So far we have covered active fighting in Europe, Africa, and Asia. With the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union this summer we have already seen the scale of this war increase to an overwhelming new level. As if all of this was not enough, more trouble seems to be brewing in the Far East, and Hideki Tojo plays an important role in escalating the matter. Hope you enjoy this episode, and as always be sure to respect our rules of conduct when commentating: community.timeghost.tv/t/rules-of-conduct/4518
Japan’s leaders and their role during World War II should be highlighted and discussed more thoroughly. I’ve always known who Tojo was but never really knew anything about his life story or the actions he took during the war. I appreciate this channel so much for that reason!
@@dongately2817 Definitely wasn't a military puppet, he was the most powerful military man in the empire. But his power was anything but absolute, in sharp contrast to people like Hitler and Mussolini. He was what he was, a prime minister who concurrently held other important offices to try and streamline the war effort.
@@dongately2817 Not really. A more appropriate analogy would be that Tojo was the conductor while the wartime Japanese government was an orchestra, and a very uncooperative and uncoordinated one, which different sections constantly tried to dominate the song they were playing.
Just dont forget many Japanese war criminals did not get prosecuted at all. Some even served in the government after the war. Something that still puzzles me.
According to The Fleet at Flood Tide he visited his doctor that morning and had him draw an x where to aim. My guess is that survival instincts took over and he fumbled it.
The pistol was a Colt .32 ACP Model 1903. Both the pistol and bullet were presented to FBI head J. Edgar Hoover. Hoover then sent them to the MacArthur Museum in Norfolk, Virginia where they are still kept.
I was watching WW2 cartoons one day and one of them mentioned Tojo. I didn't know who Tojo was at the time so I was intrigued to do research on him. Very interesting leader
11:25 did I hear that right? its 1944 and Japan tries now to have a combine command-structure? One where the different services are actual comrades in arms instead of mortal enemies? Sure took its time...
It's true they never achieved anything close to a combined command. Thankfully the imperial Japanese army and navy rarely cooperated and worked as a team.
He also received lots of complaints in regards to the domestic situation in Japan as well. Japan was under increasingly strict war rationing even before the war with the USA. The Army was consume huge quantities of resources in their China campaigns and return very little of its supposed riches to the home islands.
This is great! I really hope we get more specials regarding WW2 the same way you did it for The Great War. Specials on people, places, methods, military tech, amazing stories, etc.. They feel a bit left out, with all the weekly action going on. Again, thank you for probably the best show on WW2 out there.
@@stevewhite3424 many Russians too believe in 1941 as the year in which WW2 started but i guess they and Americans have different reasons to think so...
In Baton Rouge In about 1948, my father, Major Otis Moreman, talked his way into the prison where Tojo was being held. He got right up to where he could peek in. Tojo was painting with water-colors -- just as my mother was learning how to do in Tokyo.
@@657449 he had much theoretical power but it was customary that the Emperor would just approve the descisions of the government and his advisors. The few times he did comment on things it was vaguely anti-war but he probably could have done more if he actively involved himself in government
Tojo’s Japan certainly was an authoritarian one-party fascist state and you went over the various ways that it was in this episode; the setup was similar to Mussolini’s Italy with the dictator holding prime minister powers under a monarch, however in Tojo’s case he used the pre-existing cult around the emperor that preceded the 1941-44 fascist period as opposed to creating a cult around himself like Mussolini (this likely wouldn’t have been possible for the reasons you mentioned including the stark polarization within the Japanese leadership). Japan’s political repression under Tojo was also more on the Italy level as far as fascist states go, rather than say Germany or Croatia, as you mentioned mostly just overt communists and leftists were repressed. However, like Italy, it was still a totalitarian state, and the IRAA replaced all political parties, while setting up IRAA youth groups and women’s groups. While Tojo did not have absolute control of the bureaucracy nor legislative powers, he did hold numerous posts and was effectively a would-be generalissimo. Remember in fascist Spain, Generalissimo Franco never got absolute control of his (also very polarized) bureaucracy until the war was completely over, even after he had conquered most of mainland Spain.
I wish you’d gone more into how Tojo was encouraged by the Americans and Japanese to vindicate the emperor and claim the emperor never had any say in the matter. He was encouraged by both sides to take total credit for the war. It’s very interesting, these 1445 machinations. I had hoped to see it in the special!
