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23.12.

1948: Execution of Japanese War Criminals from World War II

1948: Execution of Japanese War Criminals from World War II
Photo Credit To https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Sugamo_Prison_Guard_Soldiers.JPG

Story Highlights

  • Historical event
  • 23 December 1948
  • The execution was carried out in Sugamo Prison in Tokyo, and U.S. General MacArthur forbade any kind of photographing.

On this day in 1948, Japanese war criminals from World War II were executed by hanging. They were criminals convicted at the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal, the Japanese equivalent of the famous Nuremberg Trials. In total, seven people were sentenced to death, the most famous of these probably being Japanese Prime Minister Hideki Tojo.



The execution was carried out in Sugamo Prison in Tokyo, and U.S. General MacArthur, who at that time de facto ruled Japan like a dictator, forbade any kind of photographing. He did so apparently to avoid embarrassing the Japanese people and to prevent causing negative feelings in the Japanese public towards the Allied occupiers (General Douglas MacArthur held the official position of Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers in Japan). It is interesting that one of the tallest buildings in Tokyo, the Sunshine 60 skyscraper, which was with 239.7 m once the tallest building in the whole of Asia, in currently located on the site of the former Sugamo Prison.

Here is a list of all the seven Japanese war criminals executed on this day in Sugamo Prison:
– General Kenji Doihara
– General Seishiro Itagaki
– General Heitarō Kimura
– General Akira Muto
– General Hideki Tojo
– Minister Kōki Hirota
– General Iwane Matsui

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