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{{More citations needed|date=January 2007}}
[[Manchukuo]] was a [[puppet state]] set up by the [[Empire of Japan]] in [[Manchuria]] which existed from 1931 to 1945. The Manchukuo regime was established four months after the Japanese withdrawal from Shanghai with [[Puyi]] as the nominal but powerless head of state<ref name ="Ebrey 1996">{{The Banksia Atlas}}</ref> to add some semblance of legitimacy, as he was a former [[Emperor of the Qing dynasty|emperor]] and an ethnic [[Manchu]].[[File:Manchukuo politician.jpg|thumb|289x289px|Manchukuo Politicians-Front row, from left: [[Yu Zhishan]] (於芷山), Minister of military affairs; [[Xie Jieshi]] (謝介石), Ambassador to Japan; [[Xi Qia]], Chief of imperial household agency; [[Zhang Jinghui]], Prime Minister; [[Zang Shiyi]], President of the senate; [[Lü Ronghuan]] (呂榮寰), Minister of civil affairs; [[Ding Jianxiu]] (丁鑑修), Minister of industry.<br>
Rear row, from left: [[Yuan Jinkai]] (袁金鎧), Minister of Palatine affairs; [[Li Shaogeng]] (李紹庚), Minister of traffic; [[Ruan Zhenduo]] (阮振鐸), Minister of education; [[Zhang Yanqing (Manchukuo)|Zhang Yanqing]] (張燕卿), Minister of foreign affairs.]]

== Government ==
Manchukuo was proclaimed a [[monarchy]] on 1 March 1934, with former [[Qing dynasty]] emperor [[Puyi]] assuming the Manchukuo throne under the reign name of Emperor Kang-de. An [[imperial rescript]] issued the same day, promulgated the [[organic law]] of the new state, establishing a [[Privy Council]], a [[Legislative Council]] and the [[General Affairs State Council]] to "advise and assist the emperor in the discharge of his duties". The Privy Council was an appointive body consisting of Puyi's closest friends and confidants, and the Legislative Council was largely an honorary body without authority. The State Council was therefore the center of political power in Manchukuo. The organic law was largely an abridged version of the [[Constitution of Imperial Japan|Imperial Japanese Constitution]], with an important difference being the lack of any mention of [[civil rights]] and the increased authority of the Privy Council. As with all other aspects of Manchukuo, the government was purely ceremonial and existed to authenticate the [[puppet state]] rather than to rule the people of Manchukuo. True authority remained in the hands of the [[Kwantung Army]].
{{Wikisource|Organic Law of Manchukuo}}

