Kiichirō Hiranuma was a Japanese lawyer and politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan in 1939.
Hiranuma in 1939
Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal Kurahei Yuasa visits Chairman of the Privy Council Hiranuma in preparation to visit the kingmaker Lord Saionji for final selection of the next Prime Minister, 31 May 1937.
The Hiranuma Cabinet, including Minister-without-Portfolio Fumimaro Konoe (to the right of Hiranuma), Interior Minister Kōichi Kido (second row, between Hiranuma and Konoe), Naval Minister Mitsumasa Yonai (back row, with dark military suit) and War Minister Seishirō Itagaki (to the right of Yonai, with light military suit), 5 January 1939.
Prince Fumimaro Konoe was a Japanese politician who served as prime minister of Japan from 1937 to 1939 and from 1940 to 1941. He presided over the Japanese invasion of China in 1937 and the breakdown in relations with the United States, which ultimately culminated in Japan's entry into World War II. He also played a central role in transforming his country into a totalitarian state by passing the State General Mobilization Law and founding the Imperial Rule Assistance Association by dissolving all other political parties.
Fumimaro Konoe
Konoe in his 20s
Konoe reading imperial rescript as president of the House of Peers, 1936
Konoe and his first cabinet ministers in 1937
