Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

was a Japanese lawyer and politician 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 ...

in 1939. Hiranuma rose to prominence as a prosecutor and official in the Ministry of Justice. He served as minister of Justice under Prime Minister

Yamamoto Gonnohyōe , was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy and twice Prime Minister of Japan from 1913 to 1914 and again from 1923 to 1924. Biography Early life Yamamoto was born in Kagoshima in Satsuma Province (now Kagoshima Prefecture) as the sixth son ...

and later became a

privy counsellor The Privy Council, formally His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its members, known as privy counsellors, are mainly senior politicians who are current or former ...

. After serving as president of the privy council, he became prime minister in 1939, but resigned later the same year. He later returned to cabinet under

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 ...

. After the Japanese surrender, he was sentenced to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence (law), sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life impr ...

by 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 ...

for his role in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Early life and education

Hiranuma was born on 28 September 1867, in what is now Tsuyama City,

Okayama Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Okayama Prefecture has a population of 1,826,059 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 7,114 Square kilometre, km2 (2,746 sq mi). Okayama Prefecture ...

, as the son of a low-ranking

samurai The samurai () were members of the warrior class in Japan. They were originally provincial warriors who came from wealthy landowning families who could afford to train their men to be mounted archers. In the 8th century AD, the imperial court d ...

from the

Tsuyama Domain 270px, Matsudaira Naritami, 8th daimyo of Tsuyama 270px, Kakuzankan, han school was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, in what is now northern Okayama Prefecture. It controlled most of Mimasaka Province and wa ...

Mimasaka Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan in the area that is northern Okayama Prefecture in the Chūgoku region of western Japan. Mimasaka bordered Bitchū Province, Bitchū, Bizen Province, Bizen, Harima Province, Harima, Hōki Province, Hō ...

. His upbringing and early education was steeped in ''

bushido is a Samurai moral code concerning samurai attitudes, behavior and lifestyle. Its origins date back to the Kamakura period, but it was formalized in the Edo period (1603–1868). There are multiple types of bushido which evolved significantl ...

'' and the study of

Chinese classics The Chinese classics or canonical texts are the works of Chinese literature authored prior to the establishment of the imperial Qin dynasty in 221 BC. Prominent examples include the Four Books and Five Classics in the Neo-Confucian traditi ...

. Hiranuma graduated with a degree in

English law English law is the common law list of national legal systems, legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly English criminal law, criminal law and Civil law (common law), civil law, each branch having its own Courts of England and Wales, ...

from

Tokyo Imperial University The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public university, public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several Edo peri ...

in 1888. Hiranuma reacted against the rapid westernisation and disregard for Japanese culture common at that time. Throughout his life, his political principles would be substantially based on

Confucianism Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, Religious Confucianism, religion, theory of government, or way of li ...

as taught by the Mito School. Like the Mito scholars, Hiranuma believed that Japan possessed a particular essence, the ''

kokutai is a concept in the Japanese language translatable as "system of government", "sovereignty", "national identity, essence and character", "national polity; body politic; national entity; basis for the Emperor's sovereignty; Japanese constitut ...

'', characterised by the moral bond between the nation and the

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

as a sacred ruler. Foreign influences, unless properly adapted, he viewed as threats to the ''kokutai''.

Ministry of Justice

After graduation, Hiranuma obtained a post in the

Ministry of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

. Hiranuma established a reputation during his time at the Ministry of Justice as a strong opponent of government corruption, and successfully handled a number of high-profile cases. He served as director of the

Tokyo High Court is a high court in Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The is a special branch of Tokyo High Court. Japan has eight high courts: Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, Sendai, Sapporo, and Takamatsu. Each court has jurisdiction over one o ...

public prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in civil law. The prosecution is the legal party responsible ...

of the

Supreme Court of Japan The , located in Hayabusachō, Chiyoda, Tokyo, is the highest court in Japan. It has ultimate judicial authority to interpret the Japanese constitution and decide questions of national law. It has the power of judicial review, which allows it ...

