| Original caption: “Hideki Tōjō hears the sentence of death by hanging imposed upon him by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East for crimes he is held responsible for from December 1941 to July 1944. Then, as General, he was Premier and War Minister. He is sixty-four years old. The verdict is read by Sir William Webb, President.” Former Premier and War Minister Imperial Japanese Army General Hideki Tōjō (December 30, 1884 – December 23, 1948), stands in the dock as Sir William F. Webb (January 21, 1887 – August 11, 1972), Australian jurist and President of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE), reads his sentence on November 12, 1948. The IMTFE sentenced 6 men to die and 16 others to life imprisonment. The hush deepened as Tōjō Hideki filed in and bowed to the judges, as the next-to-last defendant to be sentenced. He put on his headphones. Japanese spectators leaned forward. The American military police stiffened. Tōjō and everyone else knew what was coming. 2 of his sons watched from the gallery. In a clear, firm voice, Webb declared, “Accused Tōjō Hideki, on the Counts of the Indictment on which you have been convicted, the International Military Tribunal for the Far East sentences you to death by hanging.” Tōjō, resigned, gave a bow to the court. He was the 7th war criminal sentenced to die. “He was merely a brown, bald, shabby little man,” crowed the Associated Press. Outside the Ichigaya courtroom, when told the sentence, his wife and daughter wept beneath a tree. As Webb at last fell silent, there was chaos in the courtroom. Reporters raced to the telephones. Families of the convicted men sat in shock. At 1612 Hours, the Tokyo trial adjourned. Tōjō went with that metaphor in his death haiku that he handed to his counsel, Ichiro Kiyose (July 5, 1884 – June 27, 1967): “Oh, look, see how the cherry blossoms fall mutely.” This and 9 other poems written by the condemned were publicly published in the Japanese press. In a letter that Tōjō wanted made public, he said that he deserved his death sentence and was sorry that the judges had not allowed him to shoulder sole responsibility. It was a great comfort to him that Emperor Hirothito (April 29, 1901 – January 7, 1989) was not involved. His death sentence, he felt, did not absolve him of responsibility for the wartime hardships of his countrymen. Although determinedly unremorseful about Pearl Harbor, Tōjō admitted that atrocities against Allied Prisoners of War were “utterly deplorable,” accepting responsibility for failing to drive home to Japanese troops the kindness of the Emperor. Still, he claimed that only a small part of the Imperial Japanese Army had committed war crimes, and neither the Japanese nation nor the Army as a whole was responsible for them. United Press International reported on the sentencing in a nationally syndicated article on November 12, 1948: “Tōjō Bows Calmly at Death Sentence: Six Others to Hang for Crimes.” “Tokyo, November 12. – Hideki Tōjō heard himself sentenced to death by hanging today with the same half-disdainful composure that marked his conduct throughout the long trial before the international military tribunal.” “The sentence Tōjō pronounced was typical of the words in which all the guilty men heard the judgment of their conquerors:” “‘The accused, Tōjō, Hideki: On the counts of the indictment on which you have been convicted, the International Military Tribunal for the Far East sentences you to death by hanging.’” “Tōjō Merely Bows” “The slight, bald man who sent Japanese planes against Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, while Japanese envoys pretended to talk peace in Washington, nodded and bowed deeply. The sharp features that earned him the nickname of ‘The Razor,’ the iron calm that hardly wavered throughout the two and a half years of his trial, remained unchanged.” “Earlier, in a statement issued to the United Press just before the final session of the long trial, he had said his say, calling his trial a ‘trial by conquerors.’” “Admits Responsibility” “‘I wanted to take the entire responsibility for the war, but unfortunately, others were involved, to my great regret,’ he said.” “He gave special thanks to his American defense counsel, George F. Blewett [(November 18, 1897 – November 1, 1963)] of Philadelphia, and then made this prediction for the future of the nation he led to ruin:” “‘The spirit of the Japanese people is certain to rise again, but there are great difficulties ahead, and I have pray that the people still have the courage to overcome them.’” “His attorney explained Tōjō did not necessarily mean that the Japanese people would rise again ‘in a military sense.’” “Others To Die” “Sentenced with Tōjō to die were General Kenji Dolhara, the ‘Tiger of China;’ General Seishiro Itagaki, General Heitaro Kimura, General Iwane Matsui, Lieutenant General Akira Muto and Koki Hirota, former Premier and leader of the dread[ed] ultra-nationalistic Black Dragon Society.” “The only two of the defendants who received prison sentences for shorter terms than life were Shigenori