World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseKoki Hirota born in Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan to a stone mason. He was adopted into the Hirota family, which provided him the education that led to his entrance into the Tokyo Imperial University as a law student. Upon completion of the law program, he entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 1923, he became director of the Europe and America department of the ministry. In the mid-1920s, he served in the Netherlands. Between 1928 and 1932, he was the ambassador to the Soviet Union. In 1933, he became the Foreign Minister in Prime Minister Saito Makoto's government. He retained the position in Okada Keisuke's government. On 9 Mar 1936, he became the Prime Minister of Japan. Among of the key policies he instated was that only active duty Army or Navy officers could serve as War Minister or Navy Minister, which extended the military significant political influence. Externally, the Anti-Comintern Pact was signed with Germany while he was the head of government. He was ousted on 2 Feb 1937 after the Army's successful opposition. He was later named by Prime Minister Prince Konoe Fumimaro as Foreign Minister, but his opposition to the escalation of war with China made him unpopular in the Army-dominated political scene. He was forced to retire in 1938, and remained out of politics for several years. In 1945, he returned to service in attempt to persuade Russia to remain neutral with Japan. After the war, he was tried as a Class A war criminal and was found guilty. He was given a death sentence by hanging, and was the only civilian to receive a death sentence.

Koki Hirota Interactive Map

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Koki Hirota Timeline