===Composition===
{{Cabinet table start
 | hidepartycol = y
 | hiderefcol   = n
}}
{{Cabinet table minister
 | title               = Prime Minister 
 | minister1           = [[Zheng Xiaoxu]]
 | minister1_termstart = 9 March 1932
 | minister1_termend   = 21 May 1935
 | minister1_ref       = 
 | minister2           = [[Zhang Jinghui]]
 | minister2_termstart = 21 May 1935
 | minister2_termend   = 18 August 1945
 | minister2_ref       = 
}}
{{Cabinet table minister
 | title               = Minister of Foreign Affairs
 | minister1           = [[Xie Jieshi]]
 | minister1_termstart = 1932
 | minister1_termend   = 1935
 | minister1_ref       = 
 | minister2           = [[Zhang Yanqing (politician, born 1898)|Zhang Yanqing]]
 | minister2_termstart = 1935
 | minister2_termend   = May 1937
 | minister2_ref       = 
 | minister3           = [[Zhang Jinghui]]
 | minister3_termstart = May 1937
 | minister3_termend   = July 1937
 | minister3_ref       = 
 | minister4           = {{ill|Shoichi Kanki|ja|神吉正一}}
 | minister4_termstart = July 1937
 | minister4_termend   = April 1938
 | minister4_ref       = 
 | minister5           = {{ill|Ts'ai Yün-sheng|ja|蔡運升}}
 | minister5_termstart = April 1938
 | minister5_termend   = May 1940
 | minister5_ref       = 
 | minister6           = {{ill|Wei Huan-chang|ja|韋煥章}}
 | minister6_termstart = May 1940
 | minister6_termend   = September 1942
 | minister6_ref       = 
 | minister7           = [[Li Shaogeng]]
 | minister7_termstart = September 1942
 | minister7_termend   = April 1944
 | minister7_ref       = 
 | minister8           = [[Ruan Zhenduo]]
 | minister8_termstart = April 1944
 | minister8_termend   = 18 August 1945
 | minister8_ref       = 
}}
{{Cabinet table minister
 | title               = Minister of Defense
 | minister1           = [[Ma Zhanshan]]
 | minister1_termstart = 9 March 1932
 | minister1_termend   = 7 April 1932
 | minister1_ref       = 
 | minister2           = [[Zhang Jinghui]]
 | minister2_termstart = 7 April 1932 
 | minister2_termend   = 20 May 1935
 | minister2_ref       = 
 | minister3           = [[Yu Zhishan]]
 | minister3_termstart = 21 May 1935
 | minister3_termend   = 24 April 1939
 | minister3_ref       = 
 | minister4           = {{ill|Yu Yucheng|ja|于琛澂}}
 | minister4_termstart = 24 April 1939
 | minister4_termend   = September 1942
 | minister4_ref       = 
 | minister5           = {{ill|Xing Shilian|ja|邢士廉}}
 | minister5_termstart = September 1942
 | minister5_termend   = 18 August 1945
 | minister5_ref       = 
}}
{{Cabinet table minister
 | title               = Minister of Finance
 | minister1           = [[Xi Qia]]
 | minister1_termstart = 9 March 1932
 | minister1_termend   = 21 May 1935
 | minister1_ref       = 
 | minister2           = [[Sun Qichang]]
 | minister2_termstart = 21 May 1935
 | minister2_termend   = September 1942
 | minister2_ref       = 
 | minister3           = {{ill|Han Yün-chie|ja|韓雲階}}
 | minister3_termstart = May 1937
 | minister3_termend   = May 1940
 | minister3_ref       = 
 | minister4           = {{ill|Ts'ai Yün-sheng|ja|蔡運升}}
 | minister4_termstart = May 1940
 | minister4_termend   = September 1942
 | minister4_ref       = 
 | minister5           = [[Ruan Zhenduo]]
 | minister5_termstart = September 1942
 | minister5_termend   = April 1944
 | minister5_ref       = 
 | minister6           = {{ill|Yü Ching-yüan|ja|于静遠}}
 | minister6_termstart = December 1944
 | minister6_termend   = 18 August 1945
 | minister6_ref       = 
}}
{{Cabinet table minister
 | title               = Minister of Economic Affairs
 | minister1           = [[Zhang Yanqing (politician, born 1898)|Zhang Yanqing]]
 | minister1_termstart = March 1932
 | minister1_termend   = May 1935
 | minister1_ref       = 
 | minister2           = [[Ding Jianxiu]]
 | minister2_termstart = May 1935
 | minister2_termend   = May 1937
 | minister2_ref       = 
 | minister3           = [[Lü Ronghuan]]
 | minister3_termstart = May 1937
 | minister3_termend   = May 1940
 | minister3_ref       = 
 | minister4           = {{ill|Yü Ching-yüan|ja|于静遠}}
 | minister4_termstart = May 1940
 | minister4_termend   = September 1942
 | minister4_ref       = 
 | minister5           = {{ill|Huang Fu-qün|ja|黄富俊}}
 | minister5_termstart = September 1942
 | minister5_termend   = 18 August 1945
 | minister5_ref       = 
}}
{{Cabinet table minister
 | title               = Minister of Transport
 | minister1           = [[Ding Jianxiu]]
 | minister1_termstart = March 1932
 | minister1_termend   = March 1935
 | minister1_ref       = 
 | minister2           = [[Li Shaogeng]]
 | minister2_termstart = March 1935
 | minister2_termend   = December 1940
 | minister2_ref       = 
 | minister3           = [[Ruan Zhenduo]]
 | minister3_termstart = December 1940
 | minister3_termend   = September 1942
 | minister3_ref       = 
 | minister4           = {{ill|Ku Tz'u-heng|ja|谷次亨}}
 | minister4_termstart = January 1941
 | minister4_termend   = September 1942
 | minister4_ref       = 
}}
{{Cabinet table minister
 | title               = Minister of Health
 | minister1           = [[Zang Shiyi]]
 | minister1_termstart = March 1932
 | minister1_termend   = March 1935
 | minister1_ref       = 
 | minister2           = [[Lü Ronghuan]]
 | minister2_termstart = March 1935
 | minister2_termend   = May 1937
 | minister2_ref       = 
 | minister3           = [[Sun Qichang]]
 | minister3_termstart = May 1937
 | minister3_termend   = May 1940
 | minister3_ref       = 
 | minister4           = [[Lü Ronghuan]]
 | minister4_termstart = May 1940
 | minister4_termend   = January 1941
 | minister4_ref       = 
 | minister5           = {{ill|Ku Tz'u-heng|ja|谷次亨}}
 | minister5_termstart = January 1941
 | minister5_termend   = September 1942
 | minister5_ref       = 
 | minister6           = {{ill|Yü Ching-yüan|ja|于静遠}}
 | minister6_termstart = September 1942
 | minister6_termend   = December 1944
 | minister6_ref       = 
 | minister7           = {{ill|Chin Ming-shih|ja|金名世}}
 | minister7_termstart = April 1944
 | minister7_termend   = 18 August 1945
 | minister7_ref       = 
}}
{{Cabinet table minister
 | title               = Minister of Education
 | minister1           = [[Ruan Zhenduo]]
 | minister1_termstart = May 1935
 | minister1_termend   = July 1937
 | minister1_ref       = 
}}
{{Cabinet table minister
 | title               = Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal
 | minister1           = {{ill|Ko Tzung-hsi|ja|郭宗熙}}
 | minister1_termstart = March 1934
 | minister1_termend   = December 1934
 | minister1_ref       = 
 | minister2           = [[Yuan Jinkai]]
 | minister2_termstart = February 1935
 | minister2_termend   = April 1944
 | minister2_ref       = 
 | minister3           = {{ill|Chi-hsing|ja|吉興}}
 | minister3_termstart = April 1944
 | minister3_termend   = 18 August 1945
 | minister3_ref       = 
}}
{{cabinet table end}}

