Hideki Tōjō

Hideki Tojo (東條 英機, Tōjō Hideki; pronounced [toːʑoː çideki]; 30 December 1884 – 23 December 1948) was a Japanese military commander and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1941 to 1944 during the Second World War. A staunch ultranationalist and believer in imperial expansion, he exercised authoritarian control over the government and military. His tenure was characterized by aggressive warfare, state-sponsored violence, and mass atrocities committed across Asia and the Pacific under the banner of Japanese nationalism. He held high court rank and various military decorations, reflecting his prominence within the establishment of the Empire of Japan.

Tojo Hideki
東條 英機
Prime Minister of Japan
In office 17 October 1941 – 22 July 1944
Monarch	Shōwa
Preceded by	Fumimaro Konoe
Succeeded by	Kuniaki Koiso
Minister of War
In office 22 July 1940 – 22 July 1944
Monarch	Shōwa
Prime Minister	Fumimaro Konoe (1940–1941) Himself (1941–1944)
Preceded by	Shunroku Hata
Succeeded by	Hajime Sugiyama
Chief of the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office
In office 21 February 1944 – 18 July 1944
Prime Minister	Himself
Preceded by	Hajime Sugiyama
Succeeded by	Yoshijirō Umezu
Personal details
Born	(1884-12-30)December 30, 1884 Kōjimachi ward, Tokyo, Japan
Died	December 23, 1948(1948-12-23) (aged 63) Sugamo Prison, Tokyo, Japan[a]
Cause of death	Execution by hanging[1]
Political party	Imperial Rule Assistance Association (1940–1945)
Other political affiliations	Independent (before 1940)
Spouse(s)	Katsuko Ito ​ (m. 1909)​
Children	3 sons, 4 daughters
Mother	Chitose Tojo
Father	Hidenori Tojo
Alma mater	Imperial Japanese Army Academy Army War College
Awards	Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun Order of the Golden Kite, 2nd Class Order of the Sacred Treasure
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	Empire of Japan
Branch/service	Imperial Japanese Army
Rank	General
Commands	Kwantung Army (1932–1934)
Battles/wars	Russian Civil War Japanese invasion of Manchuria February 26 Incident Second Sino-Japanese War Operation Chahar World War II
Criminal details
Target	Chinese, Koreans, Indochinese, Indonesians, Allied POWs
Victims	Tens of millions
Period	1941–1944
Penalty	Capital punishment
Imprisoned	Sugamo Prison

Born in Tokyo into a military and samurai family,^[2] Tojo followed his father's profession by attending the Imperial Japanese Army Academy, embarking on a career in the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) in 1905. He later studied at the Army War College, and his strong ideological views aligned him with hardline factions within the officer corps. From 1919 to 1922, Tojo served as a military attaché in Germany, gaining exposure to European military doctrine. He steadily rose through the ranks, becoming a general in 1934. In March 1937, he was appointed Chief of Staff of the Kwantung Army in Manchukuo, where he directed operations against Chinese forces in Inner Mongolia and the Chahar-Suiyuan region. Recalled to Tokyo in 1938, he became Vice Minister of War, and by July 1940 he assumed the role of Minister of War under Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe.

As Japan moved closer to full-scale conflict with Western powers, Tojo emerged as one of the most vocal advocates for a preemptive strike against the United States, Britain, and their allies, arguing that Japan's imperial destiny required military confrontation. On 17 October 1941, he replaced Konoe as Prime Minister and simultaneously held key cabinet positions, including War Minister and Home Minister, which allowed him near-total control over Japan's conduct of the war. Under his leadership, Japan launched the attack on Pearl Harbor and rapidly expanded its empire across Southeast Asia and the Pacific. During this period, the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces (IJAF) committed widespread war crimes — including the systematic mistreatment, forced labor, starvation, and killing of prisoners of wars (POWs) and civilians — as part of its occupation policies.

By 1944, as Japan faced devastating defeats and the collapse of its military position, Tojo was forced to resign on 18 July. After Japan accepted unconditional surrender in August 1945, he attempted suicide but survived, only to be arrested by Allied forces.^[3] He was subsequently tried before the International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE) on multiple counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Convicted and sentenced to death, Tojo was executed by hanging on 23 December 1948. His role in Japan's wartime government, his advocacy for aggressive expansion, and his responsibility for the brutal conduct of the war made him one of the most infamous figures of the early Shōwa era, during the reign of Emperor Hirohito.^[4]

Notes

1. Japan was under Allied occupation at the time of Tojo's death.