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{{Short description|Japanese admiral and politician; Prime Minister of Japan (1940)}}
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{{NPOV|date=November 2023}}
{{More citations needed|date=August 2020}}
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{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix    = [[Junior Second Rank]]
| name                = Mitsumasa Yonai
| native_name         = {{No bold|米内 光政}}
| native_name_lang    = ja
| image               = Mitsumasa yonai.jpg
| order               = [[Prime Minister of Japan]]
| monarch             = [[Hirohito]]
| term_start          = 16 January 1940
| term_end            = 22 July 1940
| predecessor         = [[Nobuyuki Abe]]
| successor           = [[Fumimaro Konoe]]
| order2              = [[Ministry of the Navy (Japan)|Minister of the Navy]]
| term_start2         = 2 February 1937
| term_end2           = 30 August 1939
| primeminister2      = {{plainlist|
*[[Senjūrō Hayashi]]
*Fumimaro Konoe
*[[Hiranuma Kiichirō]]}}
| predecessor2        = [[Osami Nagano]]
| successor2          = [[Yoshida Zengo]]
| term_start3         = 22 July 1944
| term_end3           = 1 December 1945
| primeminister3      = {{plainlist| 
*[[Kuniaki Koiso]]
*[[Kantarō Suzuki]]
*[[Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni|Naruhiko Higashikuni]]
*[[Kijūrō Shidehara]]}}
| predecessor3        = [[Naokuni Nomura]]
| successor3          = ''Office abolished''
| birth_date          = {{birth date|df=yes|1880|3|2}}
| birth_place         = Mitsuwari, [[Iwate Prefecture|Iwate]], [[Empire of Japan|Japan]]
| death_date          = {{death date and age|df=yes|1948|4|20|1880|3|2}}
| death_place         = 
| restingplace        = Morioka Japan
| signature           = YonaiM kao.png
| spouse              = {{marriage|Koma Yonai|1906|1941|reason=died}}
| party               = [[Independent (politician)|Independent]]
| allegiance          = {{flag|Empire of Japan}}
| branch              = {{naval|Empire of Japan}}
| serviceyears        = 1901–1945
| rank                = [[File:Imperial Japan-Navy-OF-9-collar.svg|30px]] [[Admiral]]
| commands            = {{ship|Japanese cruiser|Kasuga||2}},  {{ship|Japanese cruiser|Iwate||2}},  {{ship|Japanese battleship|Fusō||2}}, {{ship|Japanese battleship|Mutsu||2}},  [[China Area Fleet|First Expeditionary Fleet]], [[Third Fleet (Imperial Japanese Navy)|IJN 3rd Fleet]],  [[Combined Fleet]], [[1st Fleet (Imperial Japanese Navy)|IJN 1st Fleet]]
| unit                = 
| battles             = 
| awards              = 
| relations           = 
}}
{{nihongo|'''Mitsumasa Yonai'''|米内 光政|Yonai Mitsumasa|extra=2 March 1880 – 20 April 1948}} was a Japanese navy officer and politician. He served as [[admiral]] in the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]], [[Ministry of the Navy (Japan)|Minister of the Navy]], and [[Prime Minister of Japan]] in 1940.

==Early life and career==
Yonai was born on 2 March 1880, in Mitsuwari, [[Iwate Prefecture]], the first son of former [[samurai]] Yonai Nagamasa. Nagamasa had formerly served the [[Nanbu clan]] of the [[Morioka Domain]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Oide |first1=Hisashi |title="Fusen kaishō" Yonai Mitsumasa |last2=生出寿 |date=1989 |publisher=Tokuma Shoten |isbn=4-19-813966-0 |pages=230 |oclc=21669658}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=米内光政- 盛岡市先人記念館 |url=https://www.mfca.jp/senjin/yonai/index |access-date=2022-03-04 |website=Morioka Memorial Museum of Great Predecessors}}</ref>

He entered Kajichō Elementary School in 1886, and entered [[Morioka First High School|Morioka Middle School]] in 1890.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Takahashi |first1=Fumihiko |title=Kaigun ichi gunjin no shōgai : kannō o kuni ni sasagetsukushita saishō no shin'en |last2=高橋文彦 |date=1998 |publisher=Kōjinsha |isbn=4-7698-0846-1 |pages=23, 27 |oclc=42409580}}</ref> After graduating from Morioka Middle School, he entered the [[Imperial Japanese Naval Academy]].<ref name=":0" />

