Fumimaro Konoe (近衞文麿, Konoe Fumimaro ) (October 12th 1891 - December 16th 1945) was a politician Japan board: the 34eme Prime Minister of Japan (mandate of the June 4th 1937 with the January 5th 1939), the 38eme (mandate of the July 22nd 1940 - July 18th 1941) and the 39eme (mandate of the July 18th 1941 - October 18th 1941)

It is downward Clan Fujiwara and one of the principal theorists of the Expansionnisme of Japan Showa. His/her father had been active in his country on the political plan. He was even a potential candidate at the post of Prime Minister when he died in 1904. Living in powerful a noble family, Konoe accepted an excellent education, in particular learning English and German.

In 1937, at the time of its first mandate like Prime Minister, Konoe recommended to the Empereur Showa the invasion of China. Under its supervision, the two principal works of propaganda of the mode Showa were published: Kokutai No hongi , " Bases of the policy nationale" (1937) and Shinmin No michi , " The Way of the sujet" (1941). In 1940 its government promulgated a national Loi on the Eugénisme , adopted the concept of the Sphère of Co-prosperity of large Eastern Asia and concludes on September 27th the tripartite Pacte with Germany and Italy.

He resigned in October 1941, convinced to have lost the confidence of the Empereur Showa and incompetent to prevent the release of the war of Large Eastern Asia. He recommnda as successor the prince Naruhiko Higashikuni but the emperor rejected this recommendation, preferring Hideki Tojo to him.

With the Empress Teimei, the princes Nobuhito Takamatsu and Naruhiko Higashikuni, Konoe was one of the craftsmen of the dismissal of Hideki Tojo by Hirohito in 1944. In February 1945, he advised with this last to take immediate measures to put a term at the war but according to the great chamberlain Hisanori Fujita, this recommendation was firmly rejected by the emperor in search of a last great victory. (Fujita Hisanori, Jijûcho No kaisô , 1987, p.66-67, Herbert Bix, Hirohito and the Making off Modern Japan , 2001, p.489.

Having refused to collaborate with the team of Douglas MacArthur to make so that Hirohito and the imperial family is exonerated from criminal continuations in front of the Tribunal of Tokyo, it committed suicide on December 16th, 1945 to avoid seeing itself even assigning to him in front of international justice.