The was an infantry division of the Imperial Japanese Army. Its call sign was the . It was formed 28 February 1945 in Kurume, Fukuoka as a square division. It was a part of the 16 simultaneously created divisions batch numbering from 140th to 160th.
The 156th division was assigned to 57th army. The division spent time from 5 May 1945 until surrender of Japan 15 August 1945 building a coastal defenses in Miyazaki Prefecture without engaging in actual combat. The 453rd infantry regiment was in Sumiyoshi (between Miyazaki and Shintomi), the 454th - in Miyazaki proper, 455th - in Kiyotake (on southern outskirts of Miyazaki), and 456th infantry regiment - in Kunitomi inland.