[Government of the Occupied Territory] Ichiro Suganami
Description:
Born:
22 June 1895, Miyazaki
Death:
7 June 1960
Ichiro Suganami was born in Miyazaki City, Miyazaki Prefecture as a lawyer's son. He was exposed to Christianity from a young age, and his mother was also a believer. At that time, Miyazaki City had only one Catholic church and one French priest, with whom the Suganami family was acquainted. He graduated from the Military Academy in 1916 (28th Class) and became an infantry officer. In 1923, he graduated from the Army War College and joined the Army Ministry. In 1931, he became a major and transferred to the General Staff. Four years later, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and became the military attaché at the Japanese Embassy in Canada. In August 1937, he briefly served as the intelligence chief of the North China Area Army, but was transferred to the UK as a military attaché a few months later in April 1938, and was promoted to colonel that same year. By 1939, he was recalled to the General Staff, and later that year took up positions such as commander of the 222nd Infantry Regiment and head of the Hailar Special Service Agency, and was promoted to major general. Although his younger brother, Saburo Suganami, was involved in the February 26 Incident, his older brother seemed to have avoided any implication.
After the establishment of the Government of the Hong Kong Occupied Territory, there was a position of Chief of Staff under the Governor-General, responsible not only for military defense and internal security but also for communication with the Army Ministry. The first Chief of Staff was Colonel Arisue Seizo, but he left his post in November 1942, and Suganami took over. However, although theoretically the Chief of Staff was second only to the Governor-General, in reality the Commander of the Hong Kong Kempeitai Colonel Noma Kenichi wielded independent authority, and with the Hong Kong Defense Force being small in scale, coupled with Tokyo being busy dealing with the war that was turning against them, the actual influence of the Chief of Staff was limited. His attitude during his time in Hong Kong can be seen from his words to Pastor Samejima Moritaka, who had just arrived from Japan: "If the freedom to worship is taken away, it is tantamount to losing everything. Since the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War, Japan has won the war but lost the hearts of the people. This is due to a lack of proper understanding of religion. ... If you encounter any problems in your work with soldiers, officials, especially the Kempeitai, feel free to mention my name. Or notify me to intervene, I will do my best to help..." Eventually, he was suspended and recalled to Japan in June 1944, and three months later was placed in the reserves. Even during the rapid expansion of the Japanese army at the end of the war, he received no command or positions. It's possible that his sympathetic attitude towards Western religions had been discovered by then.
Probably because he had left the military, he was not tried after Japan's surrender but served as a witness in war crime trials. After the war, he was baptized as a Catholic in 1948 and passed away in 1960.
Born:
22 June 1895, Miyazaki
Death:
7 June 1960
Ichiro Suganami was born in Miyazaki City, Miyazaki Prefecture as a lawyer's son. He was exposed to Christianity from a young age, and his mother was also a believer. At that time, Miyazaki City had only one Catholic church and one French priest, with whom the Suganami family was acquainted. He graduated from the Military Academy in 1916 (28th Class) and became an infantry officer. In 1923, he graduated from the Army War College and joined the Army Ministry. In 1931, he became a major and transferred to the General Staff. Four years later, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and became the military attaché at the Japanese Embassy in Canada. In August 1937, he briefly served as the intelligence chief of the North China Area Army, but was transferred to the UK as a military attaché a few months later in April 1938, and was promoted to colonel that same year. By 1939, he was recalled to the General Staff, and later that year took up positions such as commander of the 222nd Infantry Regiment and head of the Hailar Special Service Agency, and was promoted to major general. Although his younger brother, Saburo Suganami, was involved in the February 26 Incident, his older brother seemed to have avoided any implication.
After the establishment of the Government of the Hong Kong Occupied Territory, there was a position of Chief of Staff under the Governor-General, responsible not only for military defense and internal security but also for communication with the Army Ministry. The first Chief of Staff was Colonel Arisue Seizo, but he left his post in November 1942, and Suganami took over. However, although theoretically the Chief of Staff was second only to the Governor-General, in reality the Commander of the Hong Kong Kempeitai Colonel Noma Kenichi wielded independent authority, and with the Hong Kong Defense Force being small in scale, coupled with Tokyo being busy dealing with the war that was turning against them, the actual influence of the Chief of Staff was limited. His attitude during his time in Hong Kong can be seen from his words to Pastor Samejima Moritaka, who had just arrived from Japan: "If the freedom to worship is taken away, it is tantamount to losing everything. Since the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War, Japan has won the war but lost the hearts of the people. This is due to a lack of proper understanding of religion. ... If you encounter any problems in your work with soldiers, officials, especially the Kempeitai, feel free to mention my name. Or notify me to intervene, I will do my best to help..." Eventually, he was suspended and recalled to Japan in June 1944, and three months later was placed in the reserves. Even during the rapid expansion of the Japanese army at the end of the war, he received no command or positions. It's possible that his sympathetic attitude towards Western religions had been discovered by then.
Probably because he had left the military, he was not tried after Japan's surrender but served as a witness in war crime trials. After the war, he was baptized as a Catholic in 1948 and passed away in 1960.
Sources: Kwong Chi Man, 2015; Alan Ho; Law Man Wai, "Yim Dung Wai Jue," Christian Times, 8/2018.
