Higuchi was born in what is now part of
Minamiawaji City on
Awaji Island,
Hyōgo Prefecture, as the eldest of nine siblings. When he was eleven years old, his parents divorced and he was raised by his mother's family. He was a graduate of the 21st class of the
Imperial Japanese Army Academy, and the 30th class of the Japanese
Army Staff College. As a junior officer, he was sent as
military attaché to
Poland from 1925 to 1938. Due to his fluency in the
Russian language, Higuchi was later posted to
Manchuria with the
Kwantung Army. Higuchi was a close confidant of General
Kanji Ishiwara and of General
Korechika Anami. From 1933-1935, he was commander of the IJA 41st Infantry Regiment, and from 1935-1937 served as
Chief of staff of the
IJA 3rd Division. He was sent to
Germany as part of a military delegation in 1937. As a
major general and the commander of the Japanese-occupied Chinese Harbin Special Branch in 1937-1938, he, with the help of
Yosuke Matsuoka, allowed 20,000
Jewish refugees who had fled
Nazi Germany to cross the border from
Otpor,
USSR to
Manzhouli (a city in the Japanese puppet state
Manchukuo), in an event which later became known as the
Otpor Incident. Higuchi's subordinates were responsible for feeding the refugees, settling them in Harbin or
Shanghai, and arranging for exit visas. General
Hideki Tojo, then Chief of staff of the
Kwantung Army, assented to Higuchi's view that the German policy against the Jews was a serious humanitarian concern. Higuchi's lieutenant
Norihiro Yasue advocated for the protection of Jewish refugees to General
Seishiro Itagaki, which led to the establishment of the
Japanese Jewish Policy Program in 1938. Recalled to Japan in late 1938, Higuchi served briefly on the
Imperial Japanese Army General Staff before being assigned as
commanding officer of the
IJA 9th Division in 1939. In 1942, he was promoted to
lieutenant general and assigned to the
Sapporo-based
5th Area Army. He participated in the
invasion of the Aleutian islands, including the disastrous campaigns on
Attu Island and
Kiska Island. Afterwards, as commander of the Northern District Army he organized the defenses of northern Japan against invasion by
Allied forces, fortifying
Shumshu island in the northern
Kurile Islands, and
the defense of South Sakhalin Island. His name is listed in the Golden Book, which was used to record names of individuals who helped Jewish people. Higuchi was helped by Polish Jews when he faced discrimination during his travels to Poland. ==References==