“War Criminal” Saburo Shiroyama (1974) Review | Tokyo Trial

★★★★☆  Ex-PM Hirota, the only politician who received the death sentence at Tokyo Trial who was not a military person. This ex diplomat tried not to start the war, but the history is always written by the victors.

🔽 log 🔽
War Criminal: The Life and Death of Hirota Koki
Saburo Shiroyama, 1974
落日燃ゆ
城山三郎 1974
Read 2024.11


🔽 Book review and notes 🔽
Shiroyama, the only politician who received the death sentence at Tokyo Trial who was not a military person. A diplomat, a prime minister.

Born in a regular family in Fukuoka, he was bright so he was encourage to study hard to go to Tokyo.
Until he became a prime minister, as a diplomat, he did what he could to avoid starting the war, but it was already too late, Japanese military already had too much power by then.
He did not utter any word of defense during the Trial, though many did feel it was unfair, but as he himself says, his crime is he was too powerless to stop the war from starting - thus death penalty.

Any effort for peace meant nothing in front of the military force who took over the government, and any effort to prove his innocence also would have meant nothing in front of the US government who could rule the loser however they wanted to.

History is always written by the victors.
There is no time to waste when you have so much power over someone else.
It makes you ponder if we ever change.

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War Criminal: The Life and Death of Hirota Koki

●●● Amazon.co.uk (UK) ●●●
War Criminal: The Life and Death of Hirota Koki

●●● Amazon.it (Italy) ●●●
War Criminal: The Life and Death of Hirota Koki (English)