Mitsugo Ihara

Advertisement Close

Country	Japan
Category	Sea

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

Captain Mitsugo Ihara was a staff officer of the Japanese 3rd Fleet during the opening stages of the Pacific War and a staff officer of the 2nd Fleet during Battle of Midway and the Solomon/Guadalcanal campaigns. From Apr 1943 to Apr 1945, he served in the Training Section of the Navy Department in Tokyo. From Apr 1945 until the end of the war, he was the aide to Prime Ministers Kantaro Suzuki and Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni. After the war, he was interrogated by Commander T.H. Moorer of the United States Navy on 10 Nov 1945 in Tokyo, who noted Ihara as an "intelligent, well groomed" officer. He provided the Americans detailed information regarding the opening actions of the Pacific War, including precise timetable of the 3rd Fleet's actions against Philippines in Dec 1941. He also commented that in the opening stages of the Pacific War the

"[Allied] opposition was so light that the Japanese forces were not put to a severe test and consequently they concluded that equipment available and the tactics used were satisfactory for future operations. It would have been better for the Japanese if they had encountered more opposition."

Source: Interrogation of Japanese Officials.