== Political parties and movements ==
During his administration, the [[Kangde Emperor]], in an interview with foreign journalists, mentioned his interest in forming a political party with [[Confucian]] doctrines. The Japanese "native" establishment, however, organized some [[right-wing]] and [[nationalist]] parties, in the [[Statism in Shōwa Japan|Shōwa militarist]] mould. Such movements, which had official status, were:

*[[Concordia Association]] (State-sponsored political party)
*Northeast Administrative Committee (Manchukuo [[nationalist]] local party)
*[[White Russian Fascist Party]] (later the Russian Fascist Party; [[White Movement|White Russian]] anti-communist party in Manchukuo, used the [[swastika]] as the party symbol, and guided by a Russian fascist "[[Duce]]")
*Bureau for Russian Emigrants in Manchuria (BREM) led by General [[Vladimir Kislitsin]]
*Monarquic Party (White Russian Tsarist Monarchic party with Japanese approval)
*Betarim Jew Zionist Movement (Jewish rights movement in Manchukuo)
*Far Eastern Jewish Council ([[Jewish]] Zionist council in Harbin, Manchukuo led by Dr. [[Abraham Kaufman]], with Japanese Army support)

== Notable people ==

=== The Imperial Manchu Court ===
[[File:溥仪.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Puyi as Emperor of [[Manchukuo]]]]
* [[Puyi|Aisin Gioro Henry Puyi]] (Kangde Emperor and head of state)
* Madame [[Empress Wanrong|Wanrong]] (Empress and first wife of the Kangde Emperor)
* Prince Aisin Gioro [[Pujie]] (brother of Puyi, possible heir of Manchukuo Throne)
* Prince Aisin Gioro [[Jin Youzhi|Puren]] (brother of Puyi)
* Prince Aisin Gioro [[Yuyan]] (nephew of Puyi)
* [[Hiro Saga]] (Japanese sister-in-law of the Kangde Emperor)
* [[Wenxiu]] (first concubine of the Emperor)
* [[Tan Yuling]] (2nd Wife of the Kangde Emperor)
* [[Li Yuqin]] (4th Wife of the Kangde Emperor)
* [[Princess Aisin Gioro Huisheng]] (daughter of Pu-Chieh and Hiro Saga)
* Princess Aisin Gioro [[Yoshiko Kawashima|Xianyu]] (distant relative)