He graduated from the 29th class Imperial Japanese Naval Academy in 1901, ranked 68 of 125 cadets (Japan Center for Asian Historical Records, n.d.).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.jacar.go.jp/DAS/meta/image_C06091304400?IS_KIND=SimpleSummary&IS_STYLE=default&IS_TAG_S35=InfoFolder&IS_KEY_A1=%E5%B8%AD%E6%AC%A1&IS_LGC_S35=AND&IS_LGC_S7=AND&IS_TAG_A1=InfoD&IS_LGC_S6=AND&IS_KEY_S1=%E6%B5%B7%E8%BB%8D%E5%85%B5%E5%AD%A6%E6%A0%A1&IS_TAG_S7=cat_type&IS_TAG_S1=InfoD&IS_TAG_S6=data_type&IS_LGC_A1=AND&|title = アジア歴史資料センター}}</ref> After [[midshipman]] service on the [[corvette]] {{ship|Japanese ironclad|Kongō||2}}, and [[cruiser]] {{ship|Japanese cruiser|Tokiwa||2}} he was commissioned as [[Ensign (rank)|ensign]] in January 1903. He served in administrative positions until near the end of the [[Russo-Japanese War]] of 1904–1905, when he went to sea again on the [[destroyer]] {{ship|Japanese destroyer|Inazuma|1899|2}} and the cruiser {{ship|Japanese cruiser|Iwate||2}}.

After the war, he served as chief gunnery officer on the cruiser {{ship|Japanese cruiser|Niitaka||2}}, [[battleship]] {{ship|Japanese battleship|Shikishima||2}}, and cruiser {{ship|Japanese cruiser|Tone|1907|2}}.<ref name=Stewart>Stewart, ''Admirals of the World, p. 292.''</ref>  After his promotion to [[lieutenant commander]] in December 1912, he graduated from the [[Naval War College (Japan)|Naval War College]] and was assigned as [[naval attaché]] to Russia during the height of World War I, from 1915 to 1917.  While overseas, he was promoted to [[commander]]; after the collapse of the [[Russian Empire]], he was recalled to Japan and later became [[executive officer]] on the battleship {{ship|Japanese battleship|Asahi||2}}.<ref name=Stewart/>  He rose to the rank of [[Captain (naval)|captain]] in December 1920 and was subsequently sent as naval attaché to Poland from 1921 to 1922.

[[File:Mitsumasa Yonai.jpg|thumb|left|165px|Commander as Chief of the Combined Fleet, 1936]]
[[File:Mitsumasa Yonai and Isoroku Yamamoto.jpg|thumb|left|165px|Yonai and [[Isoroku Yamamoto]], 1936]]

On his return to Japan, he was captain of the cruisers {{ship|Japanese cruiser|Kasuga||2}} (1922–1923) and {{ship|Japanese cruiser|Iwate||2}} (1923–1924), and battleships {{ship|Japanese battleship|Fusō||2}} (in 1924) and {{ship|Japanese battleship|Mutsu||2}} (1924–1925). Yonai was promoted to [[rear admiral]] on December 1, 1925.<ref name=Stewart/> He became Chief of the 3rd Section of the [[Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff]] in December 1926. Within the Navy General Staff, he served on the Technical Council of the Navy Technical Department.<ref name=Stewart/> He was appointed [[Commander-in-Chief]] of the [[China Area Fleet|First Expeditionary Fleet]], sent to the [[Yangtze River]] in China in December 1928. Following the success of this mission, he was promoted to [[vice-admiral]] in December 1930 and placed in command of the [[Chinkai Guard District]], in [[Korea under Japanese rule|Korea]].

Yonai was given command of the [[Third Fleet (Imperial Japanese Navy)|IJN 3rd Fleet]] in December 1932, following which he again commanded the [[Sasebo Naval District]] (November 1933), [[IJN 2nd Fleet]] (November 1934) and [[Yokosuka Naval District]] (December 1935) before receiving appointment as [[Commander-in-Chief]] of the [[Combined Fleet]] and concurrently the [[1st Fleet (Imperial Japanese Navy)|IJN 1st Fleet]] in December 1936.<ref name=Stewart/> While in command at Sasebo, the Japanese Navy was shaken by the [[Tomozuru Incident]], when it was determined that the basic design of the {{sclass|Chidori|torpedo boat|2}}s was flawed, thus calling into question the basic designs of many of the warships in the Japanese navy.

