Hikosuke Fukuda

General Fukuda Hikosuke (1875-1959) was a Japanese army officer. He is best known for his involvement in the Jinan Incident.

Jinan Incident

Jinan, a city in China, housed some 2,000 Japanese and was of significant Japanese commercial interest. In 1928 the Nationalist army under Chiang Kai-shek was manoeuvring in Shangdong, in pursuit of Zhang Zhou. Concerned that a repeat of the Nanking Incident would result in a loss of Japanese lives, and property, Chiang and Tanaka, the Japanese prime minister reached a diplomatic settlement. Nonetheless tensions were high and an expeditionary force of 5000 men of the 6th Division were sent to Tsingtao at the end of April.

On his own initiative, and contrary to orders, Fukuda, ordered the 6th Division into Jinan. The resulting violence, over the course of several weeks, lead to armed conflict and the many deaths of the Jinan Incident.

C. Martin Wilbur says

The Arbitrary action of Japanese commanders in the field was the first of a series that led three years later to the Japanese Kwantung Army's seizure of Manchuria, then to an ever-spreading Sino-Japanese conflict, and ultimately to Japan's utter defeat in 1945.