Masanobu Tsuji, Japanese colonel and politician (d. 1961)
Masanobu Tsuji (辻 政信, Tsuji Masanobu, 11 October 1901 – went missing in 1961) was a Japanese army officer and politician. During World War II, he was an important tactical planner in the Imperial Japanese Army; he developed the detailed plans for the successful Japanese invasion of Malaya at the start of the war. He also helped plan and lead the final Japanese offensive during the Guadalcanal Campaign.
Tsuji was deeply involved in Japanese atrocities throughout the war, including the Bataan Death March and Sook Ching. He evaded prosecution for Japanese war crimes at the end of the war, hiding in Thailand. He returned to Japan in 1949 and was elected to the Diet as an advocate of renewed militarism. In 1961, he disappeared while on a trip to Laos.Tsuji was among the most aggressive and influential Japanese militarists. He was a leading proponent of the concept of gekokujō, (literally "the bottom overthrowing the top") by acting without or contrary to authorization. He incited the 1939 border clash with the USSR and was a vehement advocate of war with the United States.He held strong "pan-Asian" views and thought that the people of other Asian countries should support Japan against Western powers.
His ultra-nationalist and militarist views and his war record won him the support of many like-minded Japanese nationalists, to the end of which his supporters erected a statue of him in Kaga City, Japan.