Seizō Kobayashi

Seizō Kobayashi (Japanese: 小林躋造^?, October 1, 1877 – July 4, 1962) was a Japanese naval commander, commander of the Combined Fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy (1931–1933) and the 17th Governor-General of Taiwan (1936–1940).

Kobayashi was born in 1877 in Hiroshima and pursued a naval career. After graduating from the Imperial Naval Academy with honors, in 1898 Kobayashi first served as an ensign on the corvette Hiei and by 1900 was promoted as a second lieutenant on the battleship Hatsuse. In the years 1902-1905 he was an artillery officer in the cruiser Naniwa and in 1912 was seconded to serve as an officer on HMS Collingwood. In 1917 he was promoted to commander and took command of the cruiser Hirado. In 1920, Kobayashi was appointed Naval attaché to the Imperial Japanese Embassy in London, and was appointed to the rank of Rear Admiral in 1922. In 1928, by now a Vice Admiral, Kobayashi commanded a naval squadron on board Izumo that visited Sydney Harbour, being the fourth time he had visited Sydney, and was received by the Governor of NSW, Sir Dudley de Chair, with whom he had served together on HMS Collingwood.

During the First World War Kobayashi was awarded the US Navy Cross, for his actions in support of the Allied fleet, and with the end of the war he served on the committee tasked with the disposal of enemy naval vessels and was Japan's chief naval expert at the 1927 Geneva Naval Conference tasked with arms limitations. In June 1930, he was appointed Deputy Minister of Navy and in December 1931 was appointed as the Commander of the Combined Fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy. His promotion to Admiral was confirmed on 1 March 1933. In March 1936, in the aftermath of the February 26 Incident, Kobayashi was transferred to the Naval reserve and was appointed as Governor-General of Taiwan on 2 September 1936.

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