Oka Takazumi Explained

was a Japanese admiral and politician. He served as Chief of the Navy Ministry's Military Affairs Bureau from 1940 to 1944. He was convicted of war crimes during World War II, sentenced to life in prison, and later granted parole due to health problems.

He graduated from the Naval Academy in 1911 and subsequently completed his education at the Naval Staff College in 1923. In October 1940, Oka was appointed Chief of the Naval Affairs Bureau. In this capacity, he directly presided over policy-making within the Japanese Navy.

Following the end of World War II, Oka was prosecuted as a war criminal during the International Military Tribunal for the Far East.^[1] Upon being convicted, he was sentenced to life imprisonment.^[2] In 1954, he was granted parole for health reasons.^[3] The War Crimes Tribunal stated that he would be handed over to the custody of the Japanese Minister of Justice, and that should he recover from his illnesses, he would be expected to return to Sugamo Prison.^[4]

Sources

• Encyclopedia: Japanese Net Assessment in the Era Before Pearl Harbor . Calculations: Net Assessment and the Coming of World War II . Coox . Alvin D. . Murray . Williamson . Millet . Allan . 1992 . New York, N.Y. . MacMillan, Inc. . 1-4165-7684-3.
• Book: Evans . David C. . Peattie . David . 1997 . Kaigun: Strategy, Tactics and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy,1887-1941 . Annapolis,MD . Naval Institute Press . 978-0-87021-192-8.
• Book: Mei, Ju-ao . 2016 . The Tokyo Trial and War Crimes in Asia . Shanghai Jiao Tong University Press . 978-981-15-9812-8.

Notes and References

1. https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/photograph-records/2017-3271
2. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/18448913
3. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/18448913
4. https://web.archive.org/web/20160315025850/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/18448913