|
Baron Kōki Hirota (1878 - 1948) was a Japanese diplomat executed for war crimes in the aftermath of World War II. He had served as the Prime Minister of Imperial Japan from 1936 to 1937. He was party to information about the Pantingan River massacre and the Rape of Nanking, and as foreign minister had received regular reports on the Japanese army's atrocities, but did nothing to prevent them. Hirota was also sentenced for waging wars of aggression, as he had signed the Tripartite Pact and therefore been partially responsible for Japan joining the Axis Powers, and for complicity in Japan's invasion of Manchuria. He regarded Chinese Communism as "a festering sore" that could lead to "sure and inescapable death" for all Asians. He offered no defence when tried for his offences and closed his eyes when his death sentence was read out by Justice William Webb.