Fumimaro Konoe
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Fumimaro Konoe (Japanese: 近衞 文麿, Hepburn: Konoe Fumimaro, often Konoye, 12 October 1891 – 16 December 1945) was a Japanese politician and Prime Minister who presided over Japan's invasion of China in 1937 and the deterioration in relations with the United States and its allies. He also played a central role in Japan's transformation into a totalitarianstate by passing the National Mobilization Law and founding the Imperial Rule Assistance Association.
When Konoe became Prime Minister in June 1937, when was slowly defending into war against China, the war broke out in just one month later in July 1937 as a result of the Marco Polo Bridge Incident along with other series of clashes between Japanese and Chinese troops. During the 1930s, Japan had quickly invaded and taken over much of Eastern China and committed war crimes and atrocities such as the Nanking Massacre. Konoe later stepped down a Prime Minister in 1939 and later became the President of the Privy Council from 1939 to 1940 before coming back into the office the same year in 1940 as a result of the demands from the Japanese Army and the dissatisfaction of Mitsumasa Yonai's policies.
A few months into Konoe's second stint as Prime Minister, Japan was still at war with China and relations with the United States started deteriorating, Konoe founded the Taisei Yokusankai as a party to prepare Japan to go into total war against Chiang Kai-shek and his Kuomintang party. But however, Konoe was a moderate. As a result, he opposed the idea of going to war with the United States, but War Minister Hideki Tojo was very keen with the idea of fighting the United States
Despite Konoe's attempts to resolve tensions with the United States, the military and his government's inflexibility regarding potential resolution terms set Japan on the path to war. After failing to reach a peace agreement, Konoe resigned as Prime Minister on 18 October 1941 prior to the outbreak of hostilities he demanded to have Naruhiko Higashikuni replace him as Prime Minister but War Minister Tojo took the office instead. Despite being out of office however, he remained a close advisor to the Emperor until the end of World War II. Following the end of the war, he committed suicide on 16 December 1945 by taking cyanide.
His grandson Morihiro Hosokawa, became Prime Minister of Japan in 1993 and later resigned in 1994.