Shigenori Togo

Shigenori Togo was Japan’s minister of foreign affairs in the final phase of the Second World War. His documented role here is centered on a secret, urgent message sent to Ambassador Naotake Sato on July 12, 1945: it conveyed Emperor Hirohito’s concern about the mounting suffering of the belligerent countries and his desire for a swift end to the war. The exchange exposed both Japan’s search for a way to stop the fighting and the limits of its proposed diplomatic approach.

The July 12 Message

Acting on instructions from Tokyo, Togo told Sato that the Emperor wished to send Prince Konoye as a special envoy to Moscow to discuss ending the war. The message presented the proposal as an effort to pursue peace through the Soviet Union, at a moment when Japan was seeking a way out of the conflict.

Sato’s Response

Sato considered negotiations with the Soviets pointless and said that Vyacheslav Molotov was not interested. He warned Togo that, if Japan truly wanted to end the war, it had no alternative but to accept unconditional surrender or terms very close to it. The response therefore set out a stark gap between the Emperor’s stated desire for a swift termination and the prospects Sato saw for the proposed mission.

The Message’s Wider Significance

American monitors intercepted the communications and passed them to Harry S. Truman. The account also notes Tokyo’s repeated warnings to Sato that Japan would not accept unconditional surrender. Togo’s message thus reached the United States alongside evidence of both an expressed desire to end the war and a continuing refusal of the surrender terms that Sato regarded as unavoidable. The material records this episode but does not establish what further role Togo played in the subsequent diplomatic or military decisions.