In September 1945, following Japan’s surrender, [Hideki] Tojo tried to resist capture by the Americans by committing suicide – shooting himself in the heart. With US military police pounding at his door, his doctor used a piece of charcoal to draw a circle on Tojo's chest, pinpointing the exact location where Tojo should aim. However, Tojo somehow missed, shooting himself in the stomach. "I am very sorry it is taking me so long to die", he mumbled as he was arrested, "I await for the righteous judgment of history. I wished to commit suicide but sometimes that fails." Nationalists were appalled that Tojo, having advocated suicide to his countrymen, had failed to take his own life. His use of a gun was considered cowardly – it should have been a samurai sword.
Having been nursed back to health, Tojo was tried as a war criminal and found guilty. At his trial, he declared, "It is natural that I should bear entire responsibility for the war in general, and, needless to say, I am prepared to do so."
Along with six other 'Class A' war criminals, Hideki Tojo, a week shy of his 64th birthday, was executed by hanging on 23 December 1948.
Source: History in an Hour: Death of Hideki Tojo
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