He is going to be prosecuted severely regardless of the blame placed on the emperor. Might as well take full responsibility for the whole war effort and spare the Japanese people (who are loyal to the emperor).
This channel and the entire time ghost project is great. I didn't know any of this nor do I know much about Japan's system of government during this time period and I try to keep informed on world history. Keep up the good work guys!
I have to tip my hat tip this channel and it's productions.I think having Indy Neidell as the narrator, the choice of wardrobe and scenery are excellent! Please keep-up the fantastic work!
Japan: Oh your coming closer? Instead of running away you are coming closer? USA: I can't *nuke* the shit out of you without getting close Japan: Oh ho ho! Then come as close as you wan- *Japan.exe has stopped working.*
Eri Hotta, a Japanese historian, pulls no punches in her book, "Japan 1941: Countdown to Infamy". Rare in terms of candour, critical analysis and evaluation, when contrasted against most of her fellow countrymen. A must-read for those who are interested to find out why and how Japan's top military (beyond Tojo) and civilian decision makers made the fateful decision to launch the Pacific war on 7 Dec 1941.
Fun fact: Hideki Tojo's teeth were bad, so for his trial he asked for dentures so he could be heard in court for his defense. The person who made the teeth had 'Remember Pearl Harbor'. inscribed in the top denture.
theres a lot of quality history channels on here, but they are often spoiled by the presenters speech being to fast or to accented but this channel shines like a beacon of reason and eloquence.
While at trial Tojo was found to have advanced tooth decay so a new pair of dentures were made for him. The Naval dentist who made them carved 'remember Pearl Harbor' into them in morse code.
@JAPAN ROCK ZONE apparently the dentist did do this but made up a story to be able to get the dentures and grind off the marking. Giving back tojo's dentures without the saying.
Well researched and amazing as always! Personally, I would love to see a part two of WW2 week by week that just focuses on Asia, with an larger prelude covering topics such as the Bakumatsu period and first Sino-Japanese war of context, especially since this is my academic focus field. If I could ever raise the resources and find someone as charismatic on camera as Indy, I would totally do the legwork for it behind the scenes.
It might not hurt to reach out to Time Ghost and offer some research. I've noticed that they have done specials or the likes based on topics that viewers have done good research on.
Before the end of the war, Japan practiced emperor-system militarism. The emperor was the commander of the land and naval forces (Japan does not have an independent air force). The prime minister, army ministers, and navy ministers have no control over the military. All major foreign military operations and even "final "War" is all out of "sacred judgment." When Tojo learned that he was going to be tried, he wanted to commit suicide. The last Minister of War Shimomura Sadamu came to the door and warned: "Only you can go to court to take the responsibility for your majesty." Tojo refused to listen to dissuasion and shot himself without hitting the heart. The result was rescued by American military doctors. In the Tokyo trial, Hideki Tojo still clamored that "the Great East Asian War is a just war to liberate Asia", but he also told the truth that no one could defy the emperor's will during the war. In the Tokyo Trial, seven Class A war criminals, including Tojo, Matsui, Itagaki, and Doihara, who were sentenced to hang to punish this group of Showa warlord leaders, but this investigation is obviously not thorough. None of the Japanese imperial family members are being held accountable, including the uncle Prince Yasuhiko Asaka, who issued the order to "kill all the prisoners" in Nanjing. This person did not come to testify in court, and later he became the chairman of the Japanese golf club. At the end of the Tokyo trial, Chief Judge Webb publicly stated: "The emperor is responsible for war. The court has incontrovertible evidence in this regard. It is out of the interests of the allies not to prosecute him." "It would be a travesty of justice, seriously reflecting on the United Nations, to hang or shoot the common Japanese soldier or Korean guard while granting immunity to his sovereign perhaps even more guilty than he," Webb had written in September 1945.
To learn the most (and the best) about Japan from the late 1800s to shortly after the war, it’s necessary to read Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan. This fairly recent book is the best account of Japan and Hirohito. It’s amazing that most histories discount Hirohito’s part in the China war, and WWII. In fact, despite the US government whitewashing Hirohito after the war because of the upcoming Cold War, Hirohito is now considered to be the architect of all of it, and highly involved in every action. Indeed, he was involved in the planning of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Tojo gets blamed for a lot of these decisions that Hirohito himself made, or urged. About the war crimes situation. Hirohito came very close to being accused of those war crimes, something that made sense as he knew about, and even directed. Tojo was persuaded to admit, and to be subjected to these war crimes accusations instead of Hirohito, and that’s exactly what happened.
