Yoshijiro Umezu： Participating in the Aggression War from Beginning to End
By Li Zhongming
Yoshijiro Umezu， one of the chief culprits responsible for Japan"s aggression against China， was decided by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East in November 1948 as a Class-A war criminal for taking part in making and implementing aggression plans， invading China by force， killing Chinese soldiers and civilians and other crimes. He was a key figure in making Japan"s expansionist policy and launching the aggression war against China.
Cooking up the He-Umezu Agreement single-handedly
Umezu was born in 1882 in Oita Prefecture. He graduated from Japanese Military Academy in 1903 and from Army War College in 1910. Afterwards， he served in succession as Military Attaché to Germany， instructor at the Army War College， high-ranking official in Military Affairs Bureau of the Army Department and Commanding Officer of the 1st Infantry Brigade. In 1930 he was promoted major general.
In August 1931 he was appointed Head Army Military General Officer of the General Staff. One and half a month later， the Kwantung Army staged the September 18 Incident， and occupied the entire northeast China soon. Umezu along with Hideki Tojo and Kuniaki Koiso (then-director of the Military Affairs Bureau) made armament reform plans to meet an urgent need in increased military expenditure.
Japanese aggressor troops then began to invade north China. In May 1933 they forced the KMT government to conclude the traitorous Tanggu Accord， tacitly accepting Japan"s occupation of the northeast and Rehe . After signing the treaty， the Japanese government was not satisfied with designating northeastern Hebei Province alone as a demilitarized zone. In order to solidify the puppet Manchukuo"s rule in northeast China， split up north China and push the Northeastern Army and KMT"s other troops out of the region， it appointed Umezu General Officer commanding China Garrison Army in March 1934.
In May 1935 two pro-Japanese reporters were killed at the Japanese Concession in Tianjin. Using it as an excuse， Umezu raised to He Yingqin， acting chairman of the KMT Peiping (Beijing) Military Subcommittee， the unreasonable demand to "oust KMT forces including the Northeastern Army from north China."
Under Japan"s military and diplomatic pressure， on July 6 He sent a written reply to Umezu， which resulted in the conclusion of the so-called He-Umezu Agreement. It stipulated that： 1. Dissolving all KMT party headquarters in Hebei； 2. Withdrawing KMT troops (3rd Regiment of military police， the Northeastern Army"s 51st Army， etc.) from Hebei； 3. Closing down the KMT Peiping Military Subcommittee"s Political Training Division； 4. Dismissing Hebei Provincial Chairman Yu Xuezhong； 5. Outlawing all anti-Japanese societies" activities. The signing of the agreement plunged north China into an even more serious crisis. Also this year Umezu held a concurrent post of General Officer commanding 2nd Division.
Carrying out the policy of "burn all， kill all， and loot all"