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Fumimaro Konoye: HemorrhoidsJapanese Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoye suffered from a severe case of hemorrhoids. "In April 1939," according to historian Roger J. Fadness, "the pain he experienced when sitting down was at least partly responsible for his refusal to ride with Minister of Foreign Affairs Yosuke Matsuoka to an important cabinet meeting. This lost opportunity to clear up a misunderstanding with Matsuoka about a U.S. peace proposal may very well have contributed to Japan's entry into World War II."
[Trivia: As war loomed, Yale Professor Kanichi Asakawa (the first Japanese in history to teach at a professorial level at an American college) led a campaign urging President Roosevelt to send a personal letter to Emperor Hirohito. A letter was eventually sent via telegraph. By the time it was received, however, World War II was underway. (The message has come to be known as the "phantom letter of President Roosevelt.")]
Konoye, Fumimaro (1891-1945) Japanese politician, Prime Minister
[Sources: The Book of Lists, p. 305; Japan Local Government Center Newsletter, Issue No. 33. Winter 2000]More Fumimaro Konoye anecdotesRelated Anecdote Keywords:
World War II War Hemorrhoids Sitting Pain Bottoms Revisionist History
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