Editing Imperial General Headquarters (section)

==Organization of the Imperial General Headquarters==
Imperial General Headquarters comprised Army and Navy Sections. The Army Section comprised the Chief of Army General Staff and his chief of Army Operations, and the [[Minister of War of Japan|Army Minister]]. The Navy Section comprised Chief of Navy General Staff, his chief of Navy Operations, and the [[Ministry of the Navy of Japan|Navy Minister]]. In addition, the [[Inspectorate General of Military Training|Inspector-General of Military Training]], whose rank was almost on-par with that of the Chiefs of the General Staff, and the [[Aide-de-camp to the Emperor of Japan]] were also members.

Middle-ranking officers of Army and Navy General Staff, and Army and Navy Ministry, met from time to time at middle-level liaison or study conferences to discuss Japan's strategic war plans, and especially, plans requiring cooperation between the two armed services, outside of the formal meeting in the presence of the Emperor.

Relations between the Japanese Army and Navy were never cordial, and often marked by deep hostility. The Army saw the Soviet Union as Japan's greatest threat and for the most part supported the ''[[Hokushin-ron]]'' (Strike North concept) that Japan's strategic interests were on the Asian continent. The Navy looked across the Pacific Ocean and saw the United States as the greatest threat, and for the most part supported the ''[[Nanshin-ron]]'' (Strike South concept) that Japan's strategic interests were in [[Southeast Asia]] and the Pacific islands.

===Organization during World War II===
[[Hirohito]], the Emperor of Japan, was defined as the Head of State and the Generalissimo of the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces according to the constitution of 1889. During World War II, the leadership of the Imperial General Headquarters consisting of the following:
[[File:Announcement from Imperial General Headquarters1.JPG|right|300px|thumb|Announcement from Imperial General Headquarters January 1942]]
*[[Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office|Chief of the Army General Staff]]
**[[Prince Kan'in Kotohito|Kotohito Kan'in]] (1931–1940)
**[[Hajime Sugiyama]] (1940–1944)
**[[Hideki Tōjō]] (1944)
**[[Yoshijirō Umezu]] (1944–1945)
*[[Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff|Chief of the Navy General Staff]]
**[[Hiroyasu Fushimi]] (1932–1941)
**[[Osami Nagano]] (1941–1944)
**[[Shigetarō Shimada]] (1944)
**[[Koshirō Oikawa]] (1944–1945)
**[[Soemu Toyoda]] (1945)
*[[Army Ministry|Minister of the Army]]
**[[Hajime Sugiyama]] (1937–1938, 1944–1945)
**[[Seishirō Itagaki]] (1938–1939)
**[[Shunroku Hata]] (1939–1940)
**[[Hideki Tōjō]] (1940–1944)
**[[Korechika Anami]] (1945)
*[[Ministry of the Navy (Japan)|Minister of the Navy]]
**[[Mitsumasa Yonai]] (1937–1939, 1944–1945)
**[[Zengo Yoshida]] (1939–1940)
**[[Koshirō Oikawa]] (1940–1941)
**[[Shigetarō Shimada]] (1941–1944)

===Organization of the Imperial Japanese Army – December 8, 1941===
The majority of these troops were stationed in China, [[Indochina]], Japan, [[Taiwan]], and [[Korea]].  This includes some 61 [[division (military)|division]]s, 59 [[brigade]]s, and 51 [[Squadron (aviation)|air squadrons]]. Only a fraction of Japan's military, 11 to 14 divisions and the [[South Seas Detachment]], were available for the December 1941 operations in South-East Asia and the Pacific.
[[File:Hirohito défilé.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Soldiers parading before the Showa Emperor Hirohito on Shirayuki, from an unknown newsreel circa {{circa|1930s}}]]

*Imperial General Headquarters
**IJA General Staff
***General Affairs Bureau
****Organization and Mobilization Department
****Training Department
***1st (Operations) Bureau
****Operations Department
****Defence Department
***2nd (Intelligence) Bureau
****Europe and the Americas Department
****China Department
****Russia/Soviet Union Department
****Intelligence Department
***3rd (Transport and Communications) Bureau
****Transport Department
****Communications Department
***4th (Historical) Bureau
****Military History Department
****Strategy and Tactics Department
***[[Army War College (Japan)|General Staff College]]
***Land Survey Department
**[[Ministry of War of Japan|Ministry Of War]]
**[[General Defense Command]]
**[[China Expeditionary Army]]
**[[Kwantung Army]]
**[[Southern Expeditionary Army Group]]
**Units under direct General Staff control
***[[Imperial Japanese Army Air Service]]
***4th Infantry Division
***[[South Seas Detachment]]
***1st Army Hospital
***2nd Army Hospital
***3rd Army Hospital
***Korean Remount Department
***Army Air Service Transport Department
***IGHQ Communications Department