Tojo Hideki

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Tôjô Hideki (b. 30 Dec. 1884, d. 23 Dec. 1948). Prime Minister of Japan 1941–4 In his early career, Tôjô demonstrated outstanding qualities as an army officer, graduating top of his class at staff college in 1915. Afterwards he held various staff appointments, until being posted to the Guandong Army, where he combined forces with the bureaucrat Kishi Nobusuke and Aikawa Yoshitsuke the industrialist to form the Manchuria faction. He was Chief of Staff of the Guandong Army 1937–8, before becoming Vice-Minister of War (1938–9), and then Minister of War (1940–4). As leader of the ‘Control Faction’ within the Imperial Army, he helped promote the continuing armed engagement of Japanese forces in China. He accelerated the preparations for conflict with the USA, while other leaders sought its de-escalation, and then advocated Japan's unrestrained prosecution of the war. He was a supporter of the alliance with the Axis Powers and worked to ensure cooperation with Vichy France to secure Japanese bases in Indochina, from which Japan's Malayan campaigns were to be launched after Japan's entry into World War II. His political intrigues in October 1941 contributed to the fall of Prime Minister Konoe Fuminaro's government. As Konoe's successor he gave the orders that launched the attack on Pearl Harbor. During 1942 he gradually took increased powers in the government, including responsibility for the military procurement ministry, and became Chief of the General Staff. Once the course of the war turned decisively against Japan in 1944, Tôjô's position was undermined, and his Cabinet resigned in July. After the war he was found guilty at the Tokyo Trials and hanged.

Tojo Hideki (1884–1948) Japanese general and statesman. He participated in the war against China in the 1930s, was leader of the militarist party from 1931 onwards, and became War Minister in 1940. He urged closer collaboration with Germany and Italy and persuaded VICHY France to sanction Japanese occupation of strategic bases in Indo-China (July 1941). He succeeded KONOE FUMIMARO as Prime Minister (1941–44) and he gave the order to attack PEARL HARBOR, precipitating the USA into World War II. In 1942 he strengthened his position in Tokyo as War Minister and created a virtual military dictatorship. He resigned in 1944 after the loss of the Marianas to the USA. He was convicted at the TOKYO TRIALS and hanged as a war criminal in 1948.