=== Others (local) ===
* [[Bao Guancheng]], Manchukuo's first ambassador in Tokyo<ref>{{citation|url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitstimes19321011-1.2.12.4|title=Another League|periodical=The Straits Times|date=11 October 1932 |page=6 |access-date=20 October 2023}}</ref> 
* [[Yuan Cheng-Tse]], Manchukuo ambassador in Tokyo
* [[Li Shao-Keng]], Manchukuo ambassador in Tokyo
* [[Gen. Tinge]], Manchukuo diplomat in Tokyo
* [[Lu Yiwen]], Manchukuo ambassador in Berlin

=== Kwantung Army ===
{{main|Kwantung Army}}

;Commanders
{{Officeholder table start
| showorder          = y
| showimage          = y
| officeholder_title = Commander
| showtermlenght     = y
| showparty          = n
| showdefencebranch  = n
}}
{{Officeholder table
| order             = 1
| image             = Shigeru Honjo 01.jpg
| military_rank     = General
| officeholder      = [[Shigeru Honjō]]
| officeholder_sort = Honjō, Shigeru 
| born_year         = 1876
| died_year         = 1945
| term_start        = 1 August 1931 
| term_end          = 8 August 1932
| timeinoffice      = {{ayd|1931|08|01|1932|08|08}}
}}
{{Officeholder table
| order             = 2
| image             = Nobuyoshi Muto Close-up.jpg
| military_rank     = Field Marshal
| officeholder      = [[Nobuyoshi Mutō]]
| officeholder_sort = Mutō, Nobuyoshi
| born_year         = 1868
| died_year         = 1933
| died              = y
| term_start        = 8 August 1932
| term_end          = 27 July 1933
| timeinoffice      = {{ayd|1932|08|08|1933|07|27}}
}}
{{Officeholder table
| order             = 3
| image             = Hishikari Takashi.jpg
| military_rank     = General
| officeholder      = [[Takashi Hishikari]]
| officeholder_sort = Hishikari, Takashi
| born_year         = 1871
| died_year         = 1952
| term_start        = 29 July 1933
| term_end          = 10 December 1934
| timeinoffice      = {{ayd|1933|07|29|1934|12|10}}
}}
{{Officeholder table
| order             = 4
| image             = Minami Jirō 1931.jpg
| military_rank     = General
| officeholder      = [[Jirō Minami]]
| officeholder_sort = Minami, Jirō
| born_year         = 1874
| died_year         = 1955
| term_start        = 10 December 1934
| term_end          = 6 March 1936
| timeinoffice      = {{ayd|1934|12|10|1936|03|06}}
}}
{{Officeholder table
| order             = 5
| image             = Ueda Kenkichi.jpg
| military_rank     = General
| officeholder      = [[Kenkichi Ueda]] 
| officeholder_sort = Ueda, Kenkichi
| born_year         = 1875
| died_year         = 1962
| term_start        = 6 March 1936
| term_end          = 7 September 1939
| timeinoffice      = {{ayd|1936|03|06|1939|09|07}}
}}
{{Officeholder table
| order             = 6
| image             = Yoshijiro Umedu (cropped).jpg
| military_rank     = General
| officeholder      = [[Yoshijirō Umezu]]
| officeholder_sort = Umezu, Yoshijirō 
| born_year         = 1882
| died_year         = 1949
| term_start        = 7 September 1939
| term_end          = 18 July 1944
| timeinoffice      = {{ayd|1939|09|07|1944|07|18}}
}}
{{Officeholder table
| order             = 7
| image             = Yamada Otozo.jpg
| military_rank     = General
| officeholder      = [[Otozō Yamada]]
| officeholder_sort = Yamada, Otozō
| born_year         = 1881
| died_year         = 1965
| term_start        = 18 July 1944 
| term_end          = 11 August 1945
| timeinoffice      = {{ayd|1944|07|18|1945|08|11}}
}}
{{Officeholder table end}}

;Chief of Staff
*[[Koji Miyake]] (10 August 1928 – 8 August 1932)
*[[Kuniaki Koiso]] (8 August 1932 – 5 March 1934)
*[[Toshizō Nishio]] (5 March 1934 – 23 March 1936)
*[[Seishirō Itagaki]] (23 March 1936 – 1 March 1937)
*[[Hideki Tōjō]] (1 March 1937 – 30 May 1938)
*[[Rensuke Isogai]] (18 June 1938 – 7 September 1939)
*[[Jo Iimura]] (7 September 1939 – 22 October 1940)
*[[Heitarō Kimura]] (22 October 1940 – 10 April 1941)
*[[Teiichi Yoshimoto]] (10 April 1941 – 1 August 1942)
*[[Yukio Kasahara]] (1 August 1942 – 7 April 1945)
*[[Hikosaburo Hata]] (7 April 1945 – 11 August 1945)

