mail and correspondence and the production of counterfeit money for use in future operations . In 1937 , he was transferred to the newly created 8th Section of the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff , and was tasked with planning the independence of Wang Jingwei ' s Nanjing Nationalist Chinese government . In 1938 , he was on the committee which established the Nakano School , Japan ' s training school for intelligence and counter - intelligence agents . From 1939 - 1941 , Iwakuro was Chief of Army Affairs Section in the Military Affairs Bureau , where his primary task was military procurement . Using the Tripartite Alliance , Iwakuro strongly pressed Nazi Germany to share military technologies , particularly in terms of armor and aviation - related technologies . He also established a research facility to investigate new technologies , such as microwaves , for potential military applications . Iwakuro , unlike many in the Japanese Army senior staff , was always strongly against war with the Soviet Union and was conversely a strong proponent of the " Nanshin - ron " philosophy as were many senior offices in the Imperial Japanese Navy . With the defeat of the Japanese Army at Nomonhan Iwakuro became more outspoken in favor of the concept of a Greater East Asia Co - Prosperity Sphere and the need for Japan to prepare for total war . Diplomat . Iwakuro was sent as military attaché to the United States in 1941 over the objections of Foreign Minister Yōsuke Matsuoka . However , the Army ' s position was that Matsuoka was too inexperienced in foreign affairs , and needed additional training . Iwakuro was a close adviser of Japanese ambassador Admiral Kichisaburō Nomura in the Washington negotiations just before the outbreak of the Pacific War He was withdrawn after the formation of a new cabinet under Hideki Tōjō in August 1941 , and was named Commanding Officer of the 5th Imperial Guards Regiment . Command and Staff appointments . After the start of the Pacific War , the 5th Imperial Guards Regiment came under the command of the Southern Expeditionary Army Group , and was assigned to Malaya and Singapore . While in Singapore , Iwakuro became head of the " I Kikan " , and was senior liaison officer with the Indian National Army . In 1943 , Iwakuro was promoted to Vice Chief of Staff of the Twenty - Fifth Army . He subsequently became Chief of Staff of the Twenty - Eighth Army in Burma in 1944 - 5 . Recalled to Japan before the end of the war , Iwakuro was attached to Army Ordnance Administrative Headquarters in 1945 , and was Head of Army Investigation Department at the time of the end of the war . After the war , in 1965 , Iwakuro became one of the founders of the Kyoto Sangyo University . He died in 1970 of a heart attack .