While in command at Yokosuka, the [[February 26 Incident]] erupted in Tokyo. Yonai was visiting his mistress in [[Shinbashi]] the night the attempted ''[[coup d'état]]'' began, only a couple of blocks away, but knew nothing of the situation until he returned to base the following morning.

==Naval Minister==
[[File:Admiral Mitsumasa Yonai portrait c1937.jpg|thumb|Admiral Yonai, 1937]]
[[File:First Konoe Cabinet.jpg|thumb|200px|Yonai as Naval Minister with Prime Minister [[Fumimaro Konoe]] ([[First Konoe Cabinet]]), 1937]]
[[File:Yonai, Itagaki and Hiranuma at a Budjet Committee session cropped.jpg|thumb|250px|Yonai talking with Minister of War [[Seishirō Itagaki]] of [[Hiranuma Cabinet]] (Prime Minister [[Hiranuma Kiichirō]]), Budget Session of the [[House of Representatives (Japan)|House of Representatives]] in 1939]]
Yonai became full [[admiral]] in April 1937 and [[Ministry of the Navy of Japan|Navy Minister]] in the cabinet of [[Prime Minister of Japan|Prime Minister]] [[Senjūrō Hayashi]] in 1937. He served in the same position under the subsequent first [[Fumimaro Konoe]] and [[Hiranuma Kiichirō|Kiichirō Hiranuma]] administrations, through August 1939.<ref name=Stewart/> After [[Nobuyuki Abe]] became Prime Minister, Yonai remained on the [[Supreme War Council (Japan)|Supreme War Council]]. While Navy Minister, Yonai was known as a man of few words. His speeches tended to be short, and were delivered in his almost indecipherable Nambu accent. Written records of his speeches are only about half the length of his contemporaries.

As Navy Minister, Yonai was alarmed by the growing tension between Japan and Great Britain and the United States, at a time when the bulk of the [[Imperial Japanese Army]] was tied down in an apparently unending quagmire in China. His efforts to promote peace made him unpopular with ultranationalist extremists, and (as with Admiral [[Isoroku Yamamoto]]) he was the target of several assassination attempts. However, Yonai supported the construction of the {{sclass|Yamato|battleship|2}}s in an effort to maintain a military balance with the world's other two naval superpowers.

==Premiership (1940)==
{{Infobox premiership
| image        = Yonai Mitsumasa.jpg
| caption      = 
| name         = Premiership of Mitsumasa Yonai
| party        = [[Imperial Japanese Armed Forces|Military]] ([[Imperial Japanese Navy|Navy]])
| monarch      = [[Hirohito|Emperor Shōwa]]
| seat         = [[Naikaku Sōri Daijin Kantei]]
| constituency = 
| term_start  = 16 January 1940
| term_end    =22 July 1940
| cabinet     =[[Yonai Cabinet]]
| election    = 
| predecessor = [[Nobuyuki Abe#Premiership (1939–1940)|Nobuyuki Abe]]
| successor   = [[Fumimaro Konoe#Konoe's second premiership, the Matsuoka foreign policy|Fumimaro Konoe]]
| seal         = Emblem of the Government of Japan.svg
| seal_caption = Emblem of the Government of Japan
}}
{{See also|Yonai Cabinet}}
[[File:Mitsumasa Yonai smiling.jpg|thumb|right|175px|Yonai after [[Imperial Investiture]], January 1940]]
[[File:Yonai reading a memo at the House cainber during the assembry cropped.jpg|thumb|right|175px|Yonai reading a memo during the [[House of Representatives of Japan|lower house]] plenary session in February 1940.]]
[[File:Yonai comforting kids 29 March 1940.jpg|thumb|right|175px|Yonai invites and encourages his hometown, [[Iwate Prefecture]]'s children who lost their fathers in the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]], [[Prime Minister's Official Residence (Japan)|Prime Minister's Official Residence]] in March 1940]]

Yonai was appointed the [[Prime Minister of Japan]] and formed [[Yonai Cabinet|his cabinet]] from January 6, 1940, largely with the backing of Emperor [[Hirohito]]. As the Prime Minister, he continued the strong pro-British, pro-American stance he held as Navy Minister and continued his strong opposition to the [[Tripartite Pact]] with [[Nazi Germany]] and [[Fascist Italy (1922–1943)|Fascist Italy]].

