Koichiro Hatakeyama

Vice Admiral Koichiro Hatakeyama (January 21 1889 - January 15 1945) was a senior naval officer from Imperial Japan. While he started out as a mere midshipman in 1911 he rose so far through the ranks that by the time of his death in 1945 he had been appointed Rear Admiral and later Vice Admiral, assigned to the China Area Fleet.

Hatakeyama commanded Amoy Special Base Force in 1939 when World War II began. At this point, he had attained the rank of Rear Admiral. He was put in charge of the force that invaded and conquered the island of Ambon in 1942.

On February 24 1942 Hatakeyama is alleged to have ordered the execution by beheading of 312 Australian and Dutch prisoners of war in Java. The murders were carried out by ordinary sailors in the Japanese navy, four of whom were caught and hanged after the war.

In early 1945 he was killed in action in a plane crash over China. This was discovered after the war ended when the Australians tried to bring him to trial for his war crimes.