Yuko Tojo

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Yuko Tojo as a young girl with her grandmother and grandfather, Hideki Tojo

Yuko Tojo (東條由布子, Tōjō Yūko^?, born 1939) is a granddaughter of General Hideki Tojo, the wartime prime minister who was hanged as a war criminal after World War II. Tojo is a right-wing activist and political hopeful.

In May 2007, Tojo revealed her intention to run in the House of Councillors election, pledging to work to realize the enshrinement of all of Japan's military war dead at the controversial Yasukuni Shrine. Her grandfather is one of the 14 Class-A war criminals honoured at the Shinto shrine. She claims Japan's war was one of self-defense and that it was unfair that her grandfather was judged a Class-A war criminal. She subsequently failed to be elected.

Tojo also heads a nonprofit organization working on environmental conservation.

She is an assenter of The Truth about Nanjing (movie).^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Quotes

"Japan did not fight a war of aggression. It fought in self-defense. Our children have been wrongly taught that their ancestors did evil things, that their country is evil. We need to give these children back their pride and confidence." (quoted in Associated Press article by Hiroko Tabuchi, June 11, 2007)

"In Japan, there are no war criminals. Every one of those enshrined at Yasukuni died fighting for their country, and we should honor them." (Quoted in Associated Press article by Hiroko Tabuchi, June 11, 2007)

"Many people, including Kyuma, believe that the atomic bombs stopped Japan's 'aggression,' but Japan did not fight a war of aggression," said Tojo, who claimed the war was fought to liberate the "nonwhite" colonies in Asia from the "whites." "If there was one mistake, however, it was the fact that we lost. And if my grandfather is to blame, it's not because he started the war but because we lost." (quoted in Japan Times article, by Setsuko Kamiya, July 11, 2007)

"People think I'm a hawk, but I'm actually a dove on the torii of Yasukuni Shrine." (quoted in Japan Times article, by Setsuko Kamiya, July 11, 2007)