Hideki Tojo

Hideki Tojo (?? ?? {{Audio|ja-tojo_hideki.ogg|T?j? Hideki}}) (December 30 1884 – December 23 1948) was a General in the Imperial Japanese Army,political right-wing thinker and the 40th Prime Minister of Japan during much of World War II, from October 18 1941 to July 22 1944.

Postwar legacy

After Japan surrendered in 1945 Tojo shot himself in the chest as a suicide attempt. He survived and was arrested a short time later. He recovered from his injuries at a hospital.

Related Topics:
1945 - Suicide

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He then was tried by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East for war crimes. He was found guilty of the following crimes:

Related Topics:
International Military Tribunal for the Far East - War crimes

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• count 1 (waging wars of aggression, and war or wars in violation of international law)
• count 27 (waging unprovoked war against China)
• count 29 (waging aggressive war against the United States)
• count 31 (waging aggressive war against the British Commonwealth)
• count 32 (waging aggressive war against the Netherlands (Indonesia))
• count 33 (waging aggressive war against France (Indochina))
• count 54 (ordering, authorizing, and permitting inhumane treatment of Prisoners of War (POWs) and others)

He was sentenced to death on November 12, 1948 and executed by hanging. He is the only head of government to date to be executed for war crimes.

Related Topics:
Sentenced to death - November 12 - 1948 - Hanging - Head of government

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Because of the crimes committed under his authority, Tojo is often considered responsible for the murder of tens of thousands of Allied POWs and more than 10 million civilians in China, Korea, Philippines, Indochina, and in the other Pacific island nations, as well as for the approval of government-sanctioned biological experiments on POWs and ordinary Chinese civilians. There is some controversy over the extent of his responsibility, as he often claimed to be working on the orders of Emperor Hirohito, who was granted immunity from war crimes prosecution. As a result, some believe that Tojo and many other convicted war criminals ultimately became martyrs for the Emperor.

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Tojo's commemorating tomb is located in a shrine in Hazu, Aichi. He was survived by a number of his descendants, including his granddaughter, a right-wing activist, and his second son, Teruo Tojo, who designed fighter and passenger aircraft during and after the war and eventually served as an executive at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.

Related Topics:
Hazu, Aichi - Mitsubishi Heavy Industries

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