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Hideki Tojo Facts

Hideki Tojo Facts
Hideki Tojo was an Imperial Japanese Army general and Prime Minister of Japan through most of WWII, most famous for his attack on Pearl Harbor. He was born on December 30th, 1884, in Tokyo, Japan, to Hidenori Tojo, a Japanese lieutenant general, and Chitose Tojo. Tojo entered the Japanese Army Cadet School in 1899, at the age of 15 and in 1905 at the age of 21 he was appointed second lieutenant in the Japanese Imperial Army. In 1929 Tojo was the Japanese Army bureau chief and soon became colonel. He continued to advance in his military career, and in 1941 his interest in politics and his position in the military helped him to become appointed Prime Minister.
Interesting Hideki Tojo Facts:
Hideki Tojo married Katsuko Ito in 1909 and they had three sons and four daughters together. His children were Hidetake, Teruo, Toshio, Mitsue, Makie, Sachie, and Kimie.
Tojo became known as 'Razor Tojo' because he was efficient and strict.
Hideki Tojo lead Japanese forces in Manchuria during the Sino-Japanese War in the 1930s.
Tojo became Kwantung Army chief of staff in 1937.
In 1937 Tojo led two brigades in Inner Mongolia, where he had his only experiences in combat during his military career.
In 1938 Tojo became army vice minister and in 1940 he became army minister.
Tojo wanted an alliance between Japan, Germany, and Italy and pushed for it in the government.
In October 1941 Tojo was appointed Prime Minister.
In December 1941 Tojo approved attacks on the U.S., Dutch East Indies, and Great Britain.
Tojo served as the Prime Minister and army minister during WWII, and in 1944 he took the additional command of chief of the Army General Staff.
Tojo wanted to create a dictatorship like those of Joseph Stalin in Russia and Adolf Hitler in Germany but he was not successful.
While serving as Prime Minister Tojo also held the positions of Foreign Minister, Education Minister, Home Minister, and Minister of Commerce and Industry.
On November 10th, 1941 England's Prime Minister Churchill declared that if the U.S. and Japan went to war that the British would follow along with the U.S within an hour.
America and Britain began to take action that suggested they were close to war with Japan in late 1941, prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor.
On December 7th, 1941 the Japanese military under Hideki Tojo's command, attacked Pearl Harbor.
The Pearl Harbor attack marked the beginning of the Pacific War, which would continue until 1945.
Hideki Tojo began to lose popularity in the later years of WWII. He was forced to resign on July 18th, 1944 after the fall of Saipan to the Allied Forces on July 9th, 1944.
In August two atomic bombs were dropped in Japan, in Nagasaki and Hiroshima, killing almost 250,000 Japanese soldiers and civilians.
Assassination plots began to surface in the summer of 1944, but they were not successful. Many expected Tojo to commit suicide.
On September 11th, 1945 Hideki Tojo attempted suicide but was unsuccessful. He was arrested and recovered following surgery in a U.S. Army hospital.
Tojo was tried for war crimes, found guilty and sentenced to death.
Hideki Tojo was hanged on December 23rd, 1948.


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