Hirota Koki, defendant, International Military Tribunal for the Far East.
Born 14 February 1878; executed 23 December 1948. Graduated Law College, Tokyo Imperial University (July 1905); Third Secretary, Japanese Embassy to Britain (December 1909); First Secretary, Japanese Embassy to China (June 1918); First Secretary, Japanese Embassy to U.S. (December 1918); Councilor, Japanese Embassy to Britain (July 1922); Ambassador to the Netherlands (November 1926 – March 1930); Ambassador to U.S.S.R. (October 1930 — 1932); Foreign Minister, Saito Cabinet (14 September 1933 — 7 July 1934); Foreign Minister, Okada Cabinet (8 July 1934 — 8 March 1936); Prime Minister (9 March 1936 — 1 February 1937); Foreign Minister, Hirota Cabinet (9 March 1936 — 2 April 1936); appointed to House of Peers, Imperial Diet (May 1937); Foreign Minister, First Konoe Cabinet (4 June 1937 — 26 May 1938). Arrested 1 December 1945; designated war criminal by U.S. and China. Charged on forty-eight counts (reduced to nine), found guilty on three counts; sentenced to death by hanging.