was a Japanese
diplomat
A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...
and
politician
A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...
who served as
prime minister of Japan
The is the head of government of Japan. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Japan and has the ability to select and dismiss its ministers of state. The prime minister also serves as the commander-in-chief of the Japan Self-Defense Force ...
from 1936 to 1937. Originally his name was . He was executed for
war crimes
A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hos ...
committed during the
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...
at the
Tokyo Trials.
Early life

Hirota was born on 14 February 1878, in in what is now part of
Chūō-ku,
Fukuoka
is the List of Japanese cities by population, sixth-largest city in Japan and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancient times. ...
,
Fukuoka Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of 5,109,323 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,986 Square kilometre, km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders ...
, to
stonemason
Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. Stonemasonry is the craft of shaping and arranging stones, often together with mortar and even the ancient lime mortar ...
Hirota Tokubei (廣田 徳平). His father had been adopted into the Hirota family of stonemasons.
Tokubei married Take (タケ), a daughter of the president of a Japanese
noodle
Noodles are a type of food made from unleavened dough which is either rolled flat and cut, stretched, or extruded, into long strips or strings. Noodles are a staple food in many cultures and made into a variety of shapes. The most common noo ...
company. On 14 February 1878, the couple had a son, whom Tokubei named . They later had three more children. Tokubei's name is engraved on the epigraph that recognized masons who contributed to the construction of a statue of
Emperor Kameyama in
Higashi kōen (東公園) in
Fukuoka city.
Hirota's writing was recognized as good from a young age since the name plate of the
torii
A is a traditional culture of Japan, Japanese gate most commonly found at the entrance of or within a Shinto shrine, where it symbolically marks the transition from the mundane to the sacred, and a spot where kami are welcomed and thought to ...
gate of Suikyo Shrine was written by Hirota when he was 11.
After attending
Shuyukan, he continued his education at
Tokyo Imperial University and graduated with a law degree. One of his classmates was the postwar Prime Minister
Shigeru Yoshida.
First diplomatic career
After graduation, Hirota entered the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...
to become a career diplomat, and he served in a number of overseas posts. In 1923, he became director of the Europe and America Department of the Foreign Ministry. After he was minister to the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
, he was ambassador to the
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
from 1928 to 1932.
In 1933, Hirota became
Foreign Minister
In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...
in the cabinet of Prime Minister
Saitō Makoto, just after Japan had withdrawn from the
League of Nations
The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...
. He retained the position in the subsequent cabinet of Admiral
Keisuke Okada.
As Foreign Minister, Hirota negotiated the purchase of the
Chinese Eastern Railway in
Manchuria
Manchuria is a historical region in northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day northeast China and parts of the modern-day Russian Far East south of the Uda (Khabarovsk Krai), Uda River and the Tukuringra-Dzhagdy Ranges. The exact ...
from
Soviet
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
interests. He also promulgated the ''Hirota Sangensoku'' (the Three Principles by Hirota) on 28 October 1935 as the definitive statement of Japan's position towards China. The three principles were the establishment of a
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
–
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
–
Manchukuo
Manchukuo, officially known as the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of Great Manchuria thereafter, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China that existed from 1932 until its dissolution in 1945. It was ostens ...
bloc, the organization of a Sino-Japanese common front against the spread of
communism
Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...
, and the suppression of anti-Japanese activities within China. Hirota argued that warlordism and Chinese Communism represented a "festering sore deep down in the bosom of Eastern Asia" that threatened "all Asian races with sure and inescapable death" and considered further military engagement in China to be "heroic surgery," rather than invasion.
Premiership (1936–1937)
In 1936, with the radical factions within the Japanese military discredited after the
26 February incident, Hirota was selected to replace Okada as
Prime Minister of Japan
The is the head of government of Japan. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Japan and has the ability to select and dismiss its ministers of state. The prime minister also serves as the commander-in-chief of the Japan Self-Defense Force ...
. Hirota placated the military by reinstating the system by which only active-duty
Army
An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...
or
Navy
A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...
officers (see ) could serve in the Cabinet posts of
war minister or
navy minister. The military, via the institution of the
Imperial General Headquarters, had abused the system in the past to bring down civilian governments.
In terms of foreign policy, the
Anti-Comintern Pact
The Anti-Comintern Pact, officially the Agreement against the Communist International was an anti-communist pact concluded between Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan on 25 November 1936 and was directed against the Communist International (Com ...
with
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
and
Fascist Italy
Fascist Italy () is a term which is used in historiography to describe the Kingdom of Italy between 1922 and 1943, when Benito Mussolini and the National Fascist Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictatorship. Th ...
was signed during his premiership. The treaty was the predecessor to the
Tripartite Pact of 1940.
Hirota's term lasted for slightly less than a year. He resigned after a disagreement with
Hisaichi Terauchi
Count was a '' Gensui'' (or field marshal) in the Imperial Japanese Army, commander of the Southern Expeditionary Army Group during World War II.
Biography Early military career
Terauchi was born in Tokyo Prefecture, and was the eldest son of ...