=== Others (Japanese) ===
* [[Nobusuke Kishi]], Vice Minister of Industry (1937–1939), later post-war [[List of prime ministers of Japan|Prime Minister of Japan]]
* [[Chu Kudo]], aide-de-camp to Emperor Puyi
* [[Yasunao Yoshioka]], Army senior staff officer and Attaché to the Imperial Household in Manchukuo
* [[Kenjiro Hayashide]], official Kangde emperor biographer and author of "Epochal Journey to Japan"
* [[Chiune Sugihara]], diplomat in the Manchukuo Foreign Ministry
* [[Hoshino Naoki]], Director of the General Affairs Board (1936–1940), Vice Minister of Finance (1936)
* [[Kenji Doihara]], Japanese spymaster
* [[Norihiro Yasue]], Army officer, author of the ''[[Fugu Plan]]''
* [[Koreshige Inuzuka]], Navy officer, co-author of the ''Fugu Plan''
* [[Masahiko Amakasu]], police chief (1932) and head of [[Manchukuo Film Association]] (1939–1945)
* [[Yoshisuke Aikawa]], prominent industrialist, president of the [[Manchurian Industrial Development Company]] (1937–1942)
* [[Tatsunosuke Takasaki]], prominent businessman, president of the [[Manchurian Industrial Development Company]] (1942–1945)
* [[Toranosuke Hashimoto]], vice president of Privy Council (1937–1945)
* [[Genzo Yanagita]], Commander, Kwantung Defense Command
* [[Kimio Miyagawa]],  Japanese Consul-general in Harbin
* [[Funao Miyakawa]] Japanese General Counselor in Vladivostok and then in Harbin
* [[Fumitaka Konoe]], Army lieutenant, son and personal secretary of Prince Fumimaro Konoe
* [[Shun Akifusa]] Chief of military Mission in Harbin and political adviser to the white Russian political groups in same city
* [[Kenji Ishikawa]] head of a sabotage group of that mission
* [[Yutaka Takeoka]] intelligence officer and head of the Dairen military mission
* [[Saburo Asada]] head of the 2nd (Intelligence) department of the staff of the Kwantung Army
* [[Tamaki Kumazaki]] deputy chief of intelligence of Kwantung Army
* [[Hiroki Nohara]] deputy chief of Kwantung Army Intelligence
* Yoshio Itagaki deputy chief of Kwantung Army Intelligence and son of Seishiro Itagaki, war minister from 1938–1939

=== Others ===
* [[Genrikh Lyushkov]], ex-Soviet Far East NKVD defector, adviser to Kwantung Army
* [[Konstantin Vladimirovich Rodzaevsky]], White Russian anticommunist leader
* [[General Kislitsin]], another White Russian anticommunist chief
* [[Abraham Kaufman]], founder of Far Eastern Jewish Council and Betarim Jew Zionists Movement
* [[Trebitsch Lincoln]], Hungarian pro-Japanese collaborator
* [[August Ponschab]], German consul in Harbin, Manchuria
* [[Auguste Ernest Pierre Gaspais]], Vatican representative in Harbin, Manchuria
* [[Charles Lemaire (diplomat)|Charles Lemaire]], Vatican diplomatic officer in Harbin, Manchuria
* [[Lian Yu]], ambassador from the Japanese-sponsored [[Reorganized National Government of China|Nanjing Nationalist Government]] 
* [[Mariano Amoedo Galarmendi]], Spanish chargé d'affaires to 1939
* [[Fernando Valdés Ibargüen, Count of Torata]], Spanish minister 1941 to 1942
* [[José González de Gregorio y Arribas]], Spanish chargé d'affaires 1942 to 1943, commercial attaché since 1940

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{Citation
 | last = Ebrey
 | first = Patricia Buckley
 | year = 1996
 | title = The Cambridge Illustrated History of China
 | pages = [https://archive.org/details/cambridgeillustr00ebre/page/282 282]
 | isbn = 0-521-66991-X
 | location = New York
 | url-access = registration
 | url = https://archive.org/details/cambridgeillustr00ebre/page/282
 }}

{{Chief of military by country}}

[[Category:Politics of Manchukuo| ]]