One of the figureheads of the Japanese War Effort was Hideki Tojo.
He was the Prime Minister of Japan for most of World War 2, and he also had a number of
other positions within the hierarchy of Japanese government.
After the Second World War, he was sentenced to death for being complicit in a number of
Japanese atrocities.
Tojo was a advocate for a preemptive strike on the United States of America, and deemed
the attack on Pearl Harbour to have been a necessary one.
He’s seen today as a man who was linked to the horrific Japanese war crimes such as
the Baatan Death March and the slaughter of millions.
Following the end of the war, the Tokyo War Crimes trial found Tojo guilty of a number
of charges, and he was sentenced to death.
Join us today as we look at, ‘The VENGEFUL Execution Of Hideki Tojo - Japans WW2 Prime
Minister.’
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Hideki Tojo was born Eiku Tojo in the Kojimachi District of Tokyo Japan on December 30th 1884.
His father was a Japanese Army leftenant general, and he followed his father’s footsteps in
the military.
He had a typical Japanese education, and at the time this was to train the boys to be
soldiers as adults, and it was relentlessly driven into the Japanese children that war
was a beautiful thing.
It was also taught that the greatest honour for a Japanese man was to die for his country
and for his emperor, and Tojo was known for being a opinionated but serious student who
lacked a sense of humour.
He attended Army cadet school in 1899 and then went on to the Japanese Military Academy
at the age of 20.
A year later he had completed courses here and was commissioned as the second leftenant
in the infantry.
In 1909 he married and over the years the couple had three sons and four daughters.
In 1912, he then entered the Army Staff College and rose to the rank of Captain and he then
eventually became the commanding officer for the 3rd Imperial Guards.
He must have been a skilled member of the military, as he then went to Germany to serve
as part of a Japanese military attache.
Promotions continued for Hideki Tojo, and after he became a colonel, he began to be
involved in militaristic politics, and he became more outspoken about politics.
In 1934 he became a major general, and then served inside the Army ministry.
He was appointed the commander of the Japanese Army’s 124th infantry Brigade and was known
for his quick decision making, and for being sharp.
For this he was assigned to the Kwantung Army as its head of the military police, and during
the February 26th Incident he stood against the rebels and emerged as the Army’s leading
political figure.
He then became the Chief of staff of the Kwantung Army, and later deployed his troops to the
Hobei Province after the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War.
The Army played a key role in using the resources of Manchuria to utilise in Japanese Industry.
When he returned to Japan, he became the Vice war minister and the Chief of Army Aviation,
under the war minister Seishiro Itagaki.
As he was the most senior figure in the Army’s aviation ministry, he began to order aggressive
pre-emptive air strikes against China and Russia, but in July 1940 he became the War
Minister.
In this role, he went on the front foot in the Second Sino Japanese War, and was a key
player in forming the Axis alliance between Nazi Germany, Japan and Italy.
Japan at the time sought to expand its empire, and Tojo was at the forefront of these militaristic
policies, and he was seen as an aggressor at the time.
Eventually these policies led to the Japanese being sanctioned economically by the US and
by Britain.
On October 16th 1941, Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe, resigned and Tojo was then appointed
to the post.
He said, ‘I thought I was summoned because the Emperor was angry at my opinion,’ however
two days later he was named the 40th Prime Minister of Japan.
His first job was to work out whether war was avoidable, however it was reported weeks
later that there was no way of reaching a peaceful solution with the western powers,
and following this the Emperor gave his consent to all out war.
On the 8th December 1941, Tojo went on the radio and informed the Japanese people that
they were now at war with America, Britain and the Netherlands.
At the start, he had the support of the Japanese people, as they made big advancements and
victories initially.
As the Prime Minister he was also in charge of the war effort, and it was under his control
that many of the war atrocities conducted by the Japanese soldiers.
For example, during the Doolittle Raid where the Americans bombed Tokyo, a number of allied
airmen who were captured were executed in barbaric fashion.
But following the Battle of Midway, the tide of the war was turning against Tojo, and he
began to encounter some opposition.
He managed to establish in a sense dictatorial powers, based on the support he had from the
Emperor, and together in September 1943, both of them agreed that Japan would pull back
to a defensive line in the south-west pacific, to try and slow down the American advances.
Tojo even tried to attempt to broke peace with China but this did not work, as its considered
that during the negotiations, he even planned offensives against the Chinese.
The Americans continued to go on the offensive and make advances against key Japanese areas
and infrastructure, and more criticism came Tojo’s way for it.
Tojo then took personal control of the army in February 1944, and he had the support yet
again of the Emperor.
He planned to win the war but under his command he launched a number of huge offensives.
He ordered the failed invasion of India, which resulted in 72,000 Japanese soldiers being
killed in battle with around the same being killed from disease and starvation.
More death came during the Battle of Saipan, with 70,000 Japanese members of the military
killed, and the Americans had established bases in the Marinaras, meaning they could
inflict further misery on the Japanese through disastrous bombing campaigns.
