Sir Mark Young, the Governor of Hong Kong, surrendered all British forces in Hong Kong on Christmas Day, after 18 days of fighting. Sakai’s frustrations over the unexpectedly strong British resistance may have been reflected by the extreme brutality which characterized the campaign and subsequent occupation. Sakai served as Japanese Governor of Hong Kong until February 20, 1942. He was recalled to Japan, and retired from active service in 1943. He was recalled to active service in February 1945, and was ordered to go to Beijing; however, the war came to an end before he departed Japan. Execution After the end of the war, Sakai was apprehended by the American occupation authorities at the request of the Chinese government and was extradited to China, where he was accused of war crimes. He was convicted at the Nanjing War Crimes Tribunal on August 27, 1946 of command responsibility for the extrajudicial murder of Chinese civilians and was executed by firing squad on September 30. References Footnotes Sources Books External links 1887 births 1946 deaths Imperial Japanese Army generals of World War II Japanese occupation of Hong Kong Executed military personnel People executed by the Republic of China by firing squad Japanese people executed abroad Japanese people executed for war crimes Governors of Hong Kong Military personnel from Hiroshima Prefecture 20th-century Hong Kong people