Torashirō Kawabe

Torashirō Kawabe
General Torashirō Kawabe
Native name	河辺 虎四郎
Born	(1890-09-25)September 25, 1890 Toyama prefecture, Japan
Died	June 25, 1960(1960-06-25) (aged 69)
Allegiance	Empire of Japan
Service/branch	Imperial Japanese Army
Years of service	1912–1945
Rank	Lieutenant General
Battles/wars	Second Sino-Japanese War World War II
Other work	Deputy Chief Imperial Japanese Army General Staff

Torashirō Kawabe (河辺 虎四郎, Kawabe Torashirō^?, 25 September 1890 – 25 June 1960) was a general and Deputy Chief of Staff of the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff during World War II. He was also the younger brother of General Masakazu Kawabe.

Born in Toyama prefecture, Kawabe graduated from the 24th class of the Imperial Japanese Army Academy in 1912, with a specialty in field artillery. After completing his studies at the Artillery and Engineers School in 1915, and later the 33rd class of the Army War College in 1921, he eventually served in the Operations Division of the Army General Staff from 1922 to 1925.

Assigned as resident staff officer in Riga, Latvia in 1926, Kawabe studied Soviet affairs for two years before his return to Japan. Kawabe, then a major, became an instructor in tactics at the Army War College between 1928 and 1929, before being reassigned to the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff. After three years, Kawabe was stationed in Moscow as a military attaché until 1934, when he was sent to the Kwantung Army as a staff officer and chief of its intelligence section. He was promoted to colonel in 1935. While serving with the Kwantung Army, Kawabe became involved in the Japanese government's efforts, through local Chinese warlord Li Shou-hsin, to gain control of Chahar Province in northeast Inner Mongolia. After serving briefly as commander of a field artillery regiment in the Imperial Guards Division, Kawabe was appointed to the General Staff as a member of the War Leadership Council and, following the Marco Polo Bridge incident, was one of the few senior officers who supported General Kanji Ishihara in opposing Japan's further involvement in China.