Prince Kan'in Kotohito was the sixth head of a cadet branch of the Japanese imperial family, and a career army officer who served as Chief of the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff from 1931 to 1940. During his tenure as the Chief of the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff, the Imperial Japanese Army committed numerous war crimes against Chinese civilians including the Nanjing massacre and the systemic use of chemical and bacteriological weapons. Prince Kan'in Kotohito died several months before the end of the Second World War and was not tried for war crimes.

The Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office , also called the Army General Staff, was one of the two principal agencies charged with overseeing the Imperial Japanese Army.