Japan's military campaigns) alarmed Konoe, who wanted to avoid war with the United States. Konoe and the military hierarchy colluded to get rid of Matsuoka. To this end, Konoe resigned in July 1941 and his cabinet ministers resigned with him, including Matsuoka. Konoe immediately was made prime minister again, and replaced Matsuoka as Foreign Minister with Admiral Teijirō Toyoda. When the Pacific war broke out, Matsuoka professed, "Entering into the Tripartite Pact was the mistake of my life. Even now I still keenly feel it. Even my death won't take away this feeling." Matsuoka subsequently drifted into obscurity and lived in retirement through the war years. Post-war Following the surrender of Japan, Matsuoka was arrested by the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers in 1945 and held at Sugamo Prison. However, he died in prison of natural causes on June 26, 1946, before his trial on war crimes charges came up before the International Military Tribunal for the Far East. In 1979, he was enshrined in Yasukuni Shrine, together with 12 convicted war criminals of the Pacific War. References Further reading Lu, David, Agony of Choice: Matsuoka Yōsuke and the Rise and Fall of the Japanese Empire (Lexington Books, 2002) "Hotta, Eri, "Japan, 1941" (Alfred A. Knopf, 2013) External links Matsuoka biography From Spartacus Educational 1880 births 1946 deaths Japanese diplomats Christian fascists Government ministers of Japan People from Yamaguchi Prefecture Foreign ministers of Japan World War II political leaders Japanese Christians Japanese fascists University of Oregon School of Law alumni People of Manchukuo Rikken Seiyūkai politicians Members of the House of Representatives (Empire of Japan) Japanese people who died in prison custody Meiji University alumni Hikari, Yamaguchi