Admiral Shigetaro Shimada
Japan’s WWII Navy Minister Sails and Sinks with General Hideki Tojo
As the Japanese military leaders planned for an outbreak of war with the United States, many within the Japanese government pursued diplomatic avenues to acquire the resources Japan would need for its continued war in China. With no diplomatic compromise in sight, the government under Prince Konoye resigned on October 17th, 1941 which opened the way for the Army to gain control of the government. On October 18th, General Hideki Tojo became Prime Minister. He appointed as Naval Minister, Shigetaro Shimada; an Admiral who was supportive of the Army’s political, expansionistic views.
United States policy required Japan’s complete withdrawal from China. Understanding that Japanese embarrassment in Asia would be the result of that policy, and influenced by the 'bushido' or, ‘the way of the warrior’, Tojo, Shimada, and Japan turned south and east to a heading for war with the Western powers. With Germany and Russia locked in a massive struggle in Eastern Europe, the Russians opted for a non-aggression pact with the Japanese government. Their northern borders now secure, Japan was free for conquest out into the Pacific.
Born in 1883, Shimada graduated the Naval Academy in 1904. He rose in the ranks steadily and was promoted to Rear Admiral in 1929. During his career, and before joining the ruling cabinet, Shimada held various posts within the navy; most notably as the Commanding Officer of the battleship Hiei and the C-in-C of the Second Fleet.
By late fall in 1941 the navy was still reluctant to commit to war and sought ways to stall and allow diplomacy more time, but Shimada made no substantial anti-war argument. Some in the naval offices requested that the Japanese navy receive a large portion of the national oil reserves for the war commitment; counting that such a request would not be granted. When Tojo approved the request, the stalling tactics of those naval personnel became ineffective and the planned Pearl Harbor attack was on. Presumably to allow the navy more preparation time, Shimada did recommend continuing to negotiate with the United States until the day before the start of the war. The Admiral felt strongly that cooperation with the army was imperative for all Japanese armed forces to remain effective. Tojo’s influence over Shimada was so intense that, at one point, Admiral Okada candidly explained to Shimada that the navy had lost respect for him and he should resign. Instead, Shimada held close to Tojo. His reward became a second post within the Minister’s government, the Navy Chief-of-Staff, which was held by Admiral Nagano until an American aircraft carrier strike on Truk early in 1944 precipitated the change. Shimada now held two posts simultaneously, as did Tojo.
By 1944, continued American victories in the Pacific created a state of despondency within Japanese political circles. Once Saipan had fallen that July to the American 2nd and 4th Marine Divisions, and the 27th Infantry Division, factions that supported continuing the war and those who wished for a peace settlement began to blame the current government under Tojo for mishandling the war. In The War in the Pacific (Novato: Presidio Press, 1995) Harry A. Gailey explains Tojo discovered the displeasure the emperor held in the “concentration of power in Tojo’s ministry, particularly the authority Tojo had given Adm. Shigetaro Shimada”. The Admiral was forced to resign his posts in mid-July. Tojo was forced to resign a day later.
After the war, Shimada was arrested as a war criminal and brought to trial by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East. He was found guilty of five counts against him, including planning, participating, and waging aggressive war. He was sentenced to life in prison but saw parole in 1955.
Admiral Shigetaro Shimada died in Tokyo June 7th, 1976 at age 92.
Additional Sources:
Boatner III, Mark, The Biographical Dictionary of World War II (Novato: Presidio Press, 1996)
Morison, Samuel Eliot, History of United States Naval Operations in World War II: Vols III, VI (Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1988)
Bauer, Lt. Col. Eddy, The Illustrated World War II Encyclopedia (H.S. Stuttman, Inc., 1966)
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