Hideki Tojo
Hideki Tojo was the prime minister of Japan during the final years of World War II. He was executed in 1948 for war crimes.
Fast Facts
- Birth name: Eiku Tojo
- Born: July 30, 1884
- Birthplace: Tokyo, Japan
- Nickname: "The Razor"
- Attended the Japanese Military Academy
- Commissioned into the army in 1912
- Became Chief of Army Aviation in 1938
- Promoted to War Minister in 1940
- Became Japan's 40th prime minister on October 18, 1941
- Formulated the plan for attacking Pearl Harbor
- Attempted suicide on September 8, 1945, after the Japanese surrender
- Died: December 23, 1948
- Cause of death: Hanged for war crimes
Quotes
"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."
"I would point out that Japan's proposal at the Versailles Peace Conference on the principle of racial equality was rejected by delegates such as those from Britain and the United States."
"Justice has nothing to do with victor nations and vanquished nations, but must be a moral standard that all the world's peoples can agree to. To seek this and to achieve it - that is true civilization."
"When reflecting upon it today, that the Pearl Harbor attack should have succeeded in achieving surprise seems a blessing from heaven."
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