The Evening Star (April 29, 1946)
Tojo and 27 others face arraignment Friday for crimes
TOKYO (AP) – Former Premier Hideki Tojo and 27 other Japanese militaristic leaders were indicted by the Allies today as war criminals. They will be arraigned Friday on 55 specific charges, ranging from murder of thousands of Americans – on Pearl Harbor Day – to conspiracy to hammer the whole world into slave states of the Axis.
Defense attorneys are expected to be given reasonable time to prepare their cases before trial begin before an 11-nation tribunal.
Tribunal members heard Joseph B. Keenan, chief Allied prosecutor, read the indictments at the Japanese War Ministry Building, then called Capt. Beverly M. Coleman, USN, who will head the defense, into a brief conference.
Neither Mr. Keenan nor Chief Justice Sir William Webb, who heads the Allied tribunal, would comment as they left the building after the historic 35-minute session.
Charges in three categories
As he presented the indictments, Mr. Keenan outlined three categories of charges: Crimes against peace, “conventional” war crimes, and “crimes against humanity.” Offenses thus range from maltreatment of individuals to world conspiracy, and Mr. Keenan made it plain that the whole 18-year story of Japan’s bloody bid for world power will be told in the forthcoming trials.
Named in the indictments were:
-
Four former premiers: Tojo, Baron Kiichiro Hiranuma, Koki Hirota and Gen. Kuniaki Koiso.
-
Adm. Osami Nagano, former chief of staff whose direct order launched the attack on Pearl Harbor.
-
Gen. Kenji Doihara, Japan’s “Lawrence of Manchuria,” who engineered the prewar Manchurian incident.
-
Three principal arrangers of the tripartite pact with Italy and Germany: Former Foreign Minister Yosuke Matsuoka, Gen. Hiroshi Oshima (ex-ambassador to Germany), and Toshio Shiratori (ex-ambassador to Italy).
-
Six other former ministers: Gen. Sadao Araki (war), Okinori Kaya (finance), Jiro Minami (war), Mamoru Shigemitsu (foreign), Shigetaro Shimada (navy), and Shigenori Togo (foreign minister when the war began).
-
Gen. Yoshijiro Umezu, who with Shigemitsu signed surrender terms aboard the battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay last September.
-
Marquis Koichi Kido, former lord keeper of the Privy Seal and influential adviser to Emperor Hirohito.
-
Six other army leaders: Col. Kingoro Hashimoto (whose artillery helped sink the American gunboat Panay in China before the war), Shunroku Hata (former field marshal and commander in chief in China), Shishiro Itagaki (former general and chief of staff of Japan’s Kwantung Army), Heitaro Kimura (former general and Kwantung chief of staff), Gen. Iwane Matsui (commandant during the rape of Nanking), and Akira Muto (chief of staff under Lt. Gen. Tomoyuki Yamashita in the Philippines).
-
Naoki Hoshino, former president of Tojo’s Planning Board.
-
Takasumi Oka, former director, navy bureau of military affairs.
-
Shumei Okawa, civilian official of the South Manchurian Railway, propagandist for expulsion of whites from Asia.
-
Kenryo Sato, former chief of military affairs bureau, war ministry.
-
Teiichi Suzuki, former president of the Cabinet Planning Board.
Hirohito not mentioned*
Not mentioned in the indictments were Emperor Hirohito and a half dozen of Tojo’s former cabinet ministers: Michio Yuzawa, Michiyo Iwamura, Kunihiko Hashida, Hiroya Ino, Nobusuke Kishi and Vice Adm. Ken Terajima.
Mr. Keenan did not refer to them, but commented that omission of a name “in no sense implies” exoneration; other names may be added.
Indictments included specific charges of starting the war against the 11 Allied nations, and 16 of the prisoners – including Tojo – were accused of murder by “ordering, causing and permitting the armed forces of Japan to attack territory, ships and airplanes” of other nations in the December 7, 1941, attacks. The charge listed as murdered about 4,000 Americans at Pearl Harbor and others in the Philippines.
Accused with Tojo in the murders were Doihara, Hiranuma, Hirota, Hoshino, Kaya, Kido, Kimura, Muto, Nagano, Oka, Oshima, Sato, Shimada, Suzuki and Togo.
The Indian Express (April 30, 1946)
Gen. Tojo and 27 others indicted
TOKYO, April 29 – General Hideki Tojo and 27 other alleged major Japanese war criminals were indicted today.
Twenty-eight former Japanese leaders are charged with planning, preparing, initiating and waging wars of aggression in violation of international law and treaties, committing wholesale murder and instigating numerous “crimes against humanity.”
General Tojo was the Prime Minister of Japan at the time of Pearl Harbour.