, and Director of the Civil and Criminal Affairs Bureau. In 1909, he secured the conviction of 25 former and serving members of the

Diet of Japan , transcription_name = ''Kokkai'' , legislature = 215th Session of the National Diet , coa_pic = Flag of Japan.svg , house_type = Bicameral , houses = , foundation=29 November 1890(), leader1_type ...

for accepting bribes from the Japan Sugar Company. Hiranuma was highly outspoken against corruption and immorality in Japan's political parties, and that attitude soon expanded to include what he saw to be foreign threats, such as

socialism Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

and

liberal democracy Liberal democracy, also called Western-style democracy, or substantive democracy, is a form of government that combines the organization of a democracy with ideas of liberalism, liberal political philosophy. Common elements within a liberal dem ...

. As Hiranuma rose within the ministry he attracted a considerable following among his juniors, notably including Kisaburo Suzuki and Suehiko Shiono. In 1911, he was chief prosecutor for the

High Treason Incident The , also known as the , was a socialist-anarchist plot to assassinate the Japanese Emperor Meiji in 1910, leading to a mass arrest of leftists, as well as the execution of 12 alleged conspirators in 1911. Another 12 conspirators who were init ...

, the 1910 socialist-anarchist plot to assassinate the Meiji Emperor. The closed-court trial of 25 men and 1 woman, including 4

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

monks, resulted in the execution of 12, including the prominent anarchist Shūsui Kōtoku and the

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

Kanno Suga. He rose to become Vice Minister of Justice in 1911 and Prosecutor General in 1912. In 1915, he forced

Home Minister An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergenc ...

Ōura Kanetake in the cabinet of

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Ōkuma Shigenobu Marquess was a Japanese politician who served as the prime minister of Japan in 1898, and from 1914 to 1916. Born in the Saga Domain, Ōkuma was appointed minister of finance soon after the Meiji Restoration of 1868, aided by his friendship w ...

to resign for suspected bribery in what is known as the

Ōura scandal of 1915 was one of several spectacular political scandals of late Meiji period, Meiji and Taishō periods in Japanese history. After the entry of Japan into World War I, the administration of Prime Minister of Japan, Prime Minister Ōkuma Shigeno ...

. In 1921, Hiranuma became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Hiranuma was appointed

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

in the second cabinet of Gonnohyōe Yamamoto, formed in the aftermath of the Great Kantō earthquake in September 1923. Hiranuma resigned along with rest of the cabinet in January 1924 to take responsibility for the lapse in security represented by the Toranomon incident, in which a communist attempted to assassinate

Crown Prince Hirohito , posthumously honored as , was the 124th emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, from 25 December 1926 until his death in 1989. He remains Japan's longest-reigning emperor as well as one of the world's longest-rei ...

. The incident gave Hiranuma a renewed vigilance towards what he considered subversive ideology and for this reason he formed the ''

Kokuhonsha The was a nationalist political society in late 1920s and early 1930s Japan. History The ''Kokuhonsha'' was founded in 1924 by conservative Minister of Justice and President of the House of Peers, Kiichirō Hiranuma. It called on Japanese pat ...

'', a political organisation with the intention of defending the ''kokutai''. This organisation gathered a broad range of influential figures, including General

Sadao Araki Baron was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army before and during World War II. As one of the principal nationalist right-wing political theorists in the Empire of Japan, he was regarded as the leader of the radical faction within the polit ...

, Admiral Kanji Katō, Kisaburo Suzuki, Yoshimichi Hara and

Harumichi Tanabe was a Japanese bureaucrat and politician in the early Shōwa period. Biography Tanabe was born in what is now Kōshū, Yamanashi as the younger son of a local ''sake'' brewer. He graduated from the law school of Tokyo Imperial University in 1 ...

. At the nomination of the new prime minister Keigo Kiyoura, Hiranuma was appointed to the Privy Council in February 1924.

Privy Councillor

While serving on the Privy Council, Hiranuma continued to exercise a strong influence on the Ministry of Justice. Hiranuma and his clique were the driving force behind the adoption of the

Peace Preservation Law The was a Japanese law enacted on April 22, 1925, with the aim of allowing the Special Higher Police to more effectively suppress alleged socialists and communists. In addition to criminalizing forming an association with the aim of altering the ...

, intended to combat

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 other threats to the ''kokutai''. In April 1926 , one of Hiranuma's old superiors in the Ministry of Justice, was appointed president of the Privy Council. Upon Kuratomi's request, Hiranuma was appointed vice president. Hiranuma would serve in that role for ten years and exerted considerable influence. Hiranuma, together with the senior privy counsellors Miyoji Ito and Kentaro Kaneko, would lead the conservatives who dominated the council. In October of the same year, Hiranuma was elevated to the rank of baron (男爵, ''danshaku'') in the ''

Kazoku The was the hereditary peerage of the Empire of Japan, which existed between 1869 and 1947. It was formed by merging the feudal lords (''Daimyo, daimyō'') and court nobles (''kuge'') into one system modelled after the British peerage. Distin ...

