| Kempeitai | |
|---|---|
| 憲兵隊 | |
 Kempeitai logo found on officers' armbands | |
| Active | 1881–1945 |
| Country |  Empire of Japan |
| Branch |  Imperial Japanese Army |
| Type | Military police |
| Role | Clandestine operation Close-quarters battle Counterinsurgency Counterintelligence Covert operation Espionage Force protection HUMINT Intelligence assessment Internal security Interrogation Jungle warfare Law enforcement PSYWAR Public security Raiding Reconnaissance SIGINT Tracking Urban warfare |
| Size | about 35,000 (c. 1945) |
| Part of | Home Ministry (Japanese home islands) Ministry of War (overseas territories) |
The Kempeitai (Japanese: 憲兵隊, Hepburn: Kenpeitai) was the military police of the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). The organization also shared civilian secret police that specialized clandestine and covert operation, counterinsurgency, counterintelligence, HUMINT, interrogate suspects who may be allied soldiers, spies or resistance movement, maintain security of prisoner of war camps, raiding to capture high-value targets, and providing security at important government and military locations at risk of being sabotaged roles within Japan and its occupied territories, and was notorious for its brutality and role in suppressing dissent. The broad duties of the Kempeitai included maintaining military discipline, enforcing conscription laws, protecting vital military zones, and investigating crimes among soldiers. In occupied areas, it also issued travel permits, recruited labor, arrested resistance, requisitioned food and supplies, spread propaganda, and suppressed anti-Japanese sentiment. At its peak at the end of World War II, the Kempeitai was an extensive corps with about 35,000 personnel.
Founded in 1881 during the Meiji era, the size and duties of the Kempeitai grew rapidly as Japanese militarism expanded. During World War II, the organization ran Japan's prisoner of war and civilian internment camps, known for their mistreatment of detainees, and also acted as a political police force in the military and occupied territories. It carried out torture, summary executions, and violent reprisals and massacres against civilians, as well as procuring comfort women and human test subjects for Unit 731. The Kempeitai was disbanded after the war, and many of its leaders were tried and convicted of war crimes.
While institutionally part of the Army, the Kempeitai also discharged limited military police functions for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). A member of the Kempeitai corps was called a kempei (憲兵).
The Kempeitai was based on the France National Gendarmerie.[1]