Following the [[Western Front (World War II)|German occupation of the Low Countries and France]] in May–June 1940, the Imperial Japanese Army began to show dissatisfaction with Yonai's anti-German and anti-Italian policy. The disagreement became apparent in early July 1940, as Army Minister [[Shunroku Hata]] began to criticize the Prime Minister openly.<ref>The Ambassador in Japan (Grew) to the Secretary of State, July 17, 1940, ''Foreign Relations of the United States, 1940'', vol. IV, p. 964</ref> When Hata resigned, Yonai was subsequently forced to resign on July 21, 1940. The Japanese Constitution required the Army Minister to be an active-duty general and no other general would accept the position, due to the pro-[[Axis powers|Axis]] stance of the Imperial Japanese Army.<ref>"Japanese Destroyer Captain, Tameichi Hara, Naval Institute Press, Chapter 12</ref> The Tripartite Pact was signed on September 27, 1940.

==Subsequent political activity==
Yonai served as the [[Deputy Prime Minister]] and concurrently as the Navy Minister again under the [[Koiso Cabinet|cabinet]] of Prime Minister [[Kuniaki Koiso]] from July 22, 1944, during which time he returned to the active duty roster from the reserve list. By this time, [[Saipan]] had fallen to the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]].

Yonai remained Navy Minister under the [[Kantarō Suzuki Cabinet|administration]] of Prime Minister [[Kantarō Suzuki]]. In the last few weeks before Japan's surrender, he sided with Prime Minister Suzuki and [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan|Foreign Minister]] [[Shigenori Tōgō]] in support of acceptance of the [[Potsdam Declaration]] and [[surrender of Japan]] in opposition to Army Minister [[Korechika Anami]], Chief of Naval General Staff Admiral [[Soemu Toyoda]] and Chief of the Army General Staff General [[Yoshijirō Umezu]].

Yonai remained Navy Minister in the [[Higashikuni Cabinet|cabinet]] of Prime Minister [[Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni]] and [[Shidehara Cabinet|cabinet]] of Prime Minister [[Kijūrō Shidehara]] from August 1945, during which time he presided over the final dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Navy.

He played a major role during the [[International Military Tribunal for the Far East]] in working with the major defendants, such as former Prime Minister [[Hideki Tōjō]], to coordinate their testimonies so that Emperor [[Hirohito]] would be spared from indictment. According to his interpreter Suichi Mizota, in March 1946 [[Bonner Fellers]] asked him to make Tōjō bear all responsibility for the [[Greater East Asia War]].<ref>Herbert Bix, Hirohito and the making of modern Japan, Perennial, 2001, p.584.</ref> After the war, Yonai devoted the rest of his life to help to rebuild Japan.

Yonai suffered from [[high blood pressure]] most of his life, but died of [[pneumonia]] on 20 April 1948 at the age of 68. His grave is located at the temple of Enko-ji in his hometown of Morioka.

==Assessment==
=== Minister of the Imperial Japanese Navy (1937–1939) ===
Because of Yonai’s work as a military attaché in Russia and Poland and his travels around European countries, he had a broader perspective of world affairs than many other senior Japanese military officials. In the late 1930s Yonai already analyzed the naval capabilities of the Imperial Japanese Navy and Allied countries, versus those of Germany and Italy and he concluded that Japan should not ally itself with the [[Axis powers]]. In addition to his experience as an attaché, he had participated in the Battle of the Japan Sea (known in the West as the Battle of Tsushima) during the Russo-Japanese War as a lieutenant, so he understood the realities of naval warfare. Hence, on August 8, 1939, at the five-ministry commission that was intended to make a plan for war, the Minister of Finance, Ishiwata, asked Yonai, "Is it possible for the Imperial Japanese Navy to triumph over America and Britain?" (Agawa, n.d.). Yonai answered, "No. The Imperial Japanese Navy is not designed to open fire against them. The Third Reich and the Italian Navy are out of question." (Agawa, n.d.).