He faild in comitting seppuku. And using a gun and not the ritual knife (tantō ). He was forsing the bushido code on all people, but faild to live it himself. It`s a reason why they had a friend or agent to cut the head of if they faild in the act. He overestimated himself to the end
Illustrating how relatively unimportant land weapons were the large Japanese armies in China were ordered to make do with whatever they could produce locally. The famous Kwantung Army was basically self-sufficient after 1942, receiving only aircraft and certain "minor" equipment from the Japanese homeland. The different armies in China created an internal barter economy between themselves, securing supplies through trading the raw materials and finished products to which they each access. Beyond the loss of aircraft involved, therefore, the land war in China was not a great drain on Japanese munitions produced in the home islands.
And thousands of Japanese army soldiers in far away islands became farmers to get food. In hierarchy Japanese army really had low priority in Tokyo what ever land warfare fans are suggesting. What mattered was air-sea warfare.
Man I missed you indy I quit watching the series when you seemed to disappear from the show and there was a new guy it just wasn't as engaging you're so good at what you do it really keeps me interested I can tell you love what you do and people really notice. you're really good at history man so I'll be watching again steadily as long as you are the host. I'm so glad you're back!
I've always been interested in WW2 but as a European it's where most of my knowledge lies in regards to the theatres of war, I still know what happened but the finer details such as major political events and etc are a blank spot, so these videos are great at filling these gaps of knowledge.
true like.. i know little to nothing about what allies were doing in-between 1940 and 1944 besides north Africa. And about Southeast asia or India or Pacific Ocean at all
Please make clear when speaking of Japanese persons which is their given name and which is their family name. It is normal in Japan to place one's family name first. Thus, Tojo Hideki is the subject of this episode. His father was Tojo Hidenori.
When you mention how Tojo was not this absolute dictator compared to Hitler, it makes wonder, just how truly powerful was Mussolini? Especially since Italy still had a king.
Interesting sidenote about Kanji Ishiwara: He would later be called to testify against Tojo in far east tribunals. At these trials he would angrily demand that Harry Truman be indicted for the firebombing and killing of hundreds of thousands of Japanese civilians.
Would you consider doing a biography special about Joseph Grew, the American ambassador to Japan from 1932 to 1941? I have a book of his compiled notes, memoranda, and other documents from that time signed by him, and the efforts he went to try to prevent the war between Japan and the US, as well as trying to curtail the Japanese army in China, are really something...
One detail about him was really cool to me. Poland had declared on Japan, in exile of course. Japan straight up didn't accept their declaration of war. Tojo said: "We do not accept the declaration of the Poles. They are fighting for freedom of their country, and only declared war due to pressure from Britain." This is partly to do that Japan was getting a lot of information from Polish spies about both Germany and the USSR. They cooperated throughout the war.
TIL: Thank you Indy and the rest of the Time Ghost Team, I grew up with Tojo as the big bad of the Japanese government in WW2 but it is heartening to see that he suffered the same problems as any other politicition during his time in office. I am not even trying to excuse the excesses that his country went to but it is nice to know that he still suffered those obnoxious minority dissidents.
Something I find ironic about Hideki Tojo after his fail suicide attempt in 1945: While held in Sugamo Prison, he received a new set of dentures, made by an American dentist, into which the phrase "Remember Pearl Harbor" had been secretly drilled in Morse code. The dentist ground away the message three months later.
Would be nice if you did a special about the Portuguese colony of Macau during the war, it is a super interesting even if a minor aspect of the conflict.
shout out to support this channel for the youtube algorithm. So much works goes into this. We really love and appreciate everybody who works on this' dedication
So far we have covered active fighting in Europe, Africa, and Asia. With the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union this summer we have already seen the scale of this war increase to an overwhelming new level. As if all of this was not enough, more trouble seems to be brewing in the Far East, and Hideki Tojo plays an important role in escalating the matter.
