See more
Was Tojo hanged?
I wished to commit suicide but sometimes that fails." Hideki Tojo was sentenced to death for war crimes and executed by hanging on December 23, 1948, after accepting full responsibility for his actions in World War II and, in the end, advocating peace.
What are some interesting facts about Hideki Tojo?
In 1938, Tojo became army vice minister and in 1940 he became army minister. Tojo wanted an alliance between Japan, Germany and Italy and pushed for it in the government. Tojo served as the Prime Minister and army minister during WWII, and in 1944 he took the additional command of chief of the Army General Staff.
Where did Tojo grow up?
Hideki Tojo was born in Tokyo on Dec. 30, 1884, the eldest son in a family of samurai descent. Tojo entered military school in 1899, following in the footsteps of his father, a professional military man who served as a lieutenant colonel in the Sino-Japanese War and as a major general in the Russo-Japanese War.
When did Hideki Tojo graduate from Imperial Military Academy?
Tojo graduated from the Japanese military academy in 1905 as a cavalryman, too late for meaningful service during the Russo-Japanese War. His father, by then an officer, fought in the war but returned to Japan with a severe case of beri-beri.
Did Tojo plan Pearl Harbor?
Though Hideki Tojo wasn't the man who orchestrated the attack on Pearl Harbor, and still required the Emperor's approval before going ahead with the plan, he's often credited as the official who ordered it.
How is the emperor viewed in Japan?
Under its terms, the emperor of Japan is "the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people" and exercises a purely ceremonial role without the possession of sovereignty.
What does Tojo mean in Japanese?
Noun. Tojo (plural Tojos) (military, slang, ethnic slur, derogatory, offensive) A Japanese person, especially a soldier.
Where is Tojo buried?
the Yasukuni ShrineIt was a few days before Tojo's sixty-fourth birthday. His remains were buried in the Yasukuni Shrine with those of more than two million Japanese war dead, including more than 1,000 convicted war criminals.
Who did Tojo despise?
Tojo became the leader of the militarists in Japan and despised what he considered to be weak civilian politicians. His views were shared by many in the public and in the 1930's the army and all it represented was held in much greater esteem that politicians in general.
What bad things did Hideki Tojo do?
During the course of the war, Tojo presided over numerous war crimes, including the massacre and starvation of civilians and prisoners of war. He was also involved in the sexual enslavement of thousands of mostly Korean women and girls for Japanese soldiers, an event that still strains modern Japanese-Korean relations.
Why was he known as razor Tojo within the army?
Known within the army as “Razor Tôjô” both for his bureaucratic efficiency and for his strict, uncompromising attention to detail, he climbed the command ladders, in close association with the army faction seeking to upgrade and improve Japan's fighting capabilities despite tight budgets and “civilian interference.” ...
Why do you suppose Tojo was tried as a war criminal?
Tojo was convicted of war crimes at an international military tribunal in 1948, including waging wars of aggression and ordering inhumane treatment of prisoners of war.
What is Hideki Tojo best known for?
Hideki Tojo was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army who served as Japan's prime minister from 1941 to 1944. He vocally supported Japanese expansion and a pre-emptive attack on the US and European colonial powers.
What did Tojo want for Japan?
Tojo was an ultra-nationalist who believed Japan must rely on its own power to establish itself as the dominant force in Asia. He was also a strong social and political conservative who believed Japan should purge itself of liberal democracy and establish authoritarian government.
How did Tojo keep his power?
When he returned again to his homeland, Tojo assumed the office of vice-minister of war and quickly took the lead in the military's increasing control of Japanese foreign policy, advocating the signing of the 1940 Tripartite Pact with Germany and Italy that made Japan an “Axis” power.
What did Tojo do after Japan's surrender?
After Japan's surrender the next year, Tôjô attempted suicide when threatened with arrest by occupation authorities, but he was tried and hanged as a war criminal on December 23, 1948. At his trial, he asserted his personal responsibility for the war and attempted to deflect attention from the emperor.
Who was Hideki Tojo?
Hideki Tojo ( 東條 英機, Tōjō Hideki (help·info), December 30, 1884 – December 23, 1948) was a Japanese politician, general of the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) and war criminal who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Imperial Rule Assistance Association for most of World War II. He assumed several more positions including Chief of Staff of the Imperial Army before ultimately being removed from office in July 1944. During his years in power, his leadership was marked by extreme state-perpetrated violence in the name of Japanese ultranationalism, in much of which he was personally involved.
When was Hideki Tojo removed from office?
During his years in power, he assumed several more positions including Chief of Staff of the Imperial Army before ultimately being removed from office in July 1944. Hideki Tojo was born on December 30, 1884 to a relatively low-ranking samurai family in the Kōjimachi district of Tokyo.
Why did Konoe want Tojo?
For this reason, Konoe wanted Tojo, a tough general whose ultra-nationalism was beyond question, to provide "cover" for his attempt to seek a diplomatic solution to the war with China. Tojo was a strong supporter of the Tripartite Pact between Imperial Japan, Nazi Germany, and Fascist Italy.
What did Tojo do in 1905?
In 1899, Tojo enrolled in the Army Cadet School. In 1905, Tojo shared in the general outrage in Japan at the Treaty of Portsmouth, which ended the war with Russia, and which the Japanese people saw as a betrayal as the war did not end with Japan annexing Siberia as popular opinion had demanded.
Why was Tojo called Razor?
Politically, he was nationalist, and militarist, and was nicknamed "Razor" (カミソリ, Kamisori), for his reputation of having a sharp and legalistic mind capable of quick decision-making.
