Kempeitai

Kempeitai (憲兵隊, "Law Soldier Regiment") was the military police of the Imperial Japanese Army. It also operated as a military secret police guard agency in Imperial Japan and its Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. It ran chemical weapons and biological weapons research facilities in China and Korea.

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Ultimately they were responsible to the Emperor as a branch of the army, they were also responsible to the following agencies:

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• Ministry of War -for military service
• Military Administration Bureau
• Provost Marshal General - who served as its Chief . Prime Minister General Hideki Tojo was once chief of the kempeitai.
• Ministry of Home Affairs -for civil police functions
• Ministry of Justice -for Law administration functions.

In practice they were essentially autonomous and had almost unlimited freedom of action. They were the visible arm of the government, the guardians of the law, the Public Censors, and the keepers and overseers of private thoughts and morals. They also served as the symbols of decorum. Japan and its territories did not have the writ of habeas corpus, so individuals had no rights and were presumed guilty when arrested.

Kempeitai: Chain of command ►



 

Military police: Military police (MPs) are the police of a military organization, generally concerning themselves with law enforcement and security....

Imperial Japanese Army: The Imperial Japanese Army (??????? Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun) was the official armed force of Japan from 1867 to 1945. It was controlled from the Imperial General Headquarters and the Ministry of War of Japan....

Secret police: :This article is about the definition of the term 'secret police'. For an actual list of such organizations, see list of secret police organizations....