We have a thread about Japanese heroes of WW2 who fought well for their country in an honorable manner, not committing war crimes, etc. Might as well have one about Japanese bad boys of WW2 who were executed or imprisoned for war crimes and/or atrocities. Many aren't as well-known as the German scuzzballs are, so let's present a little skinny about them.
First, some juries are still out on Hirohito as th whether he was a hero or villain. While he did nothing to prevent the war nor try to end it til Japan was being crushed, nor did he try to prevent the war against China, he did try to caution the militants against starting it with the US & Britain. When Tojo became Premier, & was preparing for war, he recited a poem to him & the military brass composed by his grandfather Meiji: "It is our hope That all the world’s oceans Be joined in peace, So why do the winds and waves Now rise up in angry rage? " (One of Meiji's some 100K traditional Waka poems he wrote) And he ordered Japan's surrender, still unsure of his own fate. And his cooperation with Mac Arthur & the occupying US forces is a matter of public record.So, I rate him a hero, given the fact that surrender was against almost all Japanese culture.
Now for the villains. Let's start at the top:
GENERAL(LATER PREMIER) HIDEKI TOJO (1884-1948) premier of Japan during much of WW2. A stern, humurless man, he said his only hobby was his work. He fathered 6 children, but refused to have anything to do with their upbringing, considering it womans' work & a distraction for him. He routinely slapped subordinates' faces while he was a general. In 1922, he took a train ride across the US while heading home from germany, & concluded Americans were a soft, hedonistic people. This led to his later desiring war with the US. And he was greatly offended by a 1924m US law banning all Asiatic immigration into the US.
despite his harshness, Tojo often visited his men & assisted with personal problems, including lending money & not asking for it back, thus endearing him to many officers & enlisted men alike. he became head of the Kenpeitai, the Japanese equivalent to the nazi Gestapo. After a 1936 coup attempt by some army officers, he had them rounded up & executed.
He became Chief of Staff for the Kwangtung Army in China in 1937, expanding their activity against China. But he did one commendable thing: he received & protected Jewish refugees fleeing the fighting in Manchukuo despite German protests.
When Prince Fumimaro Konoe became Prime Minister, he called upon Tojo to be Army Minister, a post he held til Konoe's govt. failed due to its impasse with the US who wanted a complete Japanese withdrawal from China. Hirohito appointed Tojo to replace him in October 1941, as he was completely loyal to Hirohito, & remained so til the end. He held the post til the loss of Saipan, also keeping the post of Army Minister.
Tojo was responsible for ordering the start of the war, and for perpetrating many atrocities against POWs & enemy civilians, particularly Chinese. He was affected badly by "Victory Disease" brought on by Japan's string of uninterrupted victories from Dec. 7. 1941 thru early May 1942. He wanted Australia & India completely taken, as well as all of China & even some South American nations, & parts of the US & Canada. His staff reminded him that was impossible; Japan didn't have enough men nor resources to take either all of China or Australia, let alone India or anything else on his list.
He failed to provide any bureaucracy for administering the conquered territories, leaving governing up to local Army commanders. Thus, many of those commanders, adhering strictly to the Bushido warrior code, mistreated many of the conquered people under their rule. Tojo, of course , went along with them.
Tojo came under fire from the military's top brass as the war went against Japan, with their defeat in Saipan being the straw that broke the camel's back. While he then resigned, he was still a ganeral & was sometimes consulted.
After the surrender, MacArthur had him arrested. He cut his wrists & shot himself in the chest with a pistol, but missed his heart. US medics nursed him back to health, even making him a new set of dentures. He was tried in 1948 by the International Military tribune of the Far east & was found guilty of ordering aggressive unprovoked war & ordering, condoning, & contriving atrocities against POWs & civilians in nations conquered by Japan. He was hanged on Dec. 23, 1948.
Many Japanese still consider him a hero, however, & part of his ashes are enshrined at the controversial Yasukuni Shrine, where some 1068 convicted war criminals are honored, among some 2 million Japanese people & pets killed in various wars.
First, some juries are still out on Hirohito as th whether he was a hero or villain. While he did nothing to prevent the war nor try to end it til Japan was being crushed, nor did he try to prevent the war against China, he did try to caution the militants against starting it with the US & Britain. When Tojo became Premier, & was preparing for war, he recited a poem to him & the military brass composed by his grandfather Meiji: "It is our hope That all the world’s oceans Be joined in peace, So why do the winds and waves Now rise up in angry rage? " (One of Meiji's some 100K traditional Waka poems he wrote) And he ordered Japan's surrender, still unsure of his own fate. And his cooperation with Mac Arthur & the occupying US forces is a matter of public record.So, I rate him a hero, given the fact that surrender was against almost all Japanese culture.
Now for the villains. Let's start at the top:
GENERAL(LATER PREMIER) HIDEKI TOJO (1884-1948) premier of Japan during much of WW2. A stern, humurless man, he said his only hobby was his work. He fathered 6 children, but refused to have anything to do with their upbringing, considering it womans' work & a distraction for him. He routinely slapped subordinates' faces while he was a general. In 1922, he took a train ride across the US while heading home from germany, & concluded Americans were a soft, hedonistic people. This led to his later desiring war with the US. And he was greatly offended by a 1924m US law banning all Asiatic immigration into the US.
despite his harshness, Tojo often visited his men & assisted with personal problems, including lending money & not asking for it back, thus endearing him to many officers & enlisted men alike. he became head of the Kenpeitai, the Japanese equivalent to the nazi Gestapo. After a 1936 coup attempt by some army officers, he had them rounded up & executed.
He became Chief of Staff for the Kwangtung Army in China in 1937, expanding their activity against China. But he did one commendable thing: he received & protected Jewish refugees fleeing the fighting in Manchukuo despite German protests.
When Prince Fumimaro Konoe became Prime Minister, he called upon Tojo to be Army Minister, a post he held til Konoe's govt. failed due to its impasse with the US who wanted a complete Japanese withdrawal from China. Hirohito appointed Tojo to replace him in October 1941, as he was completely loyal to Hirohito, & remained so til the end. He held the post til the loss of Saipan, also keeping the post of Army Minister.
Tojo was responsible for ordering the start of the war, and for perpetrating many atrocities against POWs & enemy civilians, particularly Chinese. He was affected badly by "Victory Disease" brought on by Japan's string of uninterrupted victories from Dec. 7. 1941 thru early May 1942. He wanted Australia & India completely taken, as well as all of China & even some South American nations, & parts of the US & Canada. His staff reminded him that was impossible; Japan didn't have enough men nor resources to take either all of China or Australia, let alone India or anything else on his list.
He failed to provide any bureaucracy for administering the conquered territories, leaving governing up to local Army commanders. Thus, many of those commanders, adhering strictly to the Bushido warrior code, mistreated many of the conquered people under their rule. Tojo, of course , went along with them.
Tojo came under fire from the military's top brass as the war went against Japan, with their defeat in Saipan being the straw that broke the camel's back. While he then resigned, he was still a ganeral & was sometimes consulted.
After the surrender, MacArthur had him arrested. He cut his wrists & shot himself in the chest with a pistol, but missed his heart. US medics nursed him back to health, even making him a new set of dentures. He was tried in 1948 by the International Military tribune of the Far east & was found guilty of ordering aggressive unprovoked war & ordering, condoning, & contriving atrocities against POWs & civilians in nations conquered by Japan. He was hanged on Dec. 23, 1948.
Many Japanese still consider him a hero, however, & part of his ashes are enshrined at the controversial Yasukuni Shrine, where some 1068 convicted war criminals are honored, among some 2 million Japanese people & pets killed in various wars.