Hope you enjoy this episode, and as always be sure to respect our rules of conduct when commentating: community.timeghost.tv/t/rules-of-conduct/4518
L
Thank
L
Very nicely done. I love your videos. Nicely scripted, great images. You folks do a heck of a lot of work and it makes for a fantastic experience.
Meanwhile in Japan Tojo was busy polishing his bald head.
As someone with pretty bad hearing, I greatly appreciate the subtitles being spot on for your videos. Thank you!
As an English teacher who recommends these to students, I agree!
@@Thechezbailey good teacher!
As someone with not-so-good knowledge of English, i appreciate subs too
I agree too it helps a lot
As someone whose GF has good hearing, I agree.
:)
Japan’s leaders and their role during World War II should be highlighted and discussed more thoroughly. I’ve always known who Tojo was but never really knew anything about his life story or the actions he took during the war. I appreciate this channel so much for that reason!
He was basically a puppet for the military.
Maybe some video about the characteristics of Japans political system...
@@dongately2817 Definitely wasn't a military puppet, he was the most powerful military man in the empire. But his power was anything but absolute, in sharp contrast to people like Hitler and Mussolini. He was what he was, a prime minister who concurrently held other important offices to try and streamline the war effort.
@@dongately2817 Not really. A more appropriate analogy would be that Tojo was the conductor while the wartime Japanese government was an orchestra, and a very uncooperative and uncoordinated one, which different sections constantly tried to dominate the song they were playing.
Just dont forget many Japanese war criminals did not get prosecuted at all. Some even served in the government after the war. Something that still puzzles me.
"He shot himself in the chest, but survived." Must have been a Nambu.
According to The Fleet at Flood Tide he visited his doctor that morning and had him draw an x where to aim.
My guess is that survival instincts took over and he fumbled it.
As Thanos said, Should have aimed for the head.
If it took more than one shot, you werent using a Jakobs
The pistol was a Colt .32 ACP Model 1903. Both the pistol and bullet were presented to FBI head J. Edgar Hoover. Hoover then sent them to the MacArthur Museum in Norfolk, Virginia where they are still kept.
LOL
Hope you do a special about my grandpa
Good one..lol
I'm sure they eill as how you and trump are such good buddies..lol
Would definitely be cool
Actually, yes please.
Oh, Dear Great Leader you made me giggle! 🤭
@@indianastan
Welp, I guess that's a one way ticket to a nice camp for 'political re-education' then.
Cranking the war up to 11, more like to 1100. And I noticed that Tojo has replaced Conrad von Hötzendorf on the wall
11¹¹
Tojo is the anime version of a combined Hötzendorf and Cadorna.
And the picture keeps changing throughout the video...
I thought that photo was a green screen that they put whoever they are talking about on
@@taylor5065 Did they have green-screen technology in World War II? ;)
I feel like Tojo is the kind of guy who would try to get out of a hole by digging straight down.
That was his plan to defeat China xD
If you dig down far enough, you'll eventually reach the other side.
@@samuellennon1984 And a whole lot of molten lava
@@quasarproductions2690 And the other side will most likely be ocean
As far as I'm aware, he's the only head of government whose name was used as slang to label the Japanese in combat.
Rolls off the tongue a lil better than trying to say Yamamoto b4 hip firing ur Thompson lol
Soviets sometimes called the Nazis "Hitlerites"
""Benito Finito, Next Hirohito!"-B25 nose art
@@tyvernoverlord5363 I am gonna use that one.
@@zzzkoszzz Same with Polish communists
I was watching WW2 cartoons one day and one of them mentioned Tojo. I didn't know who Tojo was at the time so I was intrigued to do research on him. Very interesting leader
Looney Toons used his image for their stereotypical Asian. Not very flattering.
@@dongately2817 cartoon caricatures are not supposed to be flattering.
@@jeffreydaniel1550 Right, but this was back when cartoons were extremely racist. Observe: th-cam.com/video/lvNaJz2Cqak/w-d-xo.html
Disappointed it didn't show him getting slapped during his trial
Me too! I was waiting for that. But here it is: th-cam.com/video/WoEb03tzwxs/w-d-xo.html
In 1945, Tojo got the Head Slap heard round the world 🌍 🤚
That boy Tojo thought he could walk around with that Bean without somebody sonning him😂😂
The most epic of the head slaps.
