2A| SATURDAY, JUNE 19, 2021| TIMES RECORD NEWS Mystery of Tojo’s remains solved Secret mission scattered Luther Frierson wrote: “I certify that I received the remains, supervised cre- war criminal’s ashes mation, and personally scattered the ashes of the following executed war Mari Yamaguchi criminals at sea from an Eighth Army li- ASSOCIATED PRESS aison plane.” The entire operation was tense, with TOKYO – Until recently, the location U.S. officials extremely careful about of executed wartime Japanese Prime not leaving a single speck of ashes be- Minister Hideki Tojo’s remains was one hind, apparently to prevent them from of World War II’s biggest mysteries in being stolen by admiring ultra-nation- the nation he once led. alists, Takazawa said. Now, a Japanese university professor “In addition to their attempt to pre- revealed declassified U.S. military doc- vent the remains from being glorified, I uments that appear to hold the answer. think the U.S. military was adamant The documents show the cremated about not letting the remains return to ashes of Tojo, one of the masterminds of Japanese territory … as an ultimate hu- the Pearl Harbor attack, were scattered miliation,” Takazawa said. from a U.S. Army aircraft over the Pacif- The documents state that when the ic Ocean about 30 miles east of Yokoha- cremation was completed, the ovens ma, Japan’s second-largest city, south were “cleared of the remains in their en- of Tokyo. Former Japanese Prime Minister and military leader Hideki Tojo answers “not tirety.” It was a tension-filled, highly secre- guilty” during a war crimes trial in Tokyo in November 1948. AP “Special precaution was taken to pre- tive mission, with American officials clude overlooking even the smallest apparently taking extreme steps meant particles of remains,” Frierson wrote. to keep Tojo’s remains, and those of six Records. Takazawa, the Nihon University pro- Here’s how the operation went: others executed with him, away from ul- Hidetoshi Tojo, the leader’s great- fessor specializing in war tribunal is- At 2:10 a.m. on Dec. 23, 1948, caskets tra-nationalists looking to glorify them grandson, told The Associated Press sues, found the documents during re- carrying the bodies of Tojo and the six as martyrs. They were hanged for war that the absence of the remains has long search at the U.S. archives into other others were loaded on a 2.5-ton truck crimes in 1948, three years after Japan’s been a humiliation for the bereaved war crimes trials. and taken out of the prison after finger- defeat. The discovery brings partial clo- families, but he’s relieved the informa- The documents, he said, are valuable printing for verification, Frierson wrote sure to a painful chapter of Japanese tion has come to light. because they officially detail previously in a Jan. 4, 1949, document. history that still plays out, as conserva- “If his remains were at least scattered little-known facts about what hap- About an hour and a half later, the tive Japanese politicians attempt to in Japanese territorial waters … I think pened and provide a rough location of motorcade, guarded by truckloads of whitewash history, leading to friction he was still somewhat fortunate,” Tojo where the ashes were scattered. armed soldiers to protect the bodies, ar- with wartime victims, especially China said. “I want to invite my friends and lay He plans to continue research into rived at a U.S. military graves registra- and South Korea. flowers to pay tribute to him” if further other executions. More than 4,000 peo- tion platoon in Yokohama for a final After years spent verifying and details about the remains’ location be- ple were convicted of war crimes in oth- check. checking details and evaluating the sig- comes available. er international tribunals, and about The truck left the area at 7:25 a.m. nificance of what he’d found, Nihon Hideki Tojo, prime minister during 920 of them were executed. and arrived at a Yokohama crematorium University Professor Hiroaki Takazawa much of World War II, is a complicated Tojo and the six others who were 30 minutes later. The caskets were un- publicly released the clues to the re- figure, revered by some conservatives hanged were among 28 Japanese war- loaded from the truck and placed direct- mains’ location last week. He came as a patriot but loathed by many in the time leaders tried for war crimes at the ly “in the ovens” in 10 minutes, while across the declassified documents in West for prolonging the war, which end- 1946-1948 International Military Tribu- soldiers guarded the area. 2018 at the U.S. National Archives in ed only after the U.S. atomic bombings nal for the Far East. Twenty-five were The remains were then transported Maryland. of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. convicted, including 16 sentenced to life under guard to a nearby airstrip and It’s believed to be the first time offi- About a month after Aug. 15, 1945, in prison, with two getting shorter pris- loaded onto a plane that Frierson cial documents showing the handling of when then-Emperor Hirohito an- on terms. Two others died while on trial, boarded. “We proceeded to a point ap- the seven war criminals’ remains were nounced Japan’s defeat to a stunned na- and one case was dropped. proximately 30 miles over the Pacific made public, according to Japan’s Na- tion, Tojo shot himself in a failed suicide In one of the newly revealed docu- Ocean east of Yokohama where I per- tional Institute for Defense Studies and attempt as he was about to be arrested ments – dated Dec. 23, 1948 and carry- sonally scattered the cremated remains the Japan Center for Asian Historical at his modest Tokyo home. ing a “secret” stamp – U.S. Army Maj. over a wide area.”

