Takashi Sakai

Sakai was born in Kamo District, Hiroshima, now part of Hiroshima city. He was educated in military preparatory schools in Kobe and Osaka and graduated from the 20th class of the Imperial Japanese Army Academy in 1908, whereupon he was assigned to the IJA 28th Infantry Regiment. He graduated from the 28th class of the Army Staff College.

In 1928, Sakai was stationed in Jinan, Shandong Province, China with the IJA 12th Infantry Regiment during the Jinan Incident and is believed by some Chinese historians to be responsible for the murder of Kuomintang army emissaries during negotiations on May 4, 1928. He was transferred to the Tianjin Garrison from 1929 to 1932. In 1932, Sakai was promoted to colonel and was assigned to the 5th Section military intelligence of the 2nd Bureau of the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff from 1932 to 1934.

As Chief of Staff of the Japanese China Garrison Army from 1934 to 1935, Sakai orchestrated a series of armed conflicts, which resulted in an armistice with the Chinese government which resulted in the He–Umezu Agreement which effectively gave Japan control of Hebei Province. He became commander of the IJA 23rd Infantry Regiment in 1936. Sakai was promoted to major general in 1937 and was appointed commander of the IJA 28th Infantry Brigade. He became a lieutenant general in 1939, and was assigned to the Coordination Bureau, Asia Development Group, Mengjiang Board from 1939 to 1940. He was also assigned to the Mongolia Garrison Army at this time.

Recalled to Japan in 1940, Sakai was briefly appointed commander of the Imperial Guards Depot Division.

Sakai was commander of the IJA 23rd Army stationed in Canton in November 1941. He was ordered to use the IJA 38th Division, which was normally under the Southern Expeditionary Army Group to capture Hong Kong, and was given a 10-day time limit.

On December 8, 1941, a few hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese forces commanded by Sakai, and his Chief of Staff Tadamichi Kuribayashi, invaded Hong Kong. However, the subsequent Battle of Hong Kong did not proceed as quickly or as smoothly as Sakai had planned, and he was forced to request an extension to his deadline. Sir Mark Young, the Governor of Hong Kong, surrendered all British forces in Hong Kong on Christmas Day, after 18 days of fighting. Sakai’s frustrations over the unexpectedly strong British resistance may have been reflected by the extreme brutality which characterized the campaign and subsequent occupation.Budge, Pacific War Online Encyclopedia

Sakai served as Japanese Governor of Hong Kong until February 20, 1942. He was recalled to Japan, and retired from active service in 1943.Fuller, Shokan, Hirohito’s Samurai He was recalled to active service in February 1945, and was ordered to go to Beijing; however, the war came to an end before he departed Japan.

After the end of the war, Sakai was apprehended by the American occupation authorities at the request of the Chinese government and was extradited to China, where he was accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and crimes against peace.{{Cite web |date=2014-03-04 |title=Trial of Takashi Sakai. United Nations War Crimes Commission. |url=http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/WCC/sakai.htm |access-date=2023-11-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140304022731/http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/WCC/sakai.htm |archive-date=March 4, 2014 }} He was convicted at the Nanjing War Crimes Tribunal on August 27, 1946 of command responsibility for the extrajudicial murder of Chinese civilians and was executed by firing squad on September 30.Stein, Trial of Takashi Sakai

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; Books

• {{cite book| last = Fuller | first = Richard | year = 1992 | title = Shokan: Hirohito's Samurai | publisher = Arms and Armor | location = London | isbn = 1-85409-151-4| url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/shokanhirohitoss00full }}
• {{cite book | last = Snow| first = Philip | year = 2003 | title = The Fall of Hong Kong: Britain, China, and the Japanese Occupation | publisher = Yale University Press | isbn = 0-300-09352-7}}

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• {{cite web| last = Ammenthorp| first = Steen| url = http://www.generals.dk/general/Sakai/Takashi/Japan.html| title = Sakai, Takashi| work = The Generals of World War II}}
• {{cite encyclopedia| last = Budge| first = Kent| url = http://pwencycl.kgbudge.com/index.htm| title = Sakai Takeshi| encyclopedia = Pacific War Online Encyclopedia}}
• {{cite web| last = Stein| first = Stewart| url = http://ess.uwe.ac.uk/WCC/sakai.htm| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140304022731/http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/WCC/sakai.htm| archive-date=March 4, 2014| title = Trial of Takashi Sakai| work = Law Reports of Trials of War Criminals. Vol. III. The United Nations War Crimes Commission, 1948}}

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Category:1887 births

Category:1946 deaths

Category:Imperial Japanese Army generals of World War II

Category:Japanese occupation of Hong Kong

Category:Executed military leaders

Category:People executed by the Republic of China by firing squad

Category:Japanese people convicted of the international crime of aggression

Category:Japanese people convicted of crimes against humanity

Category:Japanese people executed abroad

Category:Japanese people executed for war crimes

Category:Governors of Hong Kong

Category:Military personnel from Hiroshima Prefecture

Category:20th-century Hong Kong people

Category:People executed for crimes against humanity