Saburō Endō

Saburō Endō (遠藤 三郎, Endō Saburō; January 2, 1893 – October 11, 1984) was a Japanese military officer who served as a lieutenant general in the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II. A graduate of the Imperial Japanese Army Academy (26th class) and the Army War College (34th class), he received the Emperor's Sword for academic excellence at both institutions.^[1][2][3]

Endō was born in Komatsu, Yamagata Prefecture (now Kawanishi, Yamagata), the third son of a draper, Kingo Endō.^[4][5] He graduated with honors from the Sendai Army Cadet School and the Central Army Cadet School.^[6] In May 1914, he graduated with honors from the 26th class of the Imperial Japanese Army Academy and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the artillery in December of the same year. He later graduated with honors from the Army Artillery School and, in November 1922, from the 34th class of the Army War College.^[6]

In September 1923, during the Great Kantō earthquake, Endō was serving as a captain and company commander in the 1st Field Heavy Artillery Regiment of the 1st Division. He was assigned as a staff officer at a temporary garrison in Ōshima and reportedly worked to protect detained Koreans and Chinese by requesting police custody. However, other units were involved in violent incidents, including the Kameido Incident and the murder of the Chinese activist Wang Xitian. It has been alleged that officers of the 7th Field Heavy Artillery Regiment instigated Wang's killing, though accounts vary.^[7]

The Army, fearing international repercussions, reportedly ordered a cover-up of the incident. Endō was subsequently sent to study at the École Supérieure de Guerre in France. During his stay in France, he is said to have assisted Masahiko Amakasu, who had been implicated in the murder of Sakae Ōsugi.^[8]

After graduating from the French Army War College in 1929, Endō served as an operations staff officer in the Imperial General Headquarters and later as chief operations staff officer of the Kwantung Army. He participated in the Manchurian Incident, including the Rehe Operation and the Tanggu Truce.

On 20 January 1932, he became acquainted with Shirō Ishii, who would later establish Unit 731. Ishii’s advocacy of biological warfare reportedly gained support within the Kwantung Army staff during this period.^[9]

Following the Nomonhan Incident in 1939, Endō served as deputy chief of staff of the Kwantung Army. He reportedly concluded that the army was incapable of confronting the Soviet Union and opposed the Hokushin-ron (Strike North) strategy. According to his memoir, a staff simulation of a Soviet invasion in December 1939 predicted Japanese defeat.^[10]

As commander of the 3rd Air Brigade, Endō was involved in the bombing of Chongqing, then the wartime capital of the Republic of China. Initially targeting salt wells, the focus shifted to shipping on the Yangtze River. Bombs reportedly fell near the U.S. gunboat USS Tutuila, contributing to worsening U.S.–Japan relations.^[11] He later submitted a memorandum arguing that the bombing was ineffective and potentially in violation of international law, leading to the termination of Operation 102 in 1941.^[11]

Promoted to lieutenant general in December 1942, Endō served as commandant of the Army Air Academy and later as Director-General of the Aviation Ordnance Bureau in the Ministry of Munitions. He advocated nationalization of the arms industry and standardization of aircraft production.

At Japan’s surrender in August 1945, Endō reportedly opposed acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration, advocating continued resistance. He was transferred to the reserve in December 1945.

In February 1947, Endō was detained for approximately one year at Sugamo Prison on suspicion of war crimes. He later declined corporate offers and became a farmer in Iruma (now Sayama), Saitama Prefecture.^[4]

He was provisionally designated for purge from public office in November 1947.^[12] In October 1948, he was summoned as a witness before the House of Representatives Special Committee on Illicit Property Transactions.

In the postwar period, Endō became active in pacifist and constitutional protection movements. In 1953, he participated in the formation of the National League for the Protection of the Constitution with former Prime Minister Tetsu Katayama. He unsuccessfully ran as an independent candidate in the 1959 House of Councillors election.

In 1961, he founded the Association of Former Soldiers for Japan–China Friendship and served as its representative. Due to his pro-China stance, he was labeled a “traitor” and “Red General.” In 1974, he published his memoir, The Fifteen-Year War Between Japan and China and Myself – People Call Me a Traitor and Red General.

During a 1956 meeting, Mao Zedong reportedly told Endō that the Japanese invasion had inadvertently unified and strengthened China, expressing a paradoxical sense of gratitude for the historical circumstances.^[13]

Throughout his life, Endō kept extensive diaries from 1 August 1904 until 9 September 1984, totaling 93 volumes. These include numerous documents marked “Top Secret” and constitute significant primary sources for modern Japanese history. The original diaries have been deposited at the Sayama City Museum in Saitama Prefecture and are available to researchers.^[14]

• Nichū jūgonen sensō to watashi – Kokuzoku aka no shōgun to hito wa iu (日中十五年戦争と私 - 国賊・赤の将軍と人はいう), Nitchū Shorin, 1974.

• "List of Persons Subject to Memorandum on Purge from Public Offices," edited by the Audit Division of the Cabinet Secretariat of the Prime Minister's Agency, Hibiya Seijikai, 1949.
• "Comprehensive Dictionary of the Japanese Army and Navy," edited by Ikuhiko Hata, 2nd edition, University of Tokyo Press, 2005.
• "The Shogun's Will - Endo Saburo's Diary," Mainichi Shimbun, 1986.
• "Endo Saburo," Yui Masaomi, "Encyclopedia of National History," vol. 15, Yoshikawa Kobunkan, 1996.