T‘was so shiny and clean
As punishment for his war crimes!
Head slapper got off scott free too
11:25
did I hear that right?
its 1944 and Japan tries now to have a combine command-structure?
One where the different services are actual comrades in arms instead of mortal enemies?
Sure took its time...
Well desesperation is the stepmother of invention
It's true they never achieved anything close to a combined command. Thankfully the imperial Japanese army and navy rarely cooperated and worked as a team.
Better late than never.
@@TheCimbrianBull they were already dead by 1944
"He was the strongest Prime Minister in Modern Japanese history."
He arm wrestled with Gorilla's.
Winner Stays On is the traditional and tested method of appointing Prime Ministers.
@@JagerLange would have loved to see that gorilla as prime minister though
One Punch Tojo
Thts nothing Kim Jong IL never took a dump, because uk buttholes are for the weak
He arm wrestled with Gojira's :)
Slaps on Tojo's head: -"This bad boi can commit so many warcrimes"
Yes, this is official video from Tokio process.
0:30 that portrait switch lol
Well spotted! 😀
He also received lots of complaints in regards to the domestic situation in Japan as well. Japan was under increasingly strict war rationing even before the war with the USA. The Army was consume huge quantities of resources in their China campaigns and return very little of its supposed riches to the home islands.
This is great! I really hope we get more specials regarding WW2 the same way you did it for The Great War. Specials on people, places, methods, military tech, amazing stories, etc.. They feel a bit left out, with all the weekly action going on.
Again, thank you for probably the best show on WW2 out there.
4:23 "As any schoolboy knows, that summer Japan invaded China."
I strongly suspects this is not true, and I don't mean the second part...
@@stevewhite3424 *1931
I must have been absent during that lesson. Hmm, most likely I had been sent to the principal's office for being a naughty little rascal.
@@stevewhite3424 many Russians too believe in 1941 as the year in which WW2 started
but i guess they and Americans have different reasons to think so...
@@stevewhite3424 and to the Japanese, “what war? It was a mere border incident.”
@@stevewhite3424 1932 or 1937 ?
What happened to your 'On the Homefront' series? I really miss seeing Anna.
In Baton Rouge
In about 1948, my father, Major Otis Moreman, talked his way into the prison where Tojo was being held. He got right up to where he could peek in. Tojo was painting with water-colors -- just as my mother was learning how to do in Tokyo.
Will there be a video on Emperor Hirohito?
Nick Craig yes, that would be enlightening. How much power did he have?
@@657449 not much, like Nicholas he didn't want to rule
Was he really a war criminal? Or was he actually totally innocent as some say?
@@GaldirEonai much like King Vittorio Emanuele
@@657449 he had much theoretical power but it was customary that the Emperor would just approve the descisions of the government and his advisors. The few times he did comment on things it was vaguely anti-war but he probably could have done more if he actively involved himself in government
Tojo’s Japan certainly was an authoritarian one-party fascist state and you went over the various ways that it was in this episode; the setup was similar to Mussolini’s Italy with the dictator holding prime minister powers under a monarch, however in Tojo’s case he used the pre-existing cult around the emperor that preceded the 1941-44 fascist period as opposed to creating a cult around himself like Mussolini (this likely wouldn’t have been possible for the reasons you mentioned including the stark polarization within the Japanese leadership). Japan’s political repression under Tojo was also more on the Italy level as far as fascist states go, rather than say Germany or Croatia, as you mentioned mostly just overt communists and leftists were repressed. However, like Italy, it was still a totalitarian state, and the IRAA replaced all political parties, while setting up IRAA youth groups and women’s groups. While Tojo did not have absolute control of the bureaucracy nor legislative powers, he did hold numerous posts and was effectively a would-be generalissimo. Remember in fascist Spain, Generalissimo Franco never got absolute control of his (also very polarized) bureaucracy until the war was completely over, even after he had conquered most of mainland Spain.
I wish you’d gone more into how Tojo was encouraged by the Americans and Japanese to vindicate the emperor and claim the emperor never had any say in the matter. He was encouraged by both sides to take total credit for the war. It’s very interesting, these 1445 machinations. I had hoped to see it in the special!
Emperor Hirohito did play a major role in the invasion of China, but far less of one in the decision to fight the US as well.
