Kempeitai

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The Kempeitai (Japanese: 憲兵隊, Hepburn: Kenpeitai; lit. 'Corps of Law Soldiers') was the military police of the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). The organization also shared civilian secret police and gendarmerie responsibilities. At its peak at the end of World War II, the Kempeitai had about 35,000 personnel, or kempei (憲兵). Founded in 1881 during the Meiji era, the Kempeitai was based on France's National Gendarmerie. The broad duties of the Kempeitai included maintaining military discipline, enforcing conscription laws, protecting vital military zones, and investigating crimes among soldiers. Institutionally part of the Army, the Kempeitai also discharged limited military police functions for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). As Japanese militarism expanded, so did the Kempeitai's ranks and duties. During World War II, the organization ran Japan's prisoner-of-war camps and civilian internment camps, and were known for their mistreatment of detainees. They also provided security at...

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