Yuko Tojo with her grandfather's final letter



As granddaughter of wartime Prime Minister Hideki Tojo, Yuko Tojo is in a unique position to reveal the private life of the oft-demonized leader. She is also a tireless campaigner for the restoration of her kin's good name and an advocate of historical review of the war and Japan's role in it. She spoke to the Rising Sun-Times recently in a Tokyo cafe.




Rising Sun-Times: It's very kind of you to come.

Yuko Tojo: I think so too.

RST: How are you today?

YT: Very well.

RST: Tea?

YT: Yes please.

RST: Nuts?

YT: Yes but no thank you. Can we get on with the interview?

RST: Of course. What memories do you have of your grandfather?

YT: He was a kind and peace-loving man. Gentle and peaceful. He worried so much about everyone, especially the children whose fathers were off fighting off the enemy.

RST: What do you say to people that compare Hideki Tojo to the likes of Hitler? Was he one the monsters of World War 2?

YT: Of course not. That's totally ridiculous. Hitler was never a patriot, unlike Grandfather Tojo. Tojo fought and died for his country, this is more than one could ever say about Hitler.

RST: But Hitler fought and died for Germany, didn't he?

YT: Exactly. For Germany. Hitler never fought and died for Japan, but my grandfather did. This shows his great love for his country. Hitler never loved Japan, so you can't possibly compare the two.

RST: Yet some historians say that General Tojo ordered the massacre of thousands of civilians in China and is responsible for some of the worst atrocities of the war.

YT: Poppycock. There were no civilians in China. And what general would order the massacre of his own civilians? That would be ludicrous.

RST: I meant Chinese civilians.

YT: Oh, them. That's been proven to be a pack of lies made up by the Chinese. The Chinese are notorious for cutting off their own heads, taking photos of it, and publishing the lies before getting back to their normal routines. It's terribly dishonest.

RST: You've made some recent comments criticising Prime Minister Koizumi and Tokyo Governor Ishihara. What's your gripe with them?

YT: They're weak, gutless left-wingers who are an embarrassment to the memory of my grandfather. Imagine going to Yasukuni to pray for peace! Japan needs strong leaders who respect the past and genuinely go to Yasukuni to worship the war dead.

RST: But the Emperor himself doesn't go to Yasukuni Shrine.

YT: Can you imagine? As the Emperor neglects his duties, Japan becomes weaker and weaker. Until the Emperor worships those who died in His name, Japan will never be the proud, strong country it once was. With the Prime Minister playing a namby-pamby game of not offending the Japan-haters and the Emperor shirking his responsibility, it's no wonder Japan has lost its way.

RST: More tea?

YT: No thank you.

RST: Nuts?

YT: Yes, but I don't want any.

RST: If you say so. How would you like people to remember your grandfather?

YT: As he was, naturally. A good noble man who fought for his country and brought peace to the region. We need to reverse the brain washing of the past sixty years and start to see things my way. The name of Tojo has been dragged through the dirt for long enough. If Japanese followed the example of Hideki Tojo and had pride in their country and were willing to die for the Emperor again, the heart and soul of Japan would be restored. By following my grandfather's example of declaring peace, Japan can once again hold her head up and be proud of its past.

RST: Now, you've brought a box along with you today. What is that?

YT: I keep some precious relics of Grandfather Tojo. This box contains his nail clippings. I often show them to give people the chance to feel his peaceful presence.

RST: Just wonderful. Brown and shrivelled, aren't they? Why don't you, er, pop them on the table there?

YT: Next to the nuts? Thank you. I wish everyone could see the past clearly, without the Chinese falsifications, without the lack of pride in Japan, without all this who was or wasn't a war criminal obfuscation. How can someone who acted so bravely for their country be a war criminal? It makes no sense. How can someone who died in the Emperor's name be less than a valiant patriot? Hideki Tojo wanted peace as much as His Majesty. It was the Americans and Chinese who started the war, invaded Manshukoku, bombed Pearl Harbor, killed the Jews, ran hideous concentration camps and added insult to injury by bombing Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I tell you these people have no shame.

RST: Well, what's next for Yuko Tojo?

YT: I will continue to campaign to restore the respect due my grandfather, encourage the Emperor to visit Yasukuni, and berate the weak communist-minded apologists like Koizumi and Ishihara that bring such shame on Japan with their pandering attitudes.

RST: Thank you. Can I offer you another cup of tea? And we seem to have run out of nuts.

YT: Nuts? NUTS!? You- you've eaten Grandfather's fingernails you moron!

RST: Yuko Tojo, thanks for your time.

YT: You utter imbecile! Cough them up or I'll cut them out of you!

RST: We'll have to leave it there.

YT: This is the end of the world! Oh granddaddy!!

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