Hiranuma Kiichirō

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Kiichirō Hiranuma
平沼 騏一郎
Hiranuma in 1939
Prime Minister of Japan
In office 5 January 1939 – 30 August 1939
Monarch	Hirohito
Preceded by	Fumimaro Konoe
Succeeded by	Nobuyuki Abe
Personal details
Born	(1867-09-28)28 September 1867 Independent
Children	Takeo Hiranuma (Adopted)
Alma mater	Tokyo Imperial University

Kiichirō Hiranuma (平沼 騏一郎, 28 September 1867 – 22 August 1952) was a prominent right-wing Japanese politician and Prime Minister of Japan in 1939. He was convicted of war crimes committed during World War II and was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Early life

Hiranuma was born in what is now

.

Ministry of Justice

Hiranuma established a reputation during his time at the Ministry of Justice as a strong opponent of government corruption and successfully handled a number of high-profile cases. He served as the director of the

in 1911 and Public Prosecutor-general in 1912.

In 1915, he forced

to resign for suspected bribery.

Hiranuma was highly outspoken against the corruption and immorality in Japan's

.

With

nationalist

groups.

In 1921, Hiranuma became chief of the Supreme Court of Japan.

Unlike other Japanese leaders who were skeptical or indifferent to

and believed that Jews controlled the world's political and economic upper echelons.

Hiranuma was

peerage system.

Privy Councilor

Hiranuma served on the Privy Council for over 10 years and exerted considerable behind-the-scenes influence. He was strongly opposed to Prime Minister Wakatsuki Reijirō's efforts at economic reform. He was also strongly opposed to the ratification of the London Naval Treaty of 1930. In 1931, he rallied support within the government for the Imperial Japanese Army after the army had seized control of Manchuria without prior authorization, and he later helped in the creation of Manchukuo. He also pushed for Japan's withdrawal from the League of Nations. According to one theory, he in 1934 he directed the prosecution during the Teijin Incident.

In 1936, Hiranuma was appointed as President of the Privy Council.

Prime minister

Hiranuma was

against the Soviet Union.

Home Minister

Hiranuma returned to the government after his resignation as Prime Minister as

administration from 21 December 1940 to 18 July 1941.

As Home Minister, he was a staunch defender of State Shinto. Hiranuma declared: "We should research the ancient rites in detail and consider their application in administrative affairs in general and the common life of the nation."

However, Hiranuma was strongly opposed to the political and diplomatic actions of Foreign Minister Yōsuke Matsuoka and to the Tripartite Pact between Imperial Japan, Nazi Germany, and Fascist Italy in 1940.

He withdrew from the government on the resignation of Konoe in October 1941.

Jushin

Hiranuma served as one of the jushin (重臣), or unofficial senior advisors, to

to manage Imperial affairs directly. In April 1945, Hiranuma was again appointed as President of the Privy Council.

Prosecution and conviction

After the war, he was arrested by the

, outside Tokyo.

References

• ISBN 0-06-093130-2
• ISBN 0-375-70808-1
• ISBN 0-14-100146-1
• Sherman, Christine. War Crimes: International Military Tribunal. Turner Publishing Company. (2001).
  ISBN 1-56311-728-2
• Wolferen, Karel van. The Enigma of Japanese Power: People and Politics in a Stateless Nation. Vintage; Reprint edition (1990).
  ISBN 0-679-72802-3

External links

• Newspaper clippings about Hiranuma Kiichirō in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW

Political offices
Preceded by Fumimaro Konoe	Prime Minister of Japan 1939	Succeeded by Nobuyuki Abe
Preceded by Ejii Yasui	Minister of Home Affairs 1940–1941	Succeeded by Harumichi Tanabe