Hideki Tojo (born Eiku Tojo) was born in Kojimachi District (now Chiyoda), Tokyo, Japan to the Japanese Army infantry Lieutenant (later Lieutenant General) Hidenori Tojo. He followed his father's footsteps and attended the Army Cadet School in 1899 and then the Japanese Military Academy in 1904. In Mar 1905, he completed the courses at the military academy and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the infantry. In 1909, he married Katsuko Ito; they had three sons and four daughters. In 1912, he entered the Army Staff College, completing the program in 1915 and rose to the rank of captain and the commanding officer of the 3rd Imperial Guards Regiment. In Aug 1919, he served in Switzerland as a military attaché. On 10 Aug 1920, he was promoted to the rank of major. In Jul 1921, he served as a military attaché in Germany. On 28 Nov 1922, he became an instructor at the Army Staff College. In 1924, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel. On 8 Mar 1928, he was assigned as a bureau chief in the Japanese Army. On 10 Aug 1928, he was promoted to the rank of colonel. On 1 Aug 1929, he became the commanding officer of the 1st Infantry Regiment; around this time, he became active in militarist politics. In Aug 1931, he became a staff officer with the Army Chief of Staff. On 18 Mar 1933, he was promoted to the rank of major general and served as the Chief of the Personnel Department. In Aug 1934, he became the commanding officer of the 24th Infantry Brigade.
On 21 Sep 1935, Tojo was assigned to the Kwantung Army as the head of its military police. Nicknamed Kamisori, or "Razor", he was known for his decisiveness. On 1 Dec 1935, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general. During the Feb 26 Incident, he stood against the rebels, and emerged the Army's leading political figure. On 1 Mar 1937, he became the chief of staff of the Kwantung Army. He led units of the 1st Independent Mixed Brigade during Operation Chahar in Jul 1937, and deployed his troops to Hobei Province, China after the Second Sino-Japanese War began; with the Kwantung Army, he also played a key role in efficiently utilizing Manchuria's natural resources to feed the hungry Japanese industrial machine. Returning to Japan in May 1938, he became Vice War Minister and Chief of Army Aviation under War Minister Seishiro Itagaki, who was a member of Fumimaro Konoe's cabinet. As head of the Japanese Army's aviation program, he adopted an aggressive stance in conducting pre-emptive strikes against China and Russia. On 22 Jul 1940, he was appointed War Minister by Prime Minister Konoe. In this role, he expanded the Second Sino-Japanese War and was instrumental in forming the alliance between Japan, Germany, and Italy. Japan's expansionist philosophies, which were heavily influenced by Tojo, eventually led to an economic sanctions and then an oil embargo, conducted by several western powers including the United States and Britain. In the cabinet meeting of 14 Oct, which was to be Konoe's last, Tojo noted that
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