Hideki Tojo： A Fanatic Militarist
By Li Zhongming
Hideki Tojo， Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini were the three Axis leaders during WWII. When Tojo， Japan"s No.1 war criminal， served as war minister and prime minister， Japanese troops invaded over 10 Asian countries and regions， plunging tens of millions of people into misery and suffering.
Influenced by the spirit of militarism and bushido since childhood， once pledging： "I"m most willing to die on the soil of Manchuria"
Hideki Tojo was born to a warlord family in Tokyo on December 30， 1884. His father， a lieutenant general， was a butcher whose hands were stained with the blood of the Chinese people during the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-95 .
Influenced by the spirit of militarism and bushido since childhood， Tojo received strict military training from September 1899 to May 1904. In June 1904 he was admitted to the Japanese Military Academy. One year later， at the graduation ceremony he pledged： "For the Emperor I"m most willing to die on the soil of Manchuria." Afterward he went to northeast China and joined the Japanese-Russian War of 1904-05 that was already drawing to a close.
From 1911 to 1915， Tojo studied at the Army War College. After graduation， he successively held the posts of military attaché at the Japanese Embassy in Germany， instructor at the Army War College and head of the mobilization section of the War Ministry， and went all out to support the right-wing militarists to plan and stage the September 18 Incident that led to the occupation of the entire northeast China in 1931.
A month before the Lugouqiao Incident， vigorously advocating attacking Nanjing
After the September 18 incident， Tojo was appointed major general in March 1933. Two years later he went to northeast China again as chief of police affairs of the Kwantung Army to brutally suppress the armed struggle by local people.
In December 1936 Tojo was promoted lieutenant general. The next March he became chief of staff of the Kwantung Army. In June he submitted a written request to the headquarters， advocating attacking the Nanjing government.
After the Lugouqiao Incident on July 7， 1937， Tojo led his troops to invade Chahar ， Suiyuan and northern Shanxi. They seize Zhangjiakou， Datong， Jining， Suiyuan and Baotou， and propped up a puppet "southern Chahar autonomous government." He was therefore awarded by the Japanese government.
In July 1940 Tojo assumed the office of war minister. Immediately afterward he sent troops to southern Indo-China， and participated in putting forward the slogan of establishing a "Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere" under Japan"s leadership.
Condemning the US， UK of preventing Japan from expanding
In October 1941， Tojo was appointed prime minister， and conferred senior general. At the same time， he took the portfolios of war， education， and commerce and industry. A month later， his government adopted the decision to declare war on the US， the UK and the Netherlands. Tojo delivered a speech at the provisional Diet， condemning the US and UK of obstructing his country"s expansion and aggression， and appealing to all Japanese people to go into battle. Requested by Tojo， the provisional Diet passed a supplementary military spending budget of 3.8 billion Japanese yen.
On December 7， 1941， Japanese aircraft bombed Pearl Harbor. The Pacific War broke out. According to orders given by Tojo on the same day， Japanese forces launched successive attacks on Thailand， Malaya， the Philippines， Guam， Wake Island， Gilbert Islands and Hong Kong. On December 8， both the US and the UK declared war on Japan.
In May 1942， Tojo ordered the Japanese fleet to occupy the Midway Island and Aleutian Islands. On June 5， the Japanese fleet sustained heavy casualties in the Battle of Midway， losing four aircraft carriers， one cruiser， over 400 planes and 3，500 troops.
In April 1944， Tojo ordered Japanese troops in China to sweep all obstacles along the Beijing-Hankou， Hankou-Guangzhou and Changsha-Nanning railways so as to strengthen links with troops invading Southeast Asia. This was the last major offensive launched by Tojo in the Chinese mainland. On July 18， he was forced to resign following a series of military defeats.
Japan surrendered in August 1945. Tojo attempted suicide on September 12 and was then arrested. Tried by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East， he was found guilty of waging wars of aggression and others. He was sentenced to death on November 12， 1948 and executed by hanging in Tokyo on December 22.