Sadao Araki

Sadao Araki (1877-1967) was an Imperial Japanese Army officer dedicated to the philosophy of kokutai and was central to the kodoha, or Imperial Way faction. He was a key figure in the right-wing politicization of Japanese politics in the 1930s. Devotion to kokutai meant emphasizing the spiritual unity of the Japanese people as its central theme, conflicting with the toseiha (Control faction), which considered modernization and economic expansion to be more important.

Military

While at the Army War College, he fought in the Russo-Japanese War, and then moved to the general staff. Subsquent posts included Provost Marshal, Principal of the Army War College, and Chief of the Inspector General of Military Training Department. The latter was one of the three most important in the Army.

Cabinet roles

In 1931, he became the War Minister of the Inukai cabinet, and remained in the post in the Saito cabinet. He preached the Kokutai (national polity) concept and spiritualism, which made him stand at odds with Toseiha (Control faction) as a central figure of Kodoha (Imperial Way faction). In 1933, he was promoted to Army General. After the February 26 Incident, he was placed in the reserves. He served as Education Minister in the first Konoe and the Hiranuma cabinets.

War crimes

Araki was sentenced to life imprisonment as a class-A war criminal after the war, but was paroled in 1954.