World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseJinichi Kusaka was born in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. He was the cousin of future Admiral Ryunosuke Kusaka. He graduated from the Japanese Navy Academy in 1909 and served as midshipman on the cruisers Soya and Chiyoda. After being commissioned as an ensign, he served aboard cruiser Tokiwa and then battleship Aki. During WW1, as a lieutenant, he served aboard armored cruiser Asama, light cruiser Kashima, and destroyer Hamakaze; he saw no combat during WW1. In 1921, upon completing the Japanese Naval War College, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant commander. In the 1920s, he served as vice chief gunnery officer aboard battleship Hiei, and then chief gunnery officer aboard battleships Yamashiro and Nagato. On 1 Dec 1930, at the rank of captain, he was sent to the United States and Europe. In 1932, he was commissioned the cruiser Kitakami, his first command. Between 15 Nov 1935 and 1 Dec 1936, he was the captain of the battleship Fuso. On 1 Dec 1936, he was promoted to the rank of rear admiral and became commandant of the Naval Gunnery School. On 15 Nov 1940, Kusaka was promoted to the rank of vice admiral. In mid-1941, he was placed in charge of the Japanese Navy Academy. On 28 Sep 1942, he was given command of the 11th Air Fleet based in Rabaul, New Britain. In the Solomon Islands area, he commanded air and naval units in a bitter defensive against advancing American forces. On 6 Sep 1945, Kusaka and Lieutenant General Hitoshi Imamura represented the Japanese Navy and Army, respectively, in the surrender of Rabaul to the Allies.

Jinichi Kusaka Interactive Map

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Jinichi Kusaka Timeline