Minami Jiro

Army officer. Born in Oita Prefecture. 6th class of the Army Academy. Graduated from the Army War College. After serving as Chief of the Cavalry Section of the Military Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of the Army, Commander of the China Garrison Army, and Vice Chief of Staff, he became Commander of the Korean Army in 1929 (Showa 4). In 1930, he became a general. In April 1931, he became Minister of War in the cabinet of Wakatsuki Reijiro and took a hard-line stance on measures against Manchuria and Mongolia. In September of the same year, he initially took a non-expansion policy, but later switched to an expansionist stance. In 1934, he became Commander of the Kwantung Army, joined the reserves in March 1936, and became Governor-General of Korea in August of the same year. From 1942 onwards, he held various positions, including Privy Councilor, President of the Great Japanese Political Association, and Imperially appointed member of the House of Peers. After Japan lost the war, he was sentenced to life imprisonment as a Class A war criminal by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East. He was released on parole in 1954 (Showa 29) due to illness, but died the following year. There is a biography by Mitarai Tatsuo entitled "Nanjiro Den." The existence of the "Nanjiro Diary" has also been confirmed.

[Yuji Odabe]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

陸軍軍人。大分県生まれ。陸軍士官学校6期。陸軍大学校卒業。陸軍省軍務局騎兵課長、支那(しな)駐屯軍司令官、参謀次長などを経て、1929年（昭和4）朝鮮軍司令官となる。1930年大将。1931年4月若槻礼次郎(わかつきれいじろう)内閣陸相となり満蒙(まんもう)対策強硬論の立場をとった。同年9月の柳条湖(りゅうじょうこ)事件に際しては、当初は不拡大の方針であったが、のちに拡大派に転じた。1934年関東軍司令官、1936年3月予備役に入り、同年8月朝鮮総督となった。1942年以降、枢密顧問官、大日本政治会総裁、貴族院勅選議員などを歴任。敗戦後、極東国際軍事裁判でA級戦犯として終身禁錮刑の判決を受ける。1954年（昭和29）病気のため仮出獄したが、翌年死去した。伝記に御手洗辰雄(みたらいたつお)『南次郎伝』がある。また「南次郎日記」の存在も確認されている。

［小田部雄次］

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