After the historical triumph of the [[Battle of Tsushima|Battle of the Japan Sea]] in 1905 during the [[Russo-Japanese War]], the Imperial Japanese Navy was the world's third strongest. By the end of [[Japan during World War I|World War I, Japan]] had a powerful battle fleet. In the 1930s, following the [[Washington Naval Treaty]], Japan built a strong naval aviation arm with excellent aircraft and pilots. Even so, the Imperial Japanese Navy could not compete against the [[Royal Navy]] and the [[United States Navy]], the top two navies in the world. Consequently, the much smaller Kriegsmarine (German Navy) and the Regia Marina (Italian Navy) could not defeat these two dominants. Furthermore, the Imperial Japanese Navy had been made overconfident by its victory and was not willing to acknowledge a position of inferiority. However, his unique experiences made him convinced of his view. Therefore, Yonai clearly announced his opinion: the Imperial Japanese Navy would lose if it attacked the Royal Navy and the United States Navy.<ref name= "ReferenceA">Agawa, H. (n.d.), Yonai Mitsumasa, Koubunsha</ref><ref>{{cite web | publisher = MAKJ |url= http://www.mskj.or.jp/getsurei/tachibana0502.html |title= Tachibana |access-date= 2013-04-04 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121024230126/http://www.mskj.or.jp/getsurei/tachibana0502.html |archive-date=October 24, 2012 |df=mdy-all}}</ref>

=== Pre-premiership ===
Before he was chosen as the Prime Minister, Yonai showed strong leadership particularly in crisis. On February 26, 1936, there was an attempted coup d'état led by young officers of the Imperial Japanese Army. The generals of the Imperial Japanese Army struggled to decide the appellation of the rebel troops, whom the generals were hesitant to refer to as rebels because it was extremely shameful for them to admit internecine strife.  Hence, the generals were hesitant. On the other hand, Yonai, the commander-in-chief of the [[Sasebo Naval District]], instantaneously labeled them as "Insurrectional troops", (Agawa, n.d.) and let the chief of his staff, Admiral [[Inoue Shigeyoshi]], publish his position to all the Sasebo Naval District. Because of this immediate announcement, navy officers in the Sasebo Naval District were compelled to stop participating with the rebellion troops. Yonai's prompt action as the supreme commander tranquilized the Sasebo Naval District.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

=== Premiership (16 January to 22 July 1940) ===
Despite not being famous, Yonai made significant decisions that depict his strong moral character. At his appointment as Prime Minister, he retired from active service without being asked to do so. He intended not to control his cabinet ministers by naval influences. This verdict was momentous, as once a general or admiral retires, he loses influence, hence all the generals and admirals are reluctant to retire. Indeed, even Tojo Hideki, the 40th Prime Minister did not retire at his promotion to Prime Minister, but persisted in active service in the Imperial Japanese Army in order to uphold his control over it. Because of Yonai's retirement from the Imperial Japanese Navy, the Yonai Cabinet was cooperative. One prominent evidence of this was that: nevertheless his cabinet had continued just a half a year, his cabinet members and followers formed a friendly reunion right after his resignation in 1937, and it still lasting in the [[Heisei period]] (1989–2019). This reunion was named Ichi-Roku Kai, which means sixteenth gathering, because Yonai's appointment and resignation as a Prime Minister both happened on the 16th day of their months.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

=== Emperor's trust ===
Emperor Shōwa ([[Hirohito]]) trusted Yonai's strong moral character. By July 1944, the situation of [[World War II]] was apparently against Japan. As for this difficult circumstance, the Imperial Japanese Navy was in a confusion. Supreme commanders of the Imperial Japanese Navy decided to appoint Yonai as the Minister of Navy because he had popularity and charisma enough to unite the Imperial Japanese Navy, although Yonai had already retired.  To assign Yonai as the Minister of Navy, the Emperor's consent was necessary. Meanwhile, [[Nobumasa Suetsugu|Admiral Suetsugu]] was also a candidate. The Emperor selected Yonai because Suetsugu was famous for his ambition, and allowed Yonai to be the Minister of Navy even though he was no longer in active service. This appointment demonstrated Shōwa's trust in Yonai because he is the only one person in the Imperial Japanese Navy's history to return from retirement and be posted to the supreme position as the Minister of Navy. After the Imperial Japanese Navy was defeated, the Emperor called Yonai to the palace. The Emperor amiably invited Yonai to have lunch together. After that, the Emperor said, "I really appreciated your duty and effort not to begin the war. I think we are not going to meet often like before". He put a pen and inkstone into a case and said, "These are the things that I have used. I would like to present this as a gift to you."<ref>Agawa, n.d.</ref>  This action is extremely rare because having presented the belongings of the Emperor is the supreme honor and the utmost expression of amiability.<ref name= "ReferenceA" />

