TOJO

  • PACIFIST BECOMES JAPAN PRIME MINISTER

    ByNorm Haskett Reading Time: 6 minutes

    Tokyo, Japan · October 9, 1945 On this date in 1945 in Tokyo, Baron Kijuro Shidehara became Prime Minis­ter of Japan at the head of a consti­tu­tional govern­ment com­mitted to pur­suing a peace­ful future. Before the war Shide­hara had been a pro­mi­nent Japa­nese diplo­mat and a leading pro­po­nent of paci­fism in Japan. On Octo­ber 9 the…

  • JAPANESE WEIGH DIPLOMACY VS. WAR WITH U.S.

    ByNorm Haskett Reading Time: 5 minutes

    Tokyo, Japan · September 6, 1941 On this date in 1941, in an Imperial Conference in Tokyo, Japa­nese offi­cials con­cluded that if diplo­matic mea­sures could not reverse the U.S. policy of em­bar­going the export of various stra­te­gic raw mate­rials (e.g., oil, iron ore, rubber, and scrap steel) to Japan by early Octo­ber, then the govern­ment…

  • SAIPAN BANZAI CHARGE FAILS TO EVICT GIs

    ByNorm Haskett Reading Time: 6 minutes

    Saipan, Marianas, Central Pacific · July 6, 1944 The Battle of the Philippine Sea (June 19–20, 1944) was a pivotal U.S. naval victory, effec­tively elim­i­nating Japan’s ability to both con­duct large-scale carrier actions and rein­force its gar­ri­sons to the east in the Mari­anas. The most impor­tant islands in the Mari­ana chain were Guam (an Amer­i­can…

  • U.S. MORAL EMBARGO ON EXPORTS TO JAPAN

    ByNorm Haskett Reading Time: 5 minutes

    Washington, D.C. · July 2, 1940 America responded to Japan’s invasion of China in 1937 and to the many news reports of indis­crimi­nate bombing of Chinese civil­ian tar­gets by im­posing trade restric­tions on exports to Japan. Ini­tially a procla­ma­tion by Presi­dent Franklin D. Roose­velt on June 26, 1940, it morphed into an expres­sion of national moral…

  • NAVY FLIERS FIND RICH TARGETS IN MARIANAS

    ByNorm Haskett Reading Time: 5 minutes

    Off the Mariana Islands, Central Pacific · June 12, 1944 On this date in 1944 in the Mari­a­nas, U.S. carrier aircraft began attacking Jap­a­nese defenses on Saipan, Tinian, and Guam in prep­a­ra­tion for the three-week battle on Sai­pan. On July 9 U.S. Marines declared Sai­pan secured, calling the battle for the island “the decisive battle of…

  • Tojo

    ByNorm Haskett Reading Time: 1 minute

    General, minister of war, prime minister, and unrepentant ultranationalist, Hideki Tojo (1884–1948) was the most powerful leader in the Japanese government during World War II. From October 1941 to July 1944 he held unquestioned control, advocating and setting in motion the attack on Pearl Harbor as well as pushing forward the Japanese offensives in China, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific. The author examines Tojo’s life against the backdrop of increasing Japanese militarism—Civil war, political assassinations, and coup d’états—and uses exclusive interviews with Tojo’s wife to illuminate the spartan, single-minded, incorruptible personality of the man who chose war rather than succumb to U.S.–induced economic strangulation. From the initial victories, through the later severe defeats and Tojo’s resignation, to his thwarted suicide attempt, trial as a war criminal, and execution, no other book offers such a clear and compelling portrait.

  • HIROHITO (EMPEROR SHŌWA) (1901–1989)

    ByNorm Haskett Reading Time: 4 minutes

    Hirohito is better known outside Japan by his personal name, Hirohito, which means “abundant benevolence.” Among the Japanese he is now primarily known by his posthumous name, Emperor Shōwa or Shōwa Emperor, the name of the era (“Enlightened Peace”) that corresponded with his reign. He reigned as the 124th Emperor of Japan, from Decem­ber 25, 1926,…