Following this battle, it was clear to many that the war was lost, and that peace needed
to be made, and following the fall of Saipan Tojo was forced to resign on the 18th July
1944.
As the Japanese surrendered in 1945, the Americans began to search for the for 40 individuals
who were suspected of committing war crimes and being responsible for the Second World
War and atrocities conducted by the Japanese Army.
Tojo was sought for arrest as he was seen by the Americans as the main aggressor on
the Japanese side.
His location was found and five American soldiers were sent to go and arrest Hideki Tojo, but
as his house was surrounded on the 11th September 1945, Tojo took aim with his pistol and shot
himself in the chest, knowing that he was going to be taken as a prisoner.
He saw it as more noble to take his own life than to go through war crimes proceedings.
When he fired his pistol, he shot himself in the chest but missed his heart, and at
the time the Americans were able to save his life.
As he bled heavily, Tojo began to speak and he said, ‘I am very sorry it is taking me
so long to die.
The Greater East Asia War was justified and righteous.
I am very sorry for the nation and all races of the Greater Asiatic powers.
I wait for the righteous judgment of history.
I wished to commit suicide, but sometimes that fails.’
After he recovered, he was moved to Sugamo prison.
Allegedly he was even given a set of dentures here and an American dentist inscribed in
them in morse code, ‘Remember Pearl Harbour.’
Tojo was placed on trial at the Tokyo War Crimes Trials, and was found guilty of waging
wars of aggression, waging war in violation of International law, unprovoked or aggressive
war against various nations, and ordering inhumane treatment of prisoners of war.
It was estimated that the number of deaths due to crimes committed by the Japanese Army
under his control ranges from 3 million to 14 million.
This was through massacre, starvation, forced labour, human experimentation and horrific
conditions.
Tojo in his trial took full responsibility and he said, ‘It is natural that I should
bear entire responsibility for the war in general, and, needless to say, I am prepared
to do so.
Consequently, now that the war has been lost, it is presumably necessary that I be judged
so that the circumstances of the time can be clarified and the future peace of the world
be assured.
Therefore, with respect to my trial, it is my intention to speak frankly, according to
my recollection, even though when the vanquished stands before the victor, who has over him
the power of life and death, he may be apt to toady and flatter.
I mean to pay considerable attention to this in my actions, and say to the end that what
is true is true and what is false is false.
To shade one's words in flattery to the point of untruthfulness would falsify the trial
and do incalculable harm to the nation, and great care must be taken to avoid this.’
On the 12th November 1948 he was sentenced to death, and was to be executed by hanging.
He was to be executed alongside a number of other men sentenced to death at the Tokyo
trials on the 12rd December 1948.
Tojo was executed a week before his 64th birthday and his execution took place at the site of
his incarceration, Sugamo Prison in Yokyo.
The men who were condemned were held inside here to await their execution, and the men
were guarded by members of the US military.
Hideki Tojo gave his military ribbons to one of the guards during his incarceration.
At the time, President Truman wanted photographs and videos of the executions of the Japanese
men including Tojo.
However General MacArthur defied this order, as he was worried about rebellion in the Japanese
population caused by the outrage if these images go out.
Four members of the allied council were brought in to watch the executions.
Hideki Tojo during his execution begged the Americans who were the ones carrying out the
sentence to be compassionate and kind to the Japanese people after his death.
He also apologised for the atrocities committed by the Japanese under his command.
Each of the men were executed in a similar way, they were brought from their cells to
the gallows inside of the courtyard of the prison.
These gallows were very busy inside of Sugamo prison following the war as hundreds were
executed for war crimes.
They had their identities confirmed whilst only a very few witnesses were there to watch
the proceedings.
After this they were led up the stairs of the gallows before being handed over to the
executioner.
A black hood was place over their heads, and checks were then made to ensure that their
legs and arms were secured.
Following this the noose was then placed around their neck, and a priest accompanied each
of the men during their final moments.
Following the final checks, the hangman then pulled a lever which released the trapdoor
and the men then plunged to their deaths.
The executions were done in rather secret conditions to ensure that very little backlash
emerged.
General MacArthur’s biggest worry was that the Japanese population would rise up in the
wake of the executions and cause chaos for the occupying forces.
A short confirmation statement of the executions was released once all 7 of the men had been
killed.
After his execution, Hideki Tojo was cremated and his ashes were scattered around 30 miles
east of Yokohama from a US Army aircraft on the day of his execution.
The proceedings were carried out very quickly.
Hideki Tojo was seen as one of the key figures behind the Japanese war effort, and after
the Second World War he was executed as a symbol of the war crimes committed by the
Japanese Army.
There were many more executions carried out of Japanese War criminals, but in his final
moments he wished for the Americans to show compassion towards the Japanese people.
He’s considered a rather controversial figure in Japan still today.
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