What was Tojo's order to the Emperor?
After being informed of his appointment, Tojo was given one order from the Emperor: to make a policy review of what had been sanctioned by the Imperial Conferences. Despite vocally on the side of war, Tojo nevertheless accepted this order, and pledged to obey. According to Colonel Akiho Ishii, a member of the Army General Staff, the newly appointed Prime Minister showed a true sense of loyalty to the emperor performing this duty. For example, when Ishii received from Hirohito a communication saying the Army should drop the idea of stationing troops in China to counter the military operations of the Western powers, he wrote a reply for the Prime Minister for his audience with the Emperor. Tojo then replied to Ishii: "If the Emperor said it should be so, then that's it for me. One cannot recite arguments to the Emperor. You may keep your finely phrased memorandum."
What was Tojo's role in the war?
Tojo was a strong supporter of the Tripartite Pact between Imperial Japan, Nazi Germany, and Fascist Italy. As the Army Minister, he continued to expand the war with China. After negotiations with Vichy France, Japan was given permission to place its troops in the southern part of French Indochina in July 1941.
Where was Hideki Tojo born?
Childhood & Early Life. Hideki Tojo was born in Tokyo on December 30, 1884 to Hidenori Tojo, a Lieutenant General in the Imperial Japanese army. His family was of the Samurai caste, and he, like his father and ancestors, was trained to become a soldier.
What was Hideki Tojo's military career?
Military Career. Hideki Tojo was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the infantry of the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) in March 1905. At that point in time, the Treaty of Portsmouth had been signed between America, Russia, and Japan. The majority of the Japanese citizens were not in favor of this treaty as they felt that they had been cheated by ...
Why was Hideki Tojo sentenced to death?
He was an integral part of Japan’s invasion into Manchuria and advocated further expansion into the Chinese country. Following Japan’s and the Axis’ defeat in the World War 2, Hideki Tojo was arrested and sentenced to death for Japanese war crimes by the International Military Tribunal for the Fast East.
What was Hideki Tojo's social reforms?
His social reforms were to uphold the Traditional Japanese Kokutai and eradicate what he called ‘Western decadence’ from Society. Hideki Tojo became a major general in the year 1934 and also took on the position of Chief of the Personnel Department within the Army ministry.
What did Tojo do during the war?
In the government, he continued to advocate totalitarian policies. Tojo gave approval to launch attacks on the United States, Great Britain and the Dutch East Indies towards the end of 1941. Japan experienced a lot of victories during the early years of the war and was well on the way to create their own world order in Asia.
What was the name of the bureau chief of the Japanese army?
In the year 1928, Tojo was appointed as Bureau Chief of the Japanese Army, and within a short period, he was immediately promoted to the rank of Colonel.
How did Tojo die?
He was found guilty of numerous war crimes and sentenced to death by hanging.
Overview
Early life and education
Hideki Tojo was born in the Kōjimachi district of Tokyo on December 30, 1884, as the third son of Hidenori Tojo, a lieutenant general in the Imperial Japanese Army. Under the bakufu, Japanese society was divided rigidly into four castes; the merchants, artisans, peasants, and the samurai. After the Meiji Restoration, the caste system was abolished in 1871, but the former caste distinctions in many ways persisted afterwards, ensuring that those from the former samurai ca…
Military career
Upon graduating from the Japanese Military Academy (ranked 10th of 363 cadets) in March 1902, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the infantry of the IJA. In 1918–19, he briefly served in Siberia as part of the Japanese expeditionary force sent to intervene in the Russian Civil War. He served as Japanese military attache to Germany between 1919 and 1922. As t…
Rise to Prime Minister
On June 1, 1940, Emperor Hirohito appointed Kōichi Kido, a leading "reform bureaucrat" as the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal, making him into the Emperor's leading political advisor and fixer. Kido had aided in the creation in the 1930s of an alliance between the "reform bureaucrats" and the Army's "Control" faction centered around Tojo and General Mutō Akira. Kido's appointment also favore…
World War II
On December 8, 1941 (December 7 in the Americas), Tojo went on Japanese radio to announce that Japan was now at war with the United States, the British Empire, and the Netherlands, reading out an imperial rescript that ended with the playing of the popular martial song Umi Yukaba (Across the Sea), which set to music a popular war poem from the classic collection Manyōshū, featuring the …
Arrest, trial, and execution
After Japan's unconditional surrender in 1945, U.S. general Douglas MacArthur ordered the arrest of forty individuals suspected of war crimes, including Tojo. Five American GIs were sent to serve the arrest warrant. As American soldiers surrounded Tojo's house on September 11, he shot himself in the chest with a pistol, but missed his heart. As a result of this experience, the Army had medic…
Legacy
Tojo's commemorating tomb is located in a shrine in Hazu, Aichi (now Nishio, Aichi), and he is one of those enshrined at the controversial Yasukuni Shrine.
A number of his descendants survived, including his granddaughter, Yūko Tojo, who was a political hopeful who claimed Japan's war was one of self-defense and that it was unfair that her grandfather was judged a Class-A war criminal. …
In popular culture
• During World War II, the IJAAS fighter plane known as the Nakajima Ki-44 received the Allied reporting name of "Tojo".
• In the 1945 film Blood on the Sun, Tojo is portrayed by Robert Armstrong.
• In the 1970 film Tora! Tora! Tora!, directed by Toshio Masuda, Tojo is portrayed by Asao Uchida at various events leading up to the Pearl Harbor attack.