Imperial Japanese Armed Forces

The IJAF was founded with an edict emanated on 3 January 1868, as part of the Japanese reorganization of the army and the application of innovations during the Meiji Restoration. The reorganization of the army and the navy during the Meiji period boosted Japanese military strength, allowing the Imperial Japanese Army and the Imperial Japanese Navy to achieve major victories, such as during the First Sino-Japanese war and the Russo-Japanese War.

The IJAF also served in WW1 and WW2. It was operational until the Surrender of Japan after World War II in 1945.

During the pre-war era the army and navy had separate school branches.[3] Since the Meiji era, the Choshu Domain from Yamaguchi Prefecture dominated the IJA.[3] The IJN was dominated by the Satsuma Domain from Kagoshima Prefecture.[3] This resulted in that they operated separately rather than a single umbrella strategy.[3]

During the Showa period, the IJA and IJN had different outlooks on allies and enemies.[3] The IJA considered Nazi Germany as a natural partner and the Soviet Union as a threat, while the IJN stressed that collaboration with Nazi Germany would hurt relations with the United Kingdom and the United States.[3]

Some equipment was also procured separately.[3] For example the IJA secured its own ships and self-designed submarines in World War 2.[3] Former Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida criticized the sectionalism of the IJAF.[3]

The Imperial Army and Navy had a fierce interservice rivalry centering around how the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces ought to secure territories containing valuable natural resources not available at home to fuel and grow the Japanese economy. The Army mainly supported the Hokushin-ron doctrine, which called for expansion into Manchuria and Siberia and would have the army take on a prime role, while the Navy supported the Nanshin-ron doctrine, which stated that Japan ought to expand into Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands and would be reliant on the navy to do so.