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks. Peerages include: A ...

system abolished by the 1947 Constitution. Hiranuma was strongly opposed to Prime Minister Wakatsuki Reijirō's efforts at economic reform. He was also strongly opposed to the ratification of the

London Naval Treaty The London Naval Treaty, officially the Treaty for the Limitation and Reduction of Naval Armament, was an agreement between the United Kingdom, Empire of Japan, Japan, French Third Republic, France, Kingdom of Italy, Italy, and the United Stat ...

of 1930. In 1931, he rallied support within the government for the

Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...

after it had seized control of

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 ...

without prior authorization, and he later helped in the creation of

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 ...

. He also pushed for Japan's withdrawal 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 ...

. According to one theory, he in 1934 he directed the prosecution during the Teijin Incident. During the 1930s, Hiranuma was often considered as a candidate for prime minister, but he had incurred the enmity of the last '' genrō'' Prince Saionji, who had the right to nominate the prime minister. As a supporter of parliamentary government, Saionji disliked Hiranuma for undermining party cabinets. Furthermore, Saionji was wary of the influence of the ''Kokuhonsha'', which he considered to be close to

fascism Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...

. Hiranuma himself denied any association with fascism, which he considered a foreign ideology unsuitable for Japan. When Kuratomi retired in May 1934 he recommended Hiranuma as his successor, but due to Saionji's opposition the Imperial Household Minister Kitokurō Ichiki was appointed instead. Hiranuma was appointed President of the Privy Council after Ichiki's retirement in February 1936.

Premiership (1939)

Hiranuma was

from 5 January 1939 to 30 August 1939. His administration was dominated by the debate on whether Japan should ally itself with

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

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 ...

. Hiranuma wanted an anticommunist pact, but feared a military alliance would commit Japan to war against the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

when most of its armed forces were already committed to 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 ...

. With the signing of the German-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact in August 1939, Hiranuma's cabinet resigned over that foreign policy issue and over the massive defeat of the Japanese Army in

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

during the Nomonhan Incident against the Soviet Union.

Return to cabinet

Hiranuma became a central figure in a conservative reaction against the New Order Movement promoted by

since his reappointment as prime minister in July 1940. Hiranuma criticised the

Imperial Rule Assistance Association The , or Imperial Aid Association, was the Empire of Japan's ruling political organization during much of the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II. It was created by Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe on 12 October 1940, to promote the goals ...

as a potential "new shogunate" prejudicial to the prerogatives of the Emperor. Hiranuma was furthermore concerned that the new organisation was being dominated by radicals with socialist tendencies, such as Yoriyasu Arima, Kingoro Hashimoto and Seigo Nakano. Eventually Konoe himself began to feel that the New Order Movement had become too radical. As a solution for this Hiranuma entered the cabinet as

in December 1940. Hiranuma's associate, Lieutenant General

Heisuke Yanagawa was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II. Japanese forces under Yanagawa's command committed the 1937 Nanjing Massacre. Biography Born in what is now part of Nagasaki city, Nagasaki prefecture, Yanagawa was raised in Ōita P ...

became minister of justice at the same time. Hiranuma moved to neutralise the IRAA, stating in the Diet in January 1941 that the IRAA would not conduct politics, but merely serve as a public association supporting the state. In March the leadership of the IRAA was replaced, with Yanagawa being appointed to the hitherto vacant post of vice president and the moderate former Finance Minister replacing Yoriyasu Arima as secretary general. Hiranuma declared in April that IRAA would be under the supervision and control of the Home Ministry. As Home Minister, he was a staunch defender of

State Shinto was Empire of Japan, Imperial Japan's ideological use of the Japanese folk religion and traditions of Shinto. The state exercised control of shrine finances and training regimes for Kannushi, priests to strongly encourage Shinto practices that ...

. Hiranuma declared: "We should research the ancient rites in detail and consider their application in administrative affairs in general and the common life of the nation.” Hiranuma was strongly opposed to the political and diplomatic actions of

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 ...