==Decorations==
* 1906 – [[File:JPN Kyokujitsu-sho 5Class BAR.svg|50px|link=Order of the Rising Sun]] [[Order of the Rising Sun]], 5th class <ref name = "jacar">{{jacar|id=A11114945900}}</ref>
* 1906 – [[File:JPN Kinshi-kunsho 5Class BAR.svg|50px|link=Order of the Golden Kite]] [[Order of the Golden Kite]], 5th class <ref name = "jacar"/>
* 1912 – [[File:JPN Zuiho-sho (WW2) 4Class BAR.svg|50px|link=Order of the Sacred Treasure]] Order of the Sacred Treasure, 4th class <ref name = "jacar"/>
* 1915 – [[File:JPN Kyokujitsu-sho 4Class BAR.svg|50px|link=Order of the Rising Sun]] [[Order of the Rising Sun]], 4th class <ref name = "jacar"/>
* 1918 – [[File:JPN Zuiho-sho (WW2) 3Class BAR.svg|50px|link=Order of the Sacred Treasure]] Order of the Sacred Treasure, 3rd class <ref name = "jacar"/>
* 1920 – [[File:JPN Kyokujitsu-sho 3Class BAR.svg|50px|link=Order of the Rising Sun]] [[Order of the Rising Sun]], 3rd class <ref name = "jacar"/>
* 1920 – [[File:JPN Kinshi-kunsho 4Class BAR.svg|50px|link=Order of the Golden Kite]] [[Order of the Golden Kite]], 4th class <<ref name = "jacar"/>
* 1927 - [[File:JPN Zuiho-sho (WW2) 2Class BAR.svg|50px|link=Order of the Sacred Treasure]] Order of the Sacred Treasure, 2nd class <ref name = "jacar"/>
* 1933 – [[File:JPN Zuiho-sho (WW2) 1Class BAR.svg|50px|link=Order of the Sacred Treasure]] Grand Cordon of the Order of the Sacred Treasure <ref>『官報』第1815号「叙任及辞令」January 20, 1933</ref>
* 1934 – [[File:JPN Kyokujitsu-sho 1Class BAR.svg|50px|link=Order of the Rising Sun]] Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun<ref name = "jacar"/>
* 1943 – [[File:JPN Kinshi-kunsho 2Class BAR.svg|50px|link=Order of the Golden Kite]] Order of the Golden Kite, 1st class<ref>『官報』第4570号「叙任及辞令」April 7, 1942</ref>

==In popular culture==
*In the 2011 film [[Isoroku (film)|''Isoroku'']], Yonai was portrayed by actor [[Akira Emoto]]
*In the 2015 film ''[[The Emperor in August]]'', Yonai was portrayed by actor Ikuji Nakamura

