Evening star., 1948-11-12

HIROHITO CAN'T ESCAPE Re-
sponsibility, Head of Tribunal
Declares. Page AS
BY the Assoeioted Press
TOKYO, Nov. 12.-Death on
the gallows was decreed today
for Hideki TOTO, the cold, calcu-
lating Japanese who led his
country to ruin in the worlds
bloodiest war. Six of his "a top
leaders also were sentenced to be
hanged.
Life imprisonment was meted out
to Is others, including the Marquis
Kochi KIDD, close advoser to the
Emperor.
A 18th, Shigenori Togo, Foreign
Minister at the time of the Pearl
Harbor attack, drew 20 years In
prison.
Aging, peg-legged Mamoru Shige-
mitsu. the statesman who hobbled
aboard the battleship Missouri to
sign the surrender terms in Tokyo
Bay, got seven years imprisonment.
Sentenced in FL Minutes.
An 11-nation court convicted all
Is defendants of war crimes. 1t sat
for more than two and a half years.
1t took only 81 minutes to read the
sentences.
Sir William Webb of Australia.
president of the court. pronounced
the sentences in a deathly silent and
packed courtroom. Each man filed
in separately and stood in an other
wise empty prisoners dock to hear
his sentence. Each attempted to
subdue emotion, but varied reactions
were noticeable.
TOTO took his death sentence with
a wan smile. He bowed politely to
the court as did most of the other
men.
Seventy-four-year-old Gen. Jiro
Minami, former war minister,
seemed befuddled and surprised with
his sentence of life imprisonment.
Gen. Hiroshi Oshima, former am
bassador to Germany, stood arro-
gantly as he was sentenced to life
and stalked away without the po-
lite bow.
Japanese greeted the sentences in
varied ways. Some said they thought
more would be hanged and others
said they were sorry for the de-
PENDANTS.
Wives See Defendants.
Mrs. TOTO saw her husband before
he was sentenced to death. 1t may
be the last time she sees him.
She ran away from reporters say
ing, please leave us alone for a
while"
She did not witness the sentence
ing
Wives Of others Of the defendants
also saw their husbands.
Among wives who were present in
court was Mrs. Edy Togo, German
born wife of the former Foreign
Minister.
When his turn came to be SEN
fenced, she hunched forward eager
ly. She fell back with a sigh of
relief when he was given only 20
years in prison.
Gen. Douglas Macarthur, Allied
occupation commander, set Novem-
ber 10 as the deadline for petitions
in behalf of the defendants to be
submitted to him as reviewing officer
of the tribunals decision.
Gen. Macarthur may reduce any
of the sentences, but he can not
increase them.
No date for the carrying out of
the sentences was set.
A close guard was placed on all
of the japanese for fear some might
try to take their own lives.
Those Sentenced TO Hang.
Sentenced to hang were:
Former Premier TOTO, known as
The Razor during the war. Amer
lean blood plasma saved his life. ,
Gen. Kenji Doihara, 64, the Japa-
nese undercover expert in China and
Manchuria. He was nicknamed
The. Bird of Evil Omen" by the
Chinese and helped to seat Henry
Pu-yi on the puppet throne OF
Manchuria.
Former Premier Koki Hirota, a
career man who was present at the
pre-Pearl Harbor conference of for
mer Premiers when war plans were
laid.
Gen. Seishiro Itagaki, former War
Minister and ranking Kwantung
army officer at Mukden in the 1881
incident that started the ASiatic
war.
Gen. Heitaro kimura, Vice Min
lister of War throughout Tojo's pre-
miership.
Gen. Iwane Matsui, who COM
manded japanese troops in the rape
of Nanking.
1t. Gen. Akira Muto, army chief
of staff in the Philippines.
Sentenced to life Imprisonment:
Gen. Sadao Araki, veteran OF
the Russo-Japanese war and War
(See TOTO Page ABB