Japanese Forces

Kenji Hatanaka

Major Kenji Hatanaka was a soldier in the Military Affairs Section of the Japanese Ministry of War, at the end of World War II. He was one of the chief conspirators in a plot to seize the Imperial Palace and prevent the broadcast of Emperor Hirohito's surrender speech. Although the coup failed, it came close to succeeding, and possibly lengthening the war. After the coup failed, he took his own life.