The cremated remains of Japan's wartime Prime Minister Hideki Tojo and other executed Class-A war criminals were secretly scattered in the ocean to prevent them from being deified by the Japanese people, recently discovered declassified U.S. documents showed.
The documents provide the first official confirmation of the reason behind the American military's decision in 1948, driven by concerns over the potential revival of Japan's "ultra national spirit" after its World War II defeat.
Similar to how the remains of executed war criminals of Nazi Germany convicted at the 1945-1946 Nuremberg trials were dispersed in a river, the "final disposition of the remains of executed (Japanese) war criminals should forever remove the possibility of their becoming the objects of enshrinement as heroes or martyrs," one of the documents stated.
The declassified documents, obtained by Kyodo News from the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, were composed by the U.S. Far East Command under Gen. Douglas MacArthur in 1948 following the conclusion of the Tokyo war crimes tribunal in April that year.
In one of the documents titled "Staff Study" and dated July 21, 1948, Major Michael Rivisto of the Far East Command's Quartermaster Section in Tokyo recommended that the remains of executed war criminals be disposed of secretly to "forever prevent their use in anyway to foster resurgence of the ultra national spirit in Japan."
The document was sent to the U.S. Department of the Army by Rivisto on July 27, requesting instructions or concurrence to the proposal, with the department responding on Aug. 4 that it would entrust the matter to the local unit.
Rivisto further proposed in a document dated Aug. 6 that the cremated remains of all classifications of executed war criminals be secretly disposed of due to the "pre-war propensity of the Japanese to enshrine those who gave their lives for the Emperor regardless of rank."
Based on this advice, MacArthur decided on Aug. 13 to dispose at sea the ashes of Tojo and six other Class-A war criminals, who were sentenced in November and executed on Dec. 23 at Sugamo Prison in Tokyo.
Their ashes were scattered in the Pacific Ocean by the U.S. Eighth Army after being cremated in Yokohama.
Regarding the disposals of the remains, William Sebald, chief of the Diplomatic Section at the General Headquarters of the Allied Powers, which occupied Japan after the war, had previously written in his book that the cremated remains would be scattered as their graves could have been deified.
Sebald was also present at the executions of the Class-A war criminals.
Hidetoshi Tojo, a great-grandchild of former premier Tojo, said there is no surprise about the U.S. military having scattered war criminals' ashes in the Pacific.
Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo enshrines more than 2.4 million war dead, regardless of whether there are remains or not, he said. "I feel a difference in religious views in the U.S. way of thinking."
© KYODO
44 Comments
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Samit Basu
The US should have also closed the Yasukuni Shrine to prevent the worship of 13 A-class war criminals.
Unfortunately the US understanding of Japanese culture was severely lacking at that time, and now Japan's rightwingers go to Yasukuni to worship Tojo Hideki and Co instead.
Mocheake
He can say whatever he wants, but, 'religious views' aside, Japan lost. After the war, the country in general got off pretty lucky as their culture and way of life was not drastically altered and the country was rebuilt. Go ask the indigenous peoples across the globe what happened to them after the Europeans came to take over.
antifun
Well that didn't stop them from enshrining them and eventually even their PM from making a point of visiting the said shrine. I guess they should've had them enshrined in some random island in the Pacific or even Antarctica instead to prevent that.
Nayel
The classy attitude of TOJO and Tomoyuki yamashita and others during the trials shows that there was a big class gab between Japan and USA.
wallace
Samit Basu
Even the Japanese government cannot close the private shrine.
winston
Not really a secret then !
Then how come i read about this year's ago ?
Strangerland
A year ago isn't recently?
Hercolobus
Is not that desecration?
u_s__reamer
They deep-sixed their ashes but, like whack-a-mole, they popped up as objects of "irei" in Yasukuni (LOL). American custom is different, but it would solve a looming problem for the country in the future: the "perfect" way to dispose of 45.
Moonraker
That old "ultra national spirit" is not dead after all. Perhaps it will cause the Japanese people the same problems and suffering all over again.
winston
Obviously his way of thinking has issues and being the descendant of such monsters is unsettling to hear his opinion
There's a difference between enshrined names of people who's remains were not found versus remains of criminals that were executed and discarded elsewhere purposefully.
Mark
Every war has it's criminals, burying the dead is a matter of choice influenced by the severity of their crimes and the impact of keeping the body at a certain location, OBL body was also discarded at sea as far as we know and that also prevented it from becoming a shrine or a place of worship.
TokyoLiving
Japan country..
Japan culture..
Japan religion..
Get used to it..
Yubaru
Well, the intentions were probably right for the era, but over time, it's actually turned out to be a meaningless gesture.
WiseOneIn Kansai
@samit
The enshrinement of the A-class criminals was done nearly 2 decades after their convictions.
Yasukuni Shrine was established in 1869, and the main purpose was to commemorate those who died in wars for Japan. So, a few decades before WW2 started.
The A-class criminals were enshrined at the shrine from 1978 after a decision had been made from 1970.
