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Kōki Hirota | |
|---|---|
廣田 弘毅 | |
 Portrait,c. 1936 | |
| Prime Minister of Japan | |
| In office 9 March 1936 – 2 February 1937 | |
| Monarch | Hirohito |
| Preceded by | Keisuke Okada |
| Succeeded by | Senjūrō Hayashi |
| Minister for Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 4 June 1937 – 26 May 1938 | |
| Prime Minister | Fumimaro Konoe |
| Preceded by | Naotake Satō |
| Succeeded by | Kazushige Ugaki |
| In office 14 September 1933 – 2 April 1936 | |
| Prime Minister | Saitō Makoto Keisuke Okada Himself |
| Preceded by | Uchida Kōsai |
| Succeeded by | Hachirō Arita |
| Member of theHouse of Peers | |
| In office 31 May 1937 – 13 December 1945 Nominated by theEmperor | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1878-02-14)14 February 1878 |
| Died | 23 December 1948(1948-12-23) (aged 70) |
| Cause of death | Execution by hanging |
| Political party | Independent |
| Spouse | |
| Alma mater | Tokyo Imperial University |
| Signature |  |
| Criminal information | |
| Criminal status | Executed |
| Convictions | Crimes against peace War crimes |
| Trial | International Military Tribunal for the Far East |
| Criminal penalty | Death |
Kōki Hirota (廣田 弘毅,Hirota Kōki; 14 February 1878 – 23 December 1948) was a Japanesediplomat andpolitician who served asprime minister of Japan from 1936 to 1937. Originally his name was Jōtarō (丈太郎). He was executed forwar crimes committed during theSecond Sino-Japanese War at theTokyo Trials.
Hirota was born on 14 February 1878, in Kaji-machi dori (鍛冶町通り) in what is now part ofChūō-ku,Fukuoka,Fukuoka Prefecture, tostonemason Hirota Tokubei (廣田 徳平). His father had been adopted into the Hirota family of stonemasons.[1]
Tokubei married Take (タケ), a daughter of the president of a Japanesenoodle company. On 14 February 1878, the couple had a son, whom Tokubei named Jōtarō (丈太郎). 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 ofEmperor Kameyama inHigashi kōen (東公園) inFukuoka city.
Hirota's writing was recognized as good from a young age since the name plate of thetorii gate of Suikyo Shrine was written by Hirota when he was 11.[2][3]After attendingShuyukan, he continued his education atTokyo Imperial University and graduated with a law degree. One of his classmates was the postwar Prime MinisterShigeru Yoshida.
After graduation, Hirota entered theMinistry of Foreign Affairs 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 theNetherlands, he was ambassador to theSoviet Union from 1928 to 1932.
In 1933, Hirota becameForeign Minister in the cabinet of Prime MinisterSaitō Makoto, just after Japan had withdrawn from theLeague of Nations. He retained the position in the subsequent cabinet of AdmiralKeisuke Okada.
As Foreign Minister, Hirota negotiated the purchase of theChinese Eastern Railway inManchuria fromSoviet interests. He also promulgated theHirota 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 aJapan–China–Manchukuo bloc, the organization of a Sino-Japanese common front against the spread ofcommunism, and the suppression of anti-Japanese activities within China.[4] 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.[5]
 Hirota as foreign minister, 1933 | |
| Premiership of Kōki Hirota 9 March 1936 – 2 February 1937 | |
| Monarch | Emperor Shōwa |
|---|---|
| Cabinet | Hirota Cabinet |
| Party | Independent |
| Seat | Naikaku Sōri Daijin Kantei |
 Emblem of the Government of Japan | |
.jpg)
In 1936, with the radical factions within the Japanese military discredited after the26 February incident, Hirota was selected to replace Okada asPrime Minister of Japan. Hirota placated the military by reinstating the system by which only active-dutyArmy orNavy officers (seeMinister of War Military Attache System [zh]) could serve in the Cabinet posts ofwar minister ornavy minister. The military, via the institution of theImperial General Headquarters, had abused the system in the past to bring down civilian governments.[6]
In terms of foreign policy, theAnti-Comintern Pact withNazi Germany andFascist Italy was signed during his premiership. The treaty was the predecessor to theTripartite Pact of 1940.
Hirota's term lasted for slightly less than a year. He resigned after a disagreement withHisaichi Terauchi, who was serving as the war minister, over a speech by theRikken Seiyūkai representativeKunimatsu 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.
Hirota soon returned to government service as foreign minister under Hayashi's successor, PrinceFumimaro Konoe. 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 theSoviet Union. He also spoke out repeatedly against the escalation of theSecond Sino-Japanese War.[citation needed] 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 persuadeJoseph Stalin's government to stay out of the war, but the Soviet Union ultimately declared war on Japan in between theatomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Following Japan's surrender, Hirota was arrested as aClass A war criminal and brought before theInternational Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE). He offered no defense and was found guilty of the following charges:
He was sentenced to death by hanging and was executed atSugamo Prison. 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.[7]
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.[8] 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 "Rakujitsu Moyu [ja]" ("The Setting Sun Burns").[9][10]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Minister for Foreign Affairs September 1933 – April 1936 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Japan March 1936 – February 1937 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister for Foreign Affairs June 1937 – May 1938 | Succeeded by |
| Empire of Japan (1868–1947) |
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| Japan (1947–present) |
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