UN concerned by abuse Envoy: Ethiopia vows to of civilians in Myanmar ‘wipe out’ ethnic Tigrayans Cara Anna Grant Peck ASSOCIATED PRESS ASSOCIATED PRESS NAIROBI, Kenya – Ethiopia’s leaders BANGKOK – The United Nations’ of- in closed-door talks with a European fice in Myanmar expressed concern Union special envoy earlier this year Thursday about escalating human said “they are going to wipe out the Ti- rights abuses after reports this week grayans for 100 years,” the envoy said that a group opposed to the country’s this week, warning that such an aim ruling military may have executed 25 “looks for us like ethnic cleansing.” civilians it captured and that govern- The remarks by Pekka Haavisto, Finland’s Pekka Haavisto, the EU’s ment security forces had burned down A displaced woman sits inside her Finland’s foreign minister, describing special envoy on Ethiopia, says a village. makeshift tent Thursday at Pu Phar his talks with Ethiopian Prime Minister Ethiopian leaders set out to destroy The struggle between the military Village, Demawso Township, Kayah Abiy Ahmed and other ministers in ethnic Tigrayans. regime that took power in February af- State. AP February are some of the most critical ARMANDO FRANCA/AP FILE ter ousting the elected government of yet of the Ethiopian government’s con- Aung San Suu Kyi and those opposing it duct of the conflict in Ethiopia’s north- has sharpened in recent months. In response, KNDO spokesman Wah ern Tigray region. They came in a ques- looks for us like ethnic cleansing.” Elements of what had initially been Nay Nu was quoted by The Irrawaddy, tion-and-answer session Tuesday with In comments shortly after those a nonviolent civil disobedience move- an independent online news service, as a European Parliament committee. February meetings, Haavisto had ment against the takeover evolved into saying the men were not civilians but Ethiopia’s foreign ministry dis- warned that the crisis in Tigray ap- a fledgling armed resistance force in re- government military personnel who missed Haavisto’s comments as “ludi- peared to be spiraling out of control. sponse to harsh repression from police were spying. crous” and a “hallucination of sorts or a The United Nations human rights and soldiers who killed hundreds of On Wednesday, however, the Karen lapse in memory of some kind.” office has said all sides in the conflict peaceful protesters and bystanders. National Union issued a statement say- For months, Haavisto has served as have been accused of abuses, but wit- The statement by the U.N. office ing it would form a team to investigate the EU’s special envoy on Ethiopia. In nesses have largely blamed Ethiopian cited abuses by both sides, calling on the incident, stating that the group February he said he had “two intensive and Eritrean forces for forced starva- “all actors in the current crisis to ensure “follows the Geneva Convention which days in substantive meetings” with tion, mass expulsions, gang rapes and that international human rights norms does not condone the killing of civilians Abiy – the Nobel Peace Prize winner in more. and standards are respected.” during armed conflict.” 2019 – and other “key ministers” about Haavisto’s remarks emerged as “This includes upholding the obliga- The U.N. statement called for “those the growing humanitarian crisis in Ti- Ethiopia prepares to vote in a national tion to minimize collateral harm to ci- responsible for human rights violations gray, where thousands of civilians have election on Monday, the first major test vilians and to civilian infrastructure, to be held accountable, including the been killed and famine has begun in a at the polls for Abiy as he seeks to cen- and prohibiting the application of col- perpetrators and their chain of com- region of some 6 million people. Ethio- tralize power under his Prosperity Par- lective punishments against communi- mand.” pian and allied forces from neighboring ty. ties, families or individuals,” the U.N. Tuesday’s burning of Kinma village Eritrea have been accused of atrocities Abiy was awarded the Nobel Peace office said. in the Magway Region of central Myan- while pursuing fighters supporting Ti- Prize in 2019 a year after he took office The statement noted the discovery mar was also a matter of dispute. gray’s former leaders. and introduced dramatic political re- of two mass graves in the eastern state A resident of the village confirmed to It is not known from Haavisto’s re- forms while sidelining Tigray leaders of Kayin, also called Karen, containing The Associated Press accounts in inde- marks this week which Ethiopian offi- who had dominated Ethiopia’s govern- the human remains of 25 people “who pendent media that government troops cials made the comments about wiping ment for years in a coalition with other had reportedly been detained on May 31 were responsible for burning down out ethnic Tigrayans. ethnic-based parties. by the Karen National Defense Organi- most of the village’s roughly 250 “When I met the Ethiopian leader- Months of growing tensions be- zation,” or KNDO. houses, and that an elderly couple un- ship in February, they really used this tween Abiy’s government and Tigray’s The KNDO is one of the fighting able or unwilling to flee with the rest of kind of language, that they are going to ruling party followed, and the forces of the Karen National Union, the the villagers were believed to have per- destroy the Tigrayans, they are going to prime minister in November accused political organization of the Karen eth- ished in the blaze. wipe out the Tigrayans for 100 years Tigray forces of attacking a military nic minority that has been fighting for Government-controlled media, and so forth,” Haavisto said. base. decades for more autonomy from the however, reported that “terrorists” “If you wipe out your national mi- The U.S. earlier this year asserted central government. were responsible for the conflagration, nority, well, what is it?” Haavisto add- that ethnic cleansing is occurring in The junta said Sunday that the 25 charging that they had burned down ed. “You cannot destroy all the people, western Tigray. The term refers to forc- bodies were those of road construction the home of someone unsympathetic you cannot destroy all the population ing a population from a region through workers who were detained and killed to their cause, and that the wind had in Tigray. And I think that’s very obvi- expulsions and other violence, often by the KNDO. then spread the fire. ous, that we have to react, because it including killings and rapes.

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