Shunroku Hata Field Marshal , was a field marshal in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II . He was the last surviving Japanese military officer with a marshal ' s rank . Biography . Early years . Hata was a native of Fukushima prefecture , where his father was an ex - samurai of the Aizu domain . At the age of 12 , the family relocated to Hakodate , Hokkaidō , but at the age of 14 , he was accepted into the prestigious First Tokyo Middle School . However , his father died the same year , and unable to afford the tuitions , he enrolled in the Army Cadet School instead , going on to graduate of the 12th class of the Imperial Japanese Army Academy , in 1901 as a second lieutenant in the artillery . Hata served in the Russo - Japanese War . He graduated from the 22nd class of the Army Staff College with top rankings in November 1910 . Sent as a military attaché to Germany in March 1912 , Hata stayed in Europe throughout World War I as a military observer . He was promoted to major in September 1914 and to lieutenant colonel in July 1918 , while still in Europe , and he stayed on as a member of the Japanese delegation to the Versailles Peace Treaty negotiations in February 1919 . On his return to Japan , Hata was given command of the IJA 16th Field Artillery Regiment in July 1921 , and was promoted to major general and commander of the IJA 4th Heavy Field Artillery Brigade in March 1926 . Hata was subsequently assigned to the strategic planning division of the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff , serving as chief of the Fourth Bureau in July 1927 and Chief of the First Bureau in August 1928 . Hata was promoted to lieutenant general in August 1931 and became Inspector General of Artillery Training . He was then given a field command , that of the IJA 14th Division in August 1933 . After serving as head of the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service from December 1935 , he became commander of the Taiwan Army of Japan in 1936 . Second Sino - Japanese War . His rise after the start of the Second Sino - Japanese War was then very rapid : Military Councilor , Inspector General of Military Training and promotion rank of general all in late 1937 . He was appointed as commanding general of the Central China Expeditionary Army in February 1938 , to replace General Matsui Iwane , who had been recalled to Japan over the Nanjing Incident . Hata became Senior Aide - de - Camp to Emperor Shōwa in May 1939 followed by a stint as Minister of War from August 1939 to July 1940 during the terms of Prime Minister Nobuyuki Abe and Mitsumasa Yonai . In July 1940 , Hata had a pivotal role in bringing down the Yonai cabinet by resigning post as Minister of War . Hata returned to China as commander - in - chief of the China Expeditionary Army in March 1941 . He was the main Japanese commander at the time of Zhejiang - Jiangxi Campaign , during which Chinese sources claim that over 250 , 000 civilians were killed . Hata was promoted to the rank of field marshal on 2 June 1944 . Hata was requested to take command of the Second General Army , based in Hiroshima from 1944 to 1945 in preparation for the anticipated Allied invasion of the Japanese home islands . He was thus in Hiroshima at the time of the atomic bombing . Hata was one of the senior generals who agreed with the decision to surrender , but asked that he be stripped of his title of Field Marshal in atonement for the Army ’ s failures in the war . Judgment . Hata was arrested by the American occupation authorities after the end of the war , and charged with war crimes . In 1948 , as a result of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East , he was sentenced to life imprisonment under the charges of : “ Conspiracy , waging aggressive war , disregarding his duty to prevent atrocities ” . Hata was paroled in 1955 , and headed a charitable foundation for the welfare of former soldiers from 1958 . He died in 1962 , while attending a ceremony honoring the war dead . Hata ' s brother , Eitaro Hata ( 1872 – 1930 ) , was also a general in the Imperial Japanese Army , and commander - in - chief of the Kwangtung Army .