Early Life and Military Career
Abe was born into an ex-samurai family in Kanazawa city, Ishikawa Prefecture. His brother-in-law was Imperial Japanese Navy admiral Shigeyoshi Inoue.
Abe attended Tokyo No.1 Middle School (Tokyo Metropolitan Hibiya High School) followed by No.4 High School. While still a student, he volunteered for military service during the First Sino-Japanese War.
After the war, Abe graduated from the Imperial Japanese Army Academy followed by the 19th class of the Army War College. Ultranationalist General Araki Sadao was one of his classmates. Abe became commander of the 3rd Field Artillery Regiment from 1918–1921. In August 1918, his regiment was sent to Siberia during Japan's Siberian Intervention, but was never in combat.
Abe was appointed commander of the 4th Infantry Division on 22 December 1930. He later served as instructor in the Army War College followed by chief of the Military Affairs Bureau and as Vice Minister of the Army.
In 1933, Abe was promoted to full general and became Commander in Chief of the Taiwan Army. In 1936, he was placed on the reserve list.
Read more about this topic: Nobuyuki Abe
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