Kuniaki Koiso

Kuniaki Koiso was born on March 22, 1880, in Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture, the first son of a chief inspector of police and a former samurai. He graduated from the Imperial Japanese Army Academy in 1900 and the Army Staff College in 1910. He served in various positions in the army, including the chief of staff of the Kwantung Army, the commander in chief of the Japanese Korean Army, and the governor-general of Korea. He was also a minister of colonial affairs in two cabinets. He became the prime minister of Japan in July 1944, after the resignation of Hideki Tojo, but he had little power and influence over the military and the government. He tried to end the war by seeking peace negotiations with the Allies, but he was opposed by the hardliners and the emperor. He resigned in April 1945, after the loss of Iwo Jima, the Philippines, and Okinawa. He was arrested by the American occupation forces and tried by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East for war crimes. He was found guilty of waging aggressive war and mistreating prisoners of war and civilians. He was sentenced to life imprisonment and died of esophageal cancer in Sugamo Prison in 1950.