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| |  | | Yosuke Matsuoka | | | context : | Japan  | | judgement place : | Tokyo IMT | | status : | Died before end of trial | | particulars : | Died on June 26, 1946, before his trial before the International Military Tribunal for the Far East was completed | | position : | Minister of Foreign Affairs |
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| | | | Born in Japan in 1880, Yosuke Matsuoka joined the Foreign Service, which he served in for eighteen years. He gained international notoriety in 1933 when he announced Japan’s departure from the League of Nations (as a result of the League’s criticism of Japan’s operations in Manchuria) and led the Japanese delegation out of the League’s assembly hall. After leaving the Foreign Service, Matsuoka went to occupied Manchuria and became President of the South Manchurian Railroad, at which time he worked closely with Tojo Hideki (then serving as chief of the Kwantung Army’s secret police; see “related cases”).
In 1940, Matsuoka became Minister of Foreign Affairs under Prime Minister Konoe Fumimaro. Matsuoka was a major advocate of a Japanese alliance with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, and as such was one of the primary orchestrators the Tripartite Pact in 1940. Matsuoka also signed a Russo-Japanese non-aggression treaty in April 1941. However, after Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, Hitler proposed to Matsuoka that Japan take part in the attack as well. Matsuoka became a fervent supporter of the idea of a Japanese attack on Russia, and constantly pressured Konoe and the leaders of the Imperial Japanese Army and Imperial Japanese Navy to mobilize the military for that purpose. However, the army and the navy, as well as Konoe, decided to bypass war with Russia and concentrate their military efforts on targets south of Japan.
Despite the military’s opposition to his ideas, Matsuoka continued to loudly advocate an invasion of Russia and became increasingly reckless in his diplomatic dealings with the United States, which he despised. Matsuoka’s hostility towards the U.S. alarmed Konoe, who wanted to avoid war with the United States. As such, Konoe and the military hierarchy, who were both fed up with Matsuoka, conspired to get rid of him. To this end, Konoe resigned in July 1941 and his cabinet ministers resigned with him, including Matsuoka. However, Konoe immediately became prime minister again and replaced Matsuoka as Foreign Minister with Admiral Toyoda Teijiro. Matsuoka subsequently drifted into obscurity. Captured by the Allies in 1945, he was indicted on war crimes charges by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East. | |     click for more... | | Trial Watch would like to remind its users that any person charged by national or international authorities is presumed innocent until proven guilty. | |  |  | | judgement period : | | | 06.05.1946 - 26.06.1946 | | | charges : | | | Aggression | | | profile last modified : | | | 08.12.2009 |
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