The Showa emperor was upset over the enshrinement and stopped visiting Yasukuni shrine from 1975. Since then, the Heisei and Reiwa emperors have also never visited Yasukuni shrine.
(Wikipedia)
Yubaru
Their comment was spot on, and it just seems you dont have the ability to even attempt to understand the situation based upon the thinking back in 1945. Different world back then, and the US really didnt give a crap about Japanese culture, religion, or the country.
Get used to it! Things were different back then.
Mr Kipling
Reading the headline, I thought this story was about Emperor Hirohito but it was just about his generals and subordinates.
u_s__reamer
Similarly, Osama's remains were disposed of (for domestic consumption) in the aptly named (and revealing of American intentions) "Operation Neptune", even though worshipping at shrines is positively "haram" in the Sunni version of Islam. The intention this time, though, was that by destroying his body it insulted Muslim custom, no doubt a message the US government wanted to send to Al-Qaida et al.
isabelle
I wonder who built his grave at Zoshigaya then, and why?
https://tokyo-in-pics.com/the-grave-of-hideki-tojo-at-zoshigaya-cemetery/
Tojo was executed at Sugamo Prison (now Ikebukuro Sunshine), which is very close to Zoshigaya, so having the grave there would make sense, but this article says the body was transported to Yokohama before cremation. So, if the point was to avoid having a place where people could gather, and if this grave is completely empty, why have the grave?
Moonraker
Those identified with the disorder of 'nationalism' would be better to be immediately hospitalised as a danger to themselves and others. They have caused far too much trouble historically and produced little of worth, only misery. Japanese have suffered more than many due to this disease. I really hope they have learned the lesson.
winston
Yup
Wallace Japan surrendered it's country and not just it's military.
The US could've done whatever they wanted to their shrine.
Certainly wouldn't have been the only religious area to have been taken away
Moonraker
@isabelle. In Nara prefecture there is a "grave" to the emperor Jimmu, supposedly the original emperor, and it attracts nationalists every year but there is really nothing inside.
winston
I think part of the reason for the enshrinment of the criminals was so the horrors of war would never be forgotten more than the worship of those war criminals
winston
Are you serious ?
Did they make hot dogs or something ?
winston
This comment can't really be logically applied to this topic as Japan's constitution and medical and education system was forcibly changed due to surrender of the country
And it isn't a religion it's a philosophy
Sorry.
winston
Then how come i read about this year's ago ?
Year's ago i said year's ago
Do you understand ?
Year's ago i said
Not 'a' year ago !
Geeze !
Wk TF 'up
OssanAmerica
They are enshrined together with 2,466,532 souls starting from 1867. Of which 21,181 are Koreans.
OssanAmerica
Yes but it lives today in the CCP dictatorship. The only ones that harp on the J-right wing are CCP supporters. And we all know who is behind the J-right wing.
Sarah H. J. Lee
Don't bring up Koreans whenever it suits your agenda. Most Koreans want that shrine gone and for their ancestors' remains to be returned to their homeland.
OssanAmerica
Oh I see, I must not mention actual facts if it interferes with your agenda. And what qualification do you have to speak on behalf of the majority of South Korean nationals?
winston
Then bringing up that issue is more productive to getting the remains returned to their homeland than trying to stop people from commenting about it
Perhaps do more to gain people's awareness to the issue than attempting to stop them commenting about it.
wallace
Sarah H. J. Lee
There are no remains of a single person at the Yasukuni Shrine. There are just names on paper mostly turned to dust and names in a register.
Moonraker
Do we? You'd better enlighten us. And perhaps remind us what qualification you have to speak on behalf of them?
Chabbawanga
On the other hand occupying forces gave immunity to the psychotic doctors who worked at Unit 731. Many of whom went on to lucrative careers in their respective fields.
Sarah H. J. Lee
Well, being Korean for one might allow me to speak on behalf of many of my friends and acquaintances who are of the same mind (and before you accuse me of being a Japan hater, which seems to be your go-to response whenever someone disagrees with you, I voted for Yoon). And what's your qualification, since you're frequently here speaking on behalf of Japan's right-wingers?
wallace
Why do people believe there are any remains at the Yasukuni Shrine?
TaiwanIsNotChina
I guess waging aggressive and illegal war can all be made up for by acting classy.
MilesTeg
So a whopping 0.008% at Yasukuni were dumb, misguided Koreans. And?
Approximately 1.0mil Europeans and 1.0mil Russians enlisted in the Nazi military. It happens in every war.
Rodney
How about the civilians murdered in Nagasaki, Hiroshima and Okinawa? Where is their ashes?
Samit Basu
@MilesTeg
Actually they were illegally conscripted soldiers and forced laborers.
MilesTeg
I think you're right.
Sarah H. J. Lee
No, the remains are kept elsewhere, along with their ancestral tablets. Their names, however, are enshrined at Yasukuni.
wallace
Sarah H. J. Lee
There are no bones, remains, or ashes at Yasukuni Shrine. The remains of the dead will most likely be in their family graves.
Speed
I thought the scattering of their ashes in the sea was common knowledge.