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From 1933-1935, he was commander of the IJA 41st Infantry Regiment, and from 1935-1937 served as [[Chief of staff (military)|Chief of staff]] of the [[IJA 3rd Division]]. He was sent to [[Germany]] as part of a military delegation in 1937.<ref>Ammenthorp, The Generals of World War II</ref>
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 4,000 to 20,000{{fact}} [[Jewish refugees]] who had fled [[Nazi Germany]] to cross the border from [[Zabaykalsk|Otpor]], [[Soviet Union|USSR]] to [[Manchouli]] (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.{[fact}} 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.{{fact}}
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 [[Japanese Fifth Area Army|5th Area Army]]. He participated in the [[Aleutian Islands Campaign|invasion of the Aleutian islands]], including the disastrous campaigns on [[Battle of Attu|Attu Island]] and [[Operation Cottage|Kiska Island]]. Afterwards, as commander of the Northern District Army he organized the defenses of northern Japan against invasion by [[Allies of World War II|Allied forces]], fortifying [[Shumshu]] island in the northern [[Kurile Islands]], and [[Invasion of South Sakhalin|the defense of South Sakhalin Island.]]
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