, who was serving as the war minister, over a speech by the
Rikken Seiyūkai
The was one of the main political party, political parties in the pre-war Empire of Japan. It was also known simply as the ''Seiyūkai''.
Founded on September 15, 1900, by Itō Hirobumi,David S. Spencer, "Some Thoughts on the Political Devel ...
representative
Kunimatsu Hamada criticizing military interference in politics.
Kazushige Ugaki was appointed as his successor but was unable to form the government because of army opposition. In February 1937,
Senjūrō Hayashi was appointed to replace Hirota as prime minister.
Second diplomatic career
Hirota soon returned to government service as foreign minister under Hayashi's successor, Prince
Fumimaro Konoe
was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1937 to 1939 and from 1940 to 1941. He presided over the Japanese invasion of China in 1937 and breakdown in relations with the United States, which shortly after his t ...
. During his second term as foreign minister, Hirota strongly opposed the military's aggression against China, which completely undermined his efforts to create a Japan-China-Manchukuo alliance against the
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
. He also spoke out repeatedly against the escalation of the
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...
. The military soon tired of his criticism and forced his retirement in 1938.
In 1945, however, Hirota returned to government service to lead Japanese peace negotiations with the Soviet Union. At the time, Japan and the Soviet Union were still under a non-aggression pact even though all other Allied Powers had declared war on Japan. Hirota attempted to persuade
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...
's government to stay out of the war, but the Soviet Union ultimately declared war on Japan in between the
atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
On 6 and 9 August 1945, the United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively, during World War II. The aerial bombings killed between 150,000 and 246,000 people, most of whom were civili ...
.
Postwar
Following Japan's surrender, Hirota was arrested as a
Class A war criminal and brought before the
International Military Tribunal for the Far East
The International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE), also known as the Tokyo Trial and the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal, was a military trial convened on 29 April 1946 to Criminal procedure, try leaders of the Empire of Japan for their cri ...
(IMTFE). He offered no defense and was found guilty of the following charges:
*Count 1 (waging wars of aggression, and war or wars in violation of international law)
*Count 27 (waging unprovoked war against the
Republic of China
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
)
*Count 55 (disregard for duty to prevent breaches of the laws of war)
He was sentenced to death by hanging and was executed at
Sugamo Prison
Sugamo Prison (''Sugamo Kōchi-sho'', Kyūjitai: , Shinjitai: ) was a prison in Tokyo, Japan. It was located in the district of Ikebukuro, which is now part of the Toshima 23 special wards, ward of Tokyo, Japan.
History
Sugamo Prison was orig ...
. The severity of his sentence remains controversial, as Hirota was the only civilian executed as a result of the IMTFE proceedings.
As foreign minister, Hirota had received regular reports from the War Ministry about the military's atrocities, such as the Nanjing Massacre, but lacked any authority over the offending military units themselves. Nonetheless, the tribunal condemned Hirota's failure to insist for the Japanese Cabinet act to put an end to the atrocities.
Hirota was a civilian bureaucrat and was popular among the public, which led to a petition for a reduced sentence gathering 29,985 signatures in Japan. Even today, his name is often mentioned when the Tokyo Trials are debated in Japan as a "victor's justice" trial.
Generally, he is often portrayed as a minister who was opposed to the war but unable to resist pressure from the military. He is also the protagonist of the novel and drama "" ("The Setting Sun Burns").
【書評】軍部と闘った悲劇の宰相:城山三郎著『落日燃ゆ』
/ref>
Honours
*Grand Cordon of the Order of the Sacred Treasure (1933)
*Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun
The is a Japanese honors system, Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge feat ...
(1934)
Notes
Sources
* Frank, Richard B. ''Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire''. Penguin (Non-Classics); Reissue edition (2001).
* Maga, Timothy P. ''Judgment at Tokyo: The Japanese War Crimes Trials''. University of Kentucky (2001).
* Minear, Richard H. ''Victors' Justice: The Tokyo War Crimes Trial''. University of Michigan (2001).
*The Complete Transcripts of the Proceedings of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, ''reprinted in'' R. John Pritchard and Sonia Magbanua Zaide (eds.), ''The Tokyo War Crimes Trial'', vol. 20 (Garland Publishing: New York and London 1981)
* Toland, John. ''The Rising Sun: The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936–1945''. Modern Library; Reprint edition (2003).
External links
*
Hirota's trial
*
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, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hirota, Koki
1878 births
1948 deaths
20th-century prime ministers of Japan
People from Fukuoka
World War II political leaders
Executed prime ministers
University of Tokyo alumni
Japanese people convicted of the international crime of aggression
Japanese people convicted of crimes against humanity
People executed by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East
Members of the House of Peers (Japan)
People executed for crimes against humanity
Heads of government convicted of war crimes
Ministers for foreign affairs of Japan
Japanese politicians convicted of crimes
Heads of government who were later imprisoned
Ambassadors of Japan to the Soviet Union
Ambassadors of Japan to Germany