The 28th Division of the Kwantung Army was formed on 1 August 1940, in Shinkyo, Manchukuo. It was tasked with the defense of the Manchukuo capital, and the neighboring areas of Harbin and Chahar. Although intended to protect the government of Manchukuo, as the situation deteriorated for Japan in the Pacific War, units were detached and sent south. Its 36th Infantry Regiment was sent to Saipan, where it perished almost to the last man in the Battle of Saipan. The remainder of the 28th Division was reassigned to the Japanese 32nd Army in June, 1945 and reassigned to the Ryukyu Islands, specifically to Miyakojima (where it based its headquarters), Ishigaki and the Okinawa main island. In the Battle of Okinawa, the 28th Division played a leading role in the defense against the Americans, and sustained massive casualties. It ceased to exist as a unit after the fall of Okinawa in June 1945.
