Hideki Tojo
Military Leader / Political Figure / World War II Figure
In the 1930s Hideki Tojo fought in the Sino-Japanese war, leading Japanese forces in occupied Manchuria. He returned to Tokyo in 1940 and held ministerial posts, where he urged an alliance with Germany and Italy against the Allied forces. Tojo became Prime Minister in 1941 and within two months ordered a surprise attack on U.S. naval forces in Hawaii. (The subsequent attack on Pearl Harbor was planned by Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto.) Tojo served as the political and military leader of Japan until 1944, when it was clear the direction of the war had changed. After the war the Allies found Tojo guilty of war crimes and hanged him.Extra credit: Tojo's nickname was "The Razor."
WWII foes of Tojo include James Doolittle, Pappy Boyington, Lim Bo Seng and Franklin Roosevelt.
Blog posts mentioning Hideki Tojo:
The Japanese Way?
Four Good Links
Tojo
Brief entry from the Grolier Encyclopedia
Hideki Tojo Sounds and Pictures
Weird site where you can hear Tojo declare war
Hideki Tojo's Prison Diary
Great read for WWII fans, written by Tojo as he awaited execution
1942 Tojo Address to the Imperial Diet
Things were pretty good at the time
Vital Stats
Birth
Birthplace
Death
23 December 1948
(execution by hanging, age 64)
Best Known As
Japanese Prime Minister during World War II
