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Sugihara, Chiune

(Encyclopedia)Sugihara, Chiune, 1900–1986, Japanese diplomat who saved several thousand European Jews during World War II. He served (1920–22) in the army, then joined the Japanese foreign ministry. In 1939 he ...

Claudel, Paul

(Encyclopedia)Claudel, Paul klōdĕlˈ [key], 1868–1955, French dramatist, poet, and diplomat. He was ambassador to Tokyo (1921–27), Washington, D.C. (1927–33), and Brussels (1933–35). Claudel's writings d...

Hosokawa, Morihiro

(Encyclopedia)Hosokawa, Morihiro mōˌrēhēˈrō hōˌsōkäˈwä [key], 1938–, Japanese politician, a member of a noble family and grandson of Fumimaro Konoye. A journalist and member of the Liberal Democratic ...

Fukuda, Takeo

(Encyclopedia)Fukuda, Takeo, 1905–95, Japanese politician, b. Gunma prefecture, prime minister of Japan (1976–78). Born into a wealthy farming family, he studied law at Tokyo Imperial Univ. (grad. 1929). After ...

Miyazawa, Kiichi

(Encyclopedia)Miyazawa, Kiichi kē-ēˈchē mēˌäzäˈwä [key], 1919–2007, Japanese politician, b. Fukuyama. A member of an eminent political family, he graduated from Tokyo Univ. and served in the finance min...

Kishi, Nobusuke

(Encyclopedia)Kishi, Nobusuke nōbo͝osˈkā kēˈshē [key], 1896–1987, Japanese statesman; older brother of Eisaku Sato. The son of a minor official, he went to live with prosperous relatives and took their nam...

Leclerc, Jacques Philippe

(Encyclopedia)Leclerc, Jacques Philippe ləklĕrˈ [key], 1902–47, French general. His real name was Philippe, vicomte de Hauteclocque, but he adopted the name Leclerc in World War II. Commanding the Free French...

Pu Yi

(Encyclopedia)Pu Yi po͞o yē [key] or Henry Pu-yi, Manchu Aisin Gioro, 1906–67, last emperor (1908–12) of China, under the reign name Hsuan T'ung. After his abdication, the new republican government granted hi...

Dazai, Osamu

(Encyclopedia)Dazai, Osamu sho͞oˈjē tso͞oˈshĭmä [key], 1909–48, Japanese novelist. Considered one of the foremost fiction writers of 20th-century Japan, Dazai was noted for his ironic and gloomy wit, his o...