Yōsuke Matsuoka and to the

Tripartite Pact The Tripartite Pact, also known as the Berlin Pact, was an agreement between Germany, Italy, and Japan signed in Berlin on 27 September 1940 by, respectively, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Galeazzo Ciano, and Saburō Kurusu (in that order) and in the ...

concluded between

Imperial Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...

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 ...

in September 1940. The cabinet was reshuffled in July 1941 in order to remove Matsuoka, partially due to Hiranuma's maneuvering. In the new cabinet Matsuoka was replaced by Admiral Teijiro Toyoda. Hiranuma and Yanagawa became ministers without portfolio, with Hiranuma's protégé

as his successor in the Home Ministry. During this period Hiranuma frequently met with the American Ambassador Joseph Grew in order to de-escalate the conflict between Japan and America. In August 1941 was Hiranuma attacked in his home by a member of a small ultranationalist group. Despite being shot six times Hiranuma survived and fully recovered. Hiranuma withdrew from government upon the resignation of Konoe in October 1941.

''Jushin''

Hiranuma served as one of the ''jushin'' (重臣), or unofficial senior advisors, to Emperor

Hirohito , Posthumous name, posthumously honored as , was the 124th emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, from 25 December 1926 until Death and state funeral of Hirohito, his death in 1989. He remains Japan's longest-reigni ...

during

. Hiranuma saw the ''jushin'' as the core of a new group of '' genrō'' advisors, as the last surviving

Meiji period The was an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonizatio ...

''genrō'', Prince

Saionji Kinmochi Kazoku, Prince was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan, prime minister of Japan from 1906 to 1908, and from 1911 to 1912. As the last surviving member of the ''genrō'', the group of senior statesmen who had directed pol ...

, had died in November 1940. The new group included former prime ministers

Mitsumasa Yonai was a Japanese navy officer and politician. He served as admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy, Ministry of the Navy (Japan), Minister of the Navy, and Prime Minister of Japan in 1940. Early life and career Yonai was born on 2 March 1880, in M ...

Nobuyuki Abe was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army, Prime Minister of Japan, and the last Governor-General of Korea. Early life and military career Abe was born on November 24, 1875, in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, the son of the former samurai Abe ...

and

. In April 1945, Hiranuma was again appointed president of the Privy Council.

Prosecution and conviction

After the War, he was arrested by the American Occupation Authorities and was convicted by the

as a Class A War Criminal. He was given a

life sentence Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life imprisonment are c ...

, but

paroled Parole, also known as provisional release, supervised release, or being on paper, is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole of ...

in early 1952, and died shortly afterwards. His grave is in

Tama Cemetery in Tokyo is the largest municipal cemetery in Japan. It is split between the cities of Fuchū, Tokyo, Fuchu and Koganei, Tokyo, Koganei within the Tokyo Metropolis. First established in April 1923 as , it was redesignated Tama Cemetery in 1935. ...

, outside Tokyo.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* Bix, Herbert P. ''

Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan ''Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan'' is a book by Herbert P. Bix covering the reign of Emperor Shōwa of Japan from 1926 until his death in 1989. It won the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction The Pulitzer Prize for General No ...

''. Harper Perennial (2001). * Brendon, Piers. ''The Dark Valley: A Panorama of the 1930s''. Vintage; Reprint edition (2002). * Frank, Richard B. ''Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire''. Penguin (Non-Classics); Reissue edition (2001). * * * * * * Sherman, Christine. ''War Crimes: International Military Tribunal''. Turner Publishing Company. (2001). * Wolferen, Karel van. ''The Enigma of Japanese Power: People and Politics in a Stateless Nation''. Vintage; Reprint edition (1990). *

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hiranuma, Kiichiro 1867 births 1952 deaths 20th-century prime ministers of Japan People from Okayama Prefecture University of Tokyo alumni Japanese prosecutors Kazoku Japanese Shintoists Members of the House of Peers (Japan) Japanese people of World War II Japanese people convicted of the international crime of aggression People convicted by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East Japanese prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by international courts and tribunals Japanese people convicted of war crimes Kokkashugi People paroled from life sentence Japanese politicians convicted of crimes Heads of government convicted of war crimes Heads of government who were later imprisoned Politicians from Okayama Prefecture Prosecutors General of Japan Antisemitism in Japan