Hideki Tojo was born in Tokyo, Japan, on 30th December 1884. He joined the Japanese Army and his military service included periods in Switzerland and Germany.
Promoted to Major General in 1933 he became Chief of the Military Police of the Kwantung Army in September 1935. After promotion to lieutenant general he became Chief of Staff to the Kwantung Army (March 1937-May 1938).
In May 1938 Fumimaro Konoye appointed Tojo as his Vice Minister of War. However, after six months in this post he returned to the armed services and took command of the army's aviation.
Tojo held extreme right-wing views and was a supporter of Nazi Germany. He also feared the long-term plans of Joseph Stalin and in 1938 he advocated pre-emptive air strikes on both China and the Soviet Union.
In July 1940 Tojo was appointed by Fumimaro Konoye as Minister of War. When Konoye was forced to resign because of growing tensions with the United States, Tojo became Prime Minister in October 1941. He was personally responsible for waging war in the Pacific and especially ordered the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7th December, 1941.
As well as Prime Minister Tojo also held the posts of Minister of War, Interior Minister and Minister of Foreign Minister. From February 1944 he was also Commander in Chief of the General Staff.
Tojo, aware that Japan was unable to win the war, resigned from office after the loss of Saipan in July 1944. He shot himself in the chest just before he was arrested by the US Military in 1945. Tojo survived and after being nursed back to health was tried for war crimes by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East.