He is going to be prosecuted severely regardless of the blame placed on the emperor. Might as well take full responsibility for the whole war effort and spare the Japanese people (who are loyal to the emperor).
Indy really knows his stuff . These productions are very informative and delivered in a way to grab your attention. Great stuff guys !
Thanks Ian!
This channel and the entire time ghost project is great. I didn't know any of this nor do I know much about Japan's system of government during this time period and I try to keep informed on world history. Keep up the good work guys!
What a wonderful narrator you are. Everything is perfect, the content, the voice, the cadence, the length, you name it. ⭐️ 🌟⭐️ 🌟⭐️
Wow, that's an all time great comment. Thanks for that! / Indy
I have to tip my hat tip this channel and it's productions.I think having Indy Neidell as the narrator, the choice of wardrobe and scenery are excellent! Please keep-up the fantastic work!
Tojo's Bizzare Adventure
Beat me to it
Japan: Oh your coming closer?
Instead of running away you are coming closer?
USA: I can't *nuke* the shit out of you without getting close
Japan: Oh ho ho! Then come as close as you wan-
*Japan.exe has stopped working.*
LOL 🤣 😅 🤣
Still a better human than Churchill
Great stuff like always Indy!
Eri Hotta, a Japanese historian, pulls no punches in her book, "Japan 1941: Countdown to Infamy".
Rare in terms of candour, critical analysis and evaluation, when contrasted against most of her fellow countrymen.
A must-read for those who are interested to find out
why and how Japan's top military (beyond Tojo) and civilian decision makers made the fateful decision
to launch the Pacific war on 7 Dec 1941.
Thank you for sharing that, I'm going to go look the book up now.
-TimeGhost Ambassador
Fun fact: Hideki Tojo's teeth were bad, so for his trial he asked for dentures so he could be heard in court for his defense. The person who made the teeth had 'Remember Pearl Harbor'. inscribed in the top denture.
The way you ‘pause’ near the end has the sinking feeling of the ending of the speech
theres a lot of quality history channels on here, but they are often spoiled by the presenters speech being to fast or to accented but this channel shines like a beacon of reason and eloquence.
Indy and the team, i hope you get to make an episode about the white rose and sophie scholl. Love the work, cant get enough of it to be frank.
It always amazes me on how deep you go into detail about each person in the Biography special. Amazing job once again.
While at trial Tojo was found to have advanced tooth decay so a new pair of dentures were made for him. The Naval dentist who made them carved 'remember Pearl Harbor' into them in morse code.
Where do you even get this fanfic-like bullcrap from? 😂😂
@JAPAN ROCK ZONE apparently the dentist did do this but made up a story to be able to get the dentures and grind off the marking. Giving back tojo's dentures without the saying.
Great episode. Thank you!
"Diligent administrator" scariest thing i ever heard. Especially in context of WW2.
this man has a phenomenal tie collection. lookin' great, Indy!
"His only hobby was his work"
That pretty much sums up the life of every Japanese adult male.
It’s crazy how much him and Himmler resemble each other in some instants
Very true now that you mentioned!
Except I think Himmler could've been at least a bit more relaxed guy to have a drink with and talk some nerdy shit together.
Carl Mannerheim, Risto Ryti , Axel Erik Heinrichs, Juho Paasikivi and Väinö Tanner deserve bios please :)!
This was one your best Bio's ever. Well done and thanks.
That tie is quite something!!!
Tojo's bizarre adventures
Fascinating piece of history and excellent narration. Thank you.
Thats a great tie, aestheticaly powerful
Well researched and amazing as always! Personally, I would love to see a part two of WW2 week by week that just focuses on Asia, with an larger prelude covering topics such as the Bakumatsu period and first Sino-Japanese war of context, especially since this is my academic focus field. If I could ever raise the resources and find someone as charismatic on camera as Indy, I would totally do the legwork for it behind the scenes.
It might not hurt to reach out to Time Ghost and offer some research. I've noticed that they have done specials or the likes based on topics that viewers have done good research on.
OH YEAH, I really wanted to see his biography in this channel. I love this channel.
