Suzuki Keiji

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the World War II agent. For the judoka, see Keiji Suzuki.
Suzuki Keiji
Keiji Suzuki as a Major General
Native name
鈴木敬司
Nickname(s)Bo Mogyo ("Thunderbolt Commander")
"Japanese Lawrence of Arabia"
"Thunderbolt Commander"
Born1897
Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan
Died1967
Allegiance Empire of Japan
Service/branch Imperial Japanese Army
Years of service1918–1945
Rank
Major General
UnitTaiwan Army of Japan
Commands heldSouthern Spy Agency
Battles/warsWorld War II

Suzuki Keiji (

nom de guerre Bo Mogyo, meaning "Thunderbolt Commander".[3]

Training

Suzuki was trained at the Imperial Japanese Army Academy and graduated as an infantry officer in 1918. He subsequently attended the General Staff College and in 1929 began clandestine operations in the Philippines. His main focus, in both his studies and early career, was Anglo-American affairs.[4] Suzuki's official military position was the Head of the General Staff Headquarters' Shipping Section. However, he was trained at the Rikugun Nakano Gakkō and was secretly an intelligence agent charged with disrupting Allied activities in Asia by shutting down supply lines to China through the Burma Road.[1][4]

Operations

Further information: Burma Independence Army

In the 1930s, Suzuki, operating out of

Rangoon with assistance from his network of contacts, posing as a reporter named Minami Masuyo.[1][5]

Suzuki worked on Hainan Island for six months in 1941, training the Thirty Comrades in preparation for the Japanese invasion of Burma. [6]

In 1941, Japanese Imperial general Headquarters authorised Suzuki to create a Burmese military force under Japanese authority. He drew together the Thirty Comrades, a group of independence fighters which included Aung San, Ne Win and Bo Let Ya. Suzuki's work eventually led to the creation of the Burmese Independence Army.[7] However, in 1942 a Japanese Army commander, Lieutenant-General Shijiro Iida, became concerned over Suzuki's pro-independence stance and authority over the Burmese Independence Army. He orchestrated Suzuki's recall to Japan, and the Burmese Independence Army was subsequently reorganised and placed under the direction of Aung San (himself under the control of the Japanese).[8] Suzuki returned to Tokyo, and for the rest of the war fulfilled the duties of his official role as Head of Shipping by overseeing transport and logistics.[9]

Suzuki had a flair for the dramatic. His chosen Burmese name, Bo Mogyo, was a reference to the thunderbolt which Burmese folk tradition held would destroy the "umbrella" (a symbol of British colonial rule). He engaged in a blood-drinking ceremony of comradeship with his companions.[7][10]

During the Japanese occupation of Burma, the BIA tried to persuade the Burmese populace by saying that Suzuki was a long-lost descendant of Prince Myingun, an older half-brother of the last Burmese king who had escaped to British-controlled Burma following a failed coup attempt against his father, who many Burmese people saw as the legitimate heir to the last Burmese kingdom.[11]

After his death in 1967, Suzuki was posthumously honoured by the Burmese leader Ne Win.[4]

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 978-0-674-01748-1
    .
  2. ^ Ba Maw (1968). Breakthrough in Burma (PDF). Yale University Press. p. 111.
  3. ISBN 978-1-134-31476-8
    .
  4. ^
    ISBN 978-1-61234-217-7
    .
  5. ISBN 978-1-4120-1536-3
    .
  6. ^ Thant Myint-U. The River of Lost Footsteps: A Personal History of Burma. London: Faber and Faber Limited. 2008. p.229
  7. ^
    ISBN 978-87-7694-017-1
    .
  8. ISBN 978-1-78093-971-1
    .
  9. ISBN 9780552165341
    .
  10. ISBN 978-981-4279-44-4
    .
  11. ^ Thant Myint-U. The River of Lost Footsteps: A Personal History of Burma. London: Faber and Faber Limited. 2008. p.219
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Suzuki_Keiji&oldid=1095788705"