Evening star., 1948-12-24
Amnesty Order Frees
IS High-Ranking Jap:
War Crime Suspects
By the Assoeicted Press

TOKYO, Dec. pa surprise
amnesty order freed Is high
ranking japanese war criminal
suspects this Christmas Eve.
Gen. Macarthur let them out OF
Sugamo Prison, where Hideki ToJoI
and six other top war criminals
were hanged only few hours ear
lier. The amnesty order cleared
10 names, leaving only two major
war crimes defendants, who are
now on trial.
Three of those freed were men,
bers Of Tojo's Pearl Harbor cabinet,
Two others joined his cabinet later
in the war and two more served I'M
previous japanese cabinets.
Shumei Okawa. who slapped TOTO
on his bald head at the beginning
OF the war crimes trials, was in
cluded. The propagandist is IN an
insane asylum where he has been
since charges against him were
dropped In 1916.
Among Major Suspects.
The amnesty order extended post
humously to Hayao Tada, former
commander in chief of the Japanese
Armies in China who died December
16, and Kumataro Honda, former
Ambassador to China who died two
days later.
The 10th manufacturing Surna
-remainded under house arrest.
Once spokesman for the Foreign
ONCE. he served as Ambassador toj
Madrid between 1910 and 1916.
Most of the Is who walked out
of Sugamo had been imprisoned
three years awaiting trial on war
crimes charges. They were among
a large number Of so-called major
suspects arrested early in the oc-
cupation. Twenty-eight originally
were accused Of war crimes.
The parade from Sugamo in
cluded these members of Tojos
Pearl Harbor cabinet - Nobusuke
Kishi, commerce minister; Michiyo
Iwamura, justice minister, and Ken
Terashima, communications minis
ter. Kisaburo Ando, who later be-
came Tojo's home minister and
Kazuo Aoki who was named
Greater East Asia minister In 1943.
also were released.
The announcement of the
amnesty was delayed until the
prisoners were leaving. Gen. Mac
Arthur's headquarters did not re-
veal the deaths of the two mill
tarists who were confined in
Sugamo Prison until the amnesty. |
3 Suber- Rattling Leaders.
Alva c. Carpenter, head Of Gen.
MacArthur's legal section, in O.
nouncing the dismissals said officials
in the group occupied office at
time when they could not have
been responsible for atrocities or
were industrialists who could not
be charged with atrocities.
Three among those released were
well known as leaders during Japan's
saber-rattling days.
They are Yoshihisa Kuzu, who
once was president of the Black
Dragon Society which was notorious
in Japan's plotting for conquest;
Gen Toshizo Nishio, who was COM
mander in chief in China for time |
and was a close associate Of Tojo.1 |
and Eiji Amau, a diplomat who
wrote the well-known "Amau state
ment" on Japan's plan for conquest.
Others freed were: Genki Abe,
vice chief of the cabinet planning
board; Fsnio Goto, minister with |
out portfolio in 1894 Koichfro1 |
1shihara, industrialist; Yoshio Ko-
dana, navy purchasing agent; Ryo- |
ichi Sasakawa, organizer Of extrem-
ist parties; Sankichi Takahashi, an
organizer of the wartime political
party Of the Imperial Rule Assist
ance Association and member OF
the Supreme War Council, and Ma
sayuh Tani, chief Of the cabinet
information bureau.
The two on trial are:
Admiral Soemu Toyoda, former
chief of the Japanese naval stat,
accused of command responsibility |
for atrocities, and Gen. Hiroshi Ia
mura, former head of the War Pris-
oner Information Bureau, charged
with responsibility for the mistreat-
ment Of war. prisoners.