The Pittsburgh Press (February 14, 1946)
Allies prepare joint charge against Tojo
Role of Hirohito not yet decided
TOKYO (UP) – The United Nations will present a single, coordinated case against former Prime Minister Hideki Tojo and more than 20 other top Jap war criminal suspects slated for trial before an international tribunal.
The procedure will differ from that at Nuernberg where the Allied powers made their prosecutions separately.
Hirohito’s role undecided
Key Allied headquarters officers also indicated that the question of charging Emperor Hirohito with responsibility for the war had not been settled. The United Press was told that Great Britain agreed to a U.S. request to take no action at this time which might create speculation as to what will be done eventually with the Jap ruler.
It was understood that all charges of the respective prosecuting nations will be coordinated into a single case to speed the trials.
Tojo one of first
“It is obvious that Tojo will be one of the first to go on trial,” an authoritative source said.
Present plans, this source said, call for the inclusion of “20 to 30 defendants,” closely associated with Tojo.
The nature of the cases being prepared against Japan’s war leaders may make it necessary to delay the first trial beyond the tentative starting date of March 1, it was indicated.