Episode 55: Emperor Hirohito Before and After the War

“That’s all you have to say! I think the highest symbol of human irresponsibility is the Emperor! Followed by officers like you!” - Okuzaki, The Wages of Guilt: Memories of War in Germany and Japan.

​Emperor Hirohito was a complex political figure of war: he was responsible for the rise and fall of Imperial Japan before and after World War 2