Imperial Japanese Armed Forces
Flag of Imperial Japan
Founded	3 January 1868[1]
Disbanded	November 1945
Service branches	Imperial Japanese Army Imperial Japanese Army Air Service Teishin Sudan Giretsu Kuteitai Kempeitai Imperial Japanese Navy Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service Imperial Japanese Naval Landing Forces Special Naval Landing Forces Imperial Japanese Navy Armor Units Japanese Marine Paratroopers Tokubetsu Keisatsutai Paramilitary Forces: Young Men's Corps
Headquarters	Imperial General Headquarters
Leadership
Emperor of Japan	Meiji (1868–1912) Taishō (1912–1926) Hirohito (1926–1945)
Personnel
Conscription	18–35
Related articles
History	Military history of Japan
Ranks	Army ranks Navy ranks

The Imperial Japanese Armed Forces (IJAF) were the combined military forces of the Japanese Empire. Formed during the Meiji Restoration in 1868,^[1] they were disbanded in 1945, shortly after Japan's defeat to the Allies of World War II; the revised Constitution of Japan, drafted during the Allied occupation of Japan, replaced the IJAF with the present-day Japan Self-Defense Forces.^[2]

The Imperial Japanese Army and the Imperial Japanese Navy functioned as the IJAF's primary service branches, with the country's aerial power being split between the Army Air Force under the former and the Naval Air Service under the latter.

History

The IJAF was founded with an edict emanated on 3 January 1868, as part of the Japanese reorganization of the army and the application of innovations during the Meiji Restoration. The reorganization of the army and the navy during the Meiji period boosted Japanese military strength, allowing the Imperial Japanese Army and the Imperial Japanese Navy to achieve major victories, such as during the First Sino-Japanese war and the Russo-Japanese War.

The IJAF also served in WW1 and WW2. It was operational until the Surrender of Japan after World War II in 1945.

Organization

During the pre-war era the army and navy had separate school branches.^[3] Since the Meiji era, the Choshu Domain from Yamaguchi Prefecture dominated the IJA.^[3] The IJN was dominated by the Satsuma Domain from Kagoshima Prefecture.^[3] This resulted in that they operated separately rather than a single umbrella strategy.^[3]

During the Showa period, the IJA and IJN had different outlooks on allies and enemies.^[3] The IJA considered Nazi Germany as a natural partner and the Soviet Union as a threat, while the IJN stressed that collaboration with Nazi Germany would hurt relations with the United Kingdom and the United States.^[3]

Some equipment was also procured separately.^[3] For example the IJA secured its own ships and self-designed submarines in World War 2.^[3] Former Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida criticized the sectionalism of the IJAF.^[3]

Interservice rivalry

The Imperial Army and Navy had a fierce interservice rivalry centering around how the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces ought to secure territories containing valuable natural resources not available at home to fuel and grow the Japanese economy. The Army mainly supported the Hokushin-ron doctrine, which called for expansion into Manchuria and Siberia and would have the army take on a prime role, while the Navy supported the Nanshin-ron doctrine, which stated that Japan ought to expand into Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands and would be reliant on the navy to do so.

Main chronology

References