Before the end of the war, Japan practiced emperor-system militarism. The emperor was the commander of the land and naval forces (Japan does not have an independent air force). The prime minister, army ministers, and navy ministers have no control over the military. All major foreign military operations and even "final "War" is all out of "sacred judgment." When Tojo learned that he was going to be tried, he wanted to commit suicide. The last Minister of War Shimomura Sadamu came to the door and warned: "Only you can go to court to take the responsibility for your majesty." Tojo refused to listen to dissuasion and shot himself without hitting the heart. The result was rescued by American military doctors. In the Tokyo trial, Hideki Tojo still clamored that "the Great East Asian War is a just war to liberate Asia", but he also told the truth that no one could defy the emperor's will during the war.
In the Tokyo Trial, seven Class A war criminals, including Tojo, Matsui, Itagaki, and Doihara, who were sentenced to hang to punish this group of Showa warlord leaders, but this investigation is obviously not thorough. None of the Japanese imperial family members are being held accountable, including the uncle Prince Yasuhiko Asaka, who issued the order to "kill all the prisoners" in Nanjing. This person did not come to testify in court, and later he became the chairman of the Japanese golf club. At the end of the Tokyo trial, Chief Judge Webb publicly stated: "The emperor is responsible for war. The court has incontrovertible evidence in this regard. It is out of the interests of the allies not to prosecute him."
"It would be a travesty of justice, seriously reflecting on the United Nations, to hang or shoot the common Japanese soldier or Korean guard while granting immunity to his sovereign perhaps even more guilty than he," Webb had written in September 1945.
Thank you very much for this information.
To learn the most (and the best) about Japan from the late 1800s to shortly after the war, it’s necessary to read Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan. This fairly recent book is the best account of Japan and Hirohito. It’s amazing that most histories discount Hirohito’s part in the China war, and WWII. In fact, despite the US government whitewashing Hirohito after the war because of the upcoming Cold War, Hirohito is now considered to be the architect of all of it, and highly involved in every action. Indeed, he was involved in the planning of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Tojo gets blamed for a lot of these decisions that Hirohito himself made, or urged.
About the war crimes situation. Hirohito came very close to being accused of those war crimes, something that made sense as he knew about, and even directed. Tojo was persuaded to admit, and to be subjected to these war crimes accusations instead of Hirohito, and that’s exactly what happened.
@13:50 One of Indy's best Rodney Dangerfield's facial impressions.
Very, VERY interesting! Great episode!
Thx for this one, very interesting as always
Alright, so I noticed that the "portrait" in the background keeps changing. I'm honestly waiting for an episode where Stalin is wearing a clown nose.
AWESOME
I love these biographical specials
:D
During his trial for war crimes, he got slapped in the back of the head by one of his cronies.
I appreciate your profile picture
True. Here is the famous footage: th-cam.com/video/WoEb03tzwxs/w-d-xo.html
I like ya cut g
He faild in comitting seppuku. And using a gun and not the ritual knife (tantō ). He was forsing the bushido code on all people, but faild to live it himself. It`s a reason why they had a friend or agent to cut the head of if they faild in the act. He overestimated himself to the end
Love these videos! Really interesting.
8:24 Does anyone else hear audio of an iPhone taking a picture?
yes
Yeah.
New sound effects.
Glad were starting to get Bios on the big leaders of the the war. Hopefully we get one on FDR soon!
Thanks Indy.
Another great video from you guys - instructive and well-paced. May I suggest a bio special on Mannerheim?
superb. good job pulling back the curtains on the very opaque way decisions were made in Japan (this and the Pearl episode and throughout the series)
Illustrating how relatively unimportant land weapons were the large Japanese armies in China were ordered to make do with whatever they could produce locally. The famous Kwantung Army was basically self-sufficient after 1942, receiving only aircraft and certain "minor" equipment from the Japanese homeland. The different armies in China created an internal barter economy between themselves, securing supplies through trading the raw materials and finished products to which they each access. Beyond the loss of aircraft involved, therefore, the land war in China was not a great drain on Japanese munitions produced in the home islands.
And thousands of Japanese army soldiers in far away islands became farmers to get food. In hierarchy Japanese army really had low priority in Tokyo what ever land warfare fans are suggesting. What mattered was air-sea warfare.
Another excellent feature on a leader that I knew virtually nothing about before. Great job thanks.
Glad you enjoyed it, thanks!