Togo, Japanese Foreign Minister at the time of Pearl Harbor, who was given twenty years from the date of his arraignment two and half years ago, and former Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu, the peg-legged diplomat who was one of the signers of Japan’s surrender aboard the battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay on September 3, 1945.” “The court felt Shigemitsu was less guilty than the rest because he took no part in designing the pattern of aggression until he became foreign minister after the war already had been going on for two years.” “Three Ill In Hospital” “In the double-tiered prisoners’ dock, twenty-two of the defendants sat in chairs as they had sat through all the weary sessions of their trial. Three were ill in hospital and learned in their sick beds later that they had been sentenced to life imprisonment.” “Two others of the original twenty-eight defendants had died during the trial. The remaining one, Shumei Okawa, father of extreme Japanese nationalism, went mad early in the trial as a result of previous loose living. His insanity manifested itself when he several times slapped the bald head of Tōjō during court sessions.” “The court ruled finally that the prosecution had proved the following counts in the 55-point indictment:” “That all defendants participated in ‘a common plan or conspiracy’ to secure military. naval, political, and economic domination of East Asia, the Pacific and Indian Oceans, and all countries and islands therein or bordering thereon.” “That all defendants waged a war of aggression against China.” “That all defendants waged a war of aggression against the United States.” “That all defendants waged a war of aggression against Britain and the Netherlands.” “That ten defendants waged a war of aggression against France.” “That twelve defendants waged a war of aggression against Russia in 1938.” “War Crimes Specified” “That thirteen defendants waged a war of aggression against the Mongolian People’s Republic and the Soviet Union in 1939.” “That all defendants except Toshio Shiratori, former ambassador to Italy, ordered, authorized and permitted commission of conventional war crimes.” “That all defendants, again excepting Shiratori, failed to take adequate steps to secure observance and prevent breaches of conventions and laws of war in respect to prisoners of war and civilian internees.” “The court ruled that because of technical duplications, it was necessary to consider only one other count, that charging the Japanese defendants with conspiring with Germany and Italy for ‘domination of the whole world.’” “All defendants were found innocent on this count. on grounds there had been insufficient evidence to bear out the sweeping charge.” “Tōjō Won’t Appeal” “Tōjō, only one of the three Axis dictators to stand trial for his crimes, soon would join Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini in death. His attorney said the former premier would not seek commutation of his sentence.” “Tōjō and the others sentenced to death will await execution in the same eight-by-eight cells in Sugamo Prison, which they have occupied throughout the trial.” “But the already close guard on them will be even closer. They never will be left alone. They will be searched frequently and minutely. No chance will be given them to cheat the noose as Germany’s Hermann Goering did.” “The United Press, the same day, also ran a story about the impact of the verdict on Tōjō’s family. ‘Missus Tōjō Stoical At Death Verdict: ‘I Am Sure That Is What He Desired.’” “Tokyo, November 12. — A small Japanese woman wearing a nearly threadbare kimono listened dry-eyed and unmoving today as her husband, Hideki Tōjō, was sentenced to death by hanging for his war crimes.” “‘Tōjō died spiritually at the time of Japanese defeat.’ Mrs. Katsuko Tōjō said after the warlord had been led away to await execution. She said she would not make any appeal for clemency for him because ‘now it is only a matter of death physically for him.’” “‘I am sure,’ she said, ‘that he desired the death penalty. Whatever he desired is what we members of his family want.’” “‘After all, a person only dies once.’” “‘Today’s Judgment is a natural consequence to us when we consider that there are many bereaved families as result of the war.’” “Then, still without tears, Missus Tōjō left the tribunal, escorted by her daughter [Mitsue Tōjō (1918 – died prematurely of cancer in the 1960s), who, in 1959, would marry Shigeru Sugiyama (April 28, 1902 – January 29, 1982), Chief of Staff of the Japanese Self-Defense Force.]” | |
| Image Filename | wwii1480.jpg |
| Image Size | 1.40 MB |
| Image Dimensions | 7254 x 5483 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | United States Army Signal Corps |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | November 12, 1948 |
| Location | |
| City | Tokyo |
| State or Province | Tokyo |
| Country | Japan |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | NRE-338-FTL(EF)-3161(14) |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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