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* [[Herbert Bix|Bix, Herbert P.]] (2000). ''[[Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan]]''. New York: [[HarperCollins]]. {{ISBN|978-0-06-019314-0}}; {{OCLC|247018161}}
* {{cite book | last = Frank | first = Richard B. | author-link = Richard B. Frank | year = 2001 | title = Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire | publisher = Penguin (Non-Classics); Reissue edition | isbn = 0141001461 }}
* {{cite book | last = Jansen | first = Marius B | author-link =Marius Jansen | year = 2002 | title = The Making of Modern Japan | publisher = Belknap Press }} {{ISBN|9780674003347}}; [https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/44090600  OCLC 44090600]
* {{cite book | last = Sims | first = Richard | year = 2001 | title = Japanese Political History Since the Meiji Renovation 1868-2000 | publisher = Palgrave Macmillan | isbn = 0-312-23915-7 }}
* {{cite book | last = Spector | first = Ronald | author-link = Ronald H. Spector | year = 1985 | title = Eagle Against the Sun: The American War With Japan | publisher = Vintage | isbn = 0-394-74101-3 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/eagleagainstsuna0000spec }}
* {{cite book | last = Stewart| first = William| year = 2009| title = Admirals of the World: A Biographical Dictionary, 1500 to the Present | publisher = Mcfarland & Co Inc | isbn = 978-0-7864-3809-9 }}
* {{cite book | last = Takada | first = Makiko | year = 1995 | title = Showa Tenno to Yonai Mitsumasa to | publisher = Hara Shobo | isbn = 4-562-02694-4 }}
* {{cite book | last = Takagi | first = Sokichi | year = 1982 | title = Yamamoto Isoroku to Yonai Mitsumasa: Fu Rengō Kantai Shimatsuki | publisher = Kojinsha | isbn = 4-7698-0173-4 }}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Mitsumasa Yonai}}
{{wikiquote}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060828141903/http://alsos.wlu.edu/qsearch.aspx?browse=people%2FYonai%2C+Mitsumasa Annotated bibliography for Mitsumasa Yonai from the Alsos Digital Library for Nuclear Issues]
* {{cite web | last = Nishida | first = Hiroshi | url = http://admiral31.world.coocan.jp/e/px29.htm#a003 | title = Materials of IJN: Yonai, Mitsumasa | work = Imperial Japanese Navy | access-date = 17 August 2022}}
* {{PM20|FID=pe/040741}}

{{Navboxes
|title=Career
|list1=
{{s-start}}
{{s-mil}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Shima Yukichi]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[2nd Fleet (Imperial Japanese Navy)|2nd Fleet]]<br>Chief-of-staff|years=1 December 1925 – 1 December 1926}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Matsuyama Shigeru]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Sakonji Seizō]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Third Fleet (Imperial Japanese Navy)|3rd Fleet]]<br>Commander-in-chief|years=1 December 1932 - 15 September 1933}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Imamura Shinjirō]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Sakonji Seizō]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Sasebo Naval District]]<br>Commander-in-chief|years=15 November 1933 - 15 November 1934}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Imamura Nobujirō]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Takahashi Sankichi]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[2nd Fleet (Imperial Japanese Navy)|2nd Fleet]]<br>Commander-in-chief|years=15 November 1934 – 2 December 1935}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Katō Takayoshi]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Nobumasa Suetsugu|Suetsugu Nobumasa]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Yokosuka Naval District]]<br>Commander-in-chief|years=2 December 1935 - 1 December 1936}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Gengo Hyakutake|Hyakutake Gengo]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Takahashi Sankichi]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Combined Fleet]] & [[1st Fleet (Imperial Japanese Navy)|1st Fleet]]<br/>Commander-in-chief|years=1 December 1936 – 2 February 1937}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Nagano Osami]]}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Nagano Osami]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Ministry of the Navy of Japan|Minister of the Navy]]|years=2 February 1937 – 30 August 1939}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Yoshida Zengo]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Nobuyuki Abe]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Prime Minister of Japan|Prime Minister]]|years=16 January 1940 – 22 July 1940}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Fumimaro Konoe]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Nomura Naokuni]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Ministry of the Navy of Japan|Minister of the Navy]]|years=22 July 1944 – 1 December 1945}}
{{s-non|reason={{nowrap|Position abolished}}}}
{{s-end}}
}}
{{Prime Ministers of Japan}}
{{IJN}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yonai, Mitsumasa}}
[[Category:1880 births]]
[[Category:1948 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century prime ministers of Japan]]
[[Category:Naval attachés for Japan]]
[[Category:People from Morioka, Iwate]]
[[Category:Imperial Japanese Navy admirals]]
[[Category:Japanese admirals of World War II]]
[[Category:Ministers of the Imperial Japanese Navy]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of the Sacred Treasure, 1st class]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of the Golden Kite, 1st class]]
[[Category:Grand Cordons of the Order of the Rising Sun]]
[[Category:Deaths from pneumonia in Japan]]
[[Category:Imperial Japanese Naval Academy alumni]]