Man I missed you indy I quit watching the series when you seemed to disappear from the show and there was a new guy it just wasn't as engaging you're so good at what you do it really keeps me interested I can tell you love what you do and people really notice. you're really good at history man so I'll be watching again steadily as long as you are the host. I'm so glad you're back!
Omg I just realized this is his own new channel I love this I instantly subscribed
I've always been interested in WW2 but as a European it's where most of my knowledge lies in regards to the theatres of war, I still know what happened but the finer details such as major political events and etc are a blank spot, so these videos are great at filling these gaps of knowledge.
true
like.. i know little to nothing about what allies were doing in-between 1940 and 1944 besides north Africa.
And about Southeast asia or India or Pacific Ocean at all
@@benismann That's...rather sad..
Great video. Again!
thanks for the episode, interesting.
Great to see the critique from the Japanese perspective and shows what a great series this is
That tie!
Awesome episode!
I hope you guys are thinking of doing an episode on Carl Gustav von Mannerheim
Karl Gustav Emil Mannerheim
Best channel on TH-cam
This is a tie with an identity crisis. I like it. 4/5
Has the crisis been resolved?
Please make clear when speaking of Japanese persons which is their given name and which is their family name. It is normal in Japan to place one's family name first. Thus, Tojo Hideki is the subject of this episode. His father was Tojo Hidenori.
Great video i love the history
When you mention how Tojo was not this absolute dictator compared to Hitler, it makes wonder, just how truly powerful was Mussolini? Especially since Italy still had a king.
Another history lesson learned..
Enjoyed and you researched perfectly..
Hats off to your team..
Thanks..🙏👍
Interesting sidenote about Kanji Ishiwara: He would later be called to testify against Tojo in far east tribunals. At these trials he would angrily demand that Harry Truman be indicted for the firebombing and killing of hundreds of thousands of Japanese civilians.
Would you consider doing a biography special about Joseph Grew, the American ambassador to Japan from 1932 to 1941? I have a book of his compiled notes, memoranda, and other documents from that time signed by him, and the efforts he went to try to prevent the war between Japan and the US, as well as trying to curtail the Japanese army in China, are really something...
Great video as always.
Will there be any specials on small arms used by Allies & Axis powers?
One detail about him was really cool to me.
Poland had declared on Japan, in exile of course. Japan straight up didn't accept their declaration of war. Tojo said: "We do not accept the declaration of the Poles. They are fighting for freedom of their country, and only declared war due to pressure from Britain."
This is partly to do that Japan was getting a lot of information from Polish spies about both Germany and the USSR. They cooperated throughout the war.
According to Edwin P. Hoyt's book Japans war. Tojo was a proponent of invading the Soviet Union. Tojo according to Hoyt was a very big anti Communist.
A nicely informative video. I liked it.
3:15 an army group invaded a neighbouring country without government approval. Never heard of that before.
"he cant even shoot straight"
Cranking the war to eleven is an understatement
Are we just not going to talk about the portrait switch at 0:30 and later
TIL: Thank you Indy and the rest of the Time Ghost Team, I grew up with Tojo as the big bad of the Japanese government in WW2 but it is heartening to see that he suffered the same problems as any other politicition during his time in office. I am not even trying to excuse the excesses that his country went to but it is nice to know that he still suffered those obnoxious minority dissidents.
I am devastated by Indie's tie.
Something I find ironic about Hideki Tojo after his fail suicide attempt in 1945: While held in Sugamo Prison, he received a new set of dentures, made by an American dentist, into which the phrase "Remember Pearl Harbor" had been secretly drilled in Morse code. The dentist ground away the message three months later.
"When Japan surrendered in 1945"
*What a way to spoil it for us Indy.*
When everybody remembers Tojo as the dictator of Japan, but nobody remembers him as the first "I like your cut g"
Would be nice if you did a special about the Portuguese colony of Macau during the war, it is a super interesting even if a minor aspect of the conflict.
shout out to support this channel for the youtube algorithm. So much works goes into this. We really love and appreciate everybody who works on this' dedication
yamashita biography would be really nice
Great explanation as always! I thought Tojoi
Important to note that Unit 731 was part of the Imperial Japanese Army.
I feel a distinct lead up to Pearl Harbor vibe in this episode!! The road to Hawaii has begun.