Hajime Sugiyama

Hajime Sugiyama (1880-1945) was a senior Imperial Japanese Army officer who was in a leadership function through most of World War Two in the Pacific. Following Prince Kanin, he was Chief of Staff (Imperial Japanese Army) from 3 Oct 1940 to 21 Feb 1944. From July 1944 to April 1945, he was Army Minister, while Yoshijiro Umezu succeeded him as Chief of Staff. After the surrender of Japan, he and his wife committed ritual suicide.

Other major responsibilities included Inspector General of Military Education from 1 August 1936 to 9 February 1937, and briefly from {18 Jul 1944 - 22 Jul 1944). Before becoming Chief of Staff, he was Army Minister during the first year of the Second Sino-Japanese War.