Suzuki entered the 14th class of the
Imperial Japanese Naval Academy in 1884, graduating 13th of 45 cadets in 1887. Suzuki served on the
corvettes , and
cruiser as a
midshipman. On being commissioned as
ensign, he served on the corvette , cruiser
Takao, corvette
Jingei, ironclad , and gunboat . After his promotion to
lieutenant on 21 December 1892, he served as chief navigator on the corvettes , , and . Suzuki served in the
First Sino-Japanese War, commanding a
torpedo boat and participated in a night
torpedo assault in the
Battle of Weihaiwei in 1895. Afterwards, he was promoted to
lieutenant commander on 28 June 1898 after graduation from the
Naval Staff College and assigned to a number of staff positions including that of
naval attaché to
Germany from 1901 to 1903. During the
Russo-Japanese War, Suzuki commanded Destroyer Division 2 in 1904, which picked up survivors of the
Port Arthur Blockade Squadron during the
Battle of Port Arthur. He was appointed
executive officer of the cruiser on 26 February 1904, aboard which he participated in the
Battle of the Yellow Sea. During the pivotal
Battle of Tsushima, Suzuki was commander of Destroyer Division 4 under the
IJN 2nd Fleet, which assisted in sinking the Russian battleship . After the war, Suzuki was promoted to
captain on 28 September 1907 and commanded the
destroyer Akashi (1908), followed by the cruiser (1909),
battleship (1911) and cruiser (1912). Promoted to
rear admiral on 23 May 1913 and assigned to command the
Maizuru Naval District. Suzuki became Vice Minister of the Navy from 1914 to 1917, during
World War I. Promoted to
vice admiral on 1 June 1917, he brought the cruisers and to
San Francisco in early 1918 with 1,000 cadets, and was received by
U.S. Navy Rear Admiral William Fullam. The Japanese cruisers then proceeded to
South America. After stints as Commandant of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy, Commander of the
IJN 2nd Fleet, then the
IJN 3rd Fleet, then
Kure Naval District, he became a full
admiral on 3 August 1923. Suzuki became
Commander in Chief of
Combined Fleet in 1924. After serving as Chief of
Imperial Japanese Navy General Staff from 15 April 1925 to 22 January 1929, he retired and accepted the position as
Privy Councillor and
Grand Chamberlain from 1929 to 1936. Suzuki narrowly escaped assassination in the
February 26 Incident in 1936; the would-be assassin's bullet remained inside his body for the rest of his life, and was only revealed upon his
cremation. Suzuki was opposed to Japan's war with the United States, before and throughout
World War II. ==Premiership (1945)==