Saburō Kurusu

Saburō Kurusu Historical Figure Nationality: Japan Year of Birth: 1886 Year of Death: 1954 Cause of Death: Natural causes Occupation: Diplomat, Educator Spouse: Alice Little Children: Three Fictional Appearances:

Saburō Kurusu (来栖 三郎 Kurusu Saburō?, 6 March 1886 - 7 April 1954) was a Japanese career diplomat. As Imperial Japan's ambassador to Germany from 1939 to November 1941, he signed the Tripartite Pact along with the foreign ministers of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy on 27 September 1940 to create the Axis.

Kurusu is probably best remembered now as an envoy who tried to negotiate peace and understanding with the United States while Japan was secretly preparing the attack on Pearl Harbor. He met several times with Secretary of State Cordell Hull in November 1941, conveying Japan's demand that the U.S. end support for China and resume trade relations that had been frozen in 1939. Hull responded with President Franklin D. Roosevelt's demand that Japan evacuate China and break ties with the Axis. The Japanese government found these demands unacceptable, and informed Kurusu to sever relations with the U.S. Kurusu delivered this message just as the attack on Pearl Harbor began.

Kurusu was interned until mid-1942, when he was exchanged for U.S. ambassador Joseph Grew. He was never suspected of any war crimes. He became a visiting professor at the University of Tokyo after World War II. For the remainder of his life, Kurusu insisted he had no idea that the attack on Pearl Harbor was imminent while he was negotiating with Hull.

Saburō Kurusu in Days of Infamy

Days of Infamy POD: March, 1941; Relevant POD: December 7, 1941
Appearance(s):	Days of Infamy
Type of Appearance:	Contemporary reference

In November 1941, Japanese special envoy Saburō Kurusu was locked in futile negotiations for trading relations with the United States. Unknown to most, perhaps even to Kurusu himself, a massive Japanese invasion force was already on its way to Hawaii.

Saburō Kurusu in Joe Steele

Joe Steele POD: 1878; Relevant POD: July, 1932
Novel or Story?:	Novel only
Type of Appearance:	Contemporary reference
Political Office(s):	Foreign Minister

Saburō Kurusu was Japan's Foreign Minister in 1941. In November 1941 he traveled to the United States and personally met with President Joe Steele, demanding that the U.S. to unfreeze Japanese assets in the U.S. and for the U.S. to start selling Japan raw materials. Steele wanted Japanese forces to evacuate from China in exchange. Kurusu refused, affirming Japan's right to an overseas empire.

The Steele administration incorrectly assumed that Japan was far too dependent on American resources to be a viable threat. Moreover, Kurusu's demands were met with racist contempt by Steele and his aides. Vince Scriabin, for example, was particularly dismissive of Kurusus' belief that he was as "good as a white man," and that once the Japanese government realized just how dire their situation was without U.S. scrap, Kurusu would be a far more humble man in future negotiations.

On December 7, 1941, however, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, disproving Steele's racist assumptions.