Toshio Shiratori: Promoter of Fascist Alliance of Germany, Italy and Japan
By Wang Xiliang
Toshio Shiratori was born in Chiba in 1887. After graduating from the Law School of Tokyo University, he held a post in the Foreign Ministry, and was sent to the US and Germany successively to work for the Japanese embassy. In 1930 he was appointed Director of Information Bureau under the Foreign Ministry. Since then he began to keep in close touch with the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters, advocating implementing hard-line diplomatic policies and vigorously promoting Japan"s military expansion.
After the September 18 Incident in 1931, China appealed to the League of Nations to stop Japan"s aggression. By the yearend the League of Nations sent a fact-finding mission headed by Victor A.G.R. Lytton to Manchuria. The Report of the Commission of Enquiry into the Sino-Japanese Dispute written by Lytton recognized China"s legal sovereignty rights over the three northeastern provinces and pointed out that Manchukuo was a puppet regime created by Japan. Shiratori stood up for the General Headquarters and the Kwantung Army, and incited the government to reject Lytton"s report. Finally Japan withdrew from the League of Nations. Therefore Shiratori won the good graces of the General Headquarters and became the ambassador to Sweden soon, starting his diplomatic career of promoting Japan to enter into alliance with Nazi Germany and Italy.
Promising in private to go to war if Germany and Italy under attack
In 1938 Shiratori assumed the office of ambassador to Italy. In August 1938 Nazi Germany proposed to then Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoye to form a tripartite military alliance among Germany, Italy and Japan. The proposal was eventually voted down by Konoye"s divided cabinet. In January 1939 Kiichiro Hiranuma succeeded Konoye to form a new cabinet. In order to defeat the UK and France and seek European domination, Germany raised its plan to Japan once again, hoping it to pin down the forces of the US, UK and Soviet Union on the Asian battleground.
Nazi Germany"s plan won vigorous backing from Shiratori and Ambassador to Germany Hiroshi Oshima, who later jointly submitted a written statement to the cabinet to voice their favor. At the cabinet meeting to discuss Germany"s proposal, War Minister Seishiro Itagaki and Vice War Minister Hideki Tojo also enthusiastically endorsed forming the tripartite alliance, holding that in that way would the UK and the US" military aid to Chiang Kai-shek"s government be greatly weakened, and thus Japan be able to extricate itself from the Chinese battleground.
The navy and Foreign Minister Hachiro Arita, although in favor of the tripartite alliance, maintained that the Soviet Union was Japan"s main enemy, and Japan should avoid conflicts with the UK and the US. Shiratori and Oshima were requested to convey the message to Germany and Italy. Astonishingly, claiming that the cabinet didn"t make an explicit statement that Japan would not make war upon the UK and the US, the two ambassadors with the army as their powerful patron openly refused to forward the message. This was indeed a rare case even during wartime.
