He was second-in-command of the IJA 17th Army under General Harukichi Hyakutake during the initial period of the Bougainville campaign, and (as lieutenant general) later took command of the 17th Army after Hyakutake suffered a stroke in 1945.
During the initial phase of the Bougainville campaign, he served as second-in-command to General Harukichi Hyakutake under the IJA 17th Army. Later, when Hyakutake fell ill with a stroke in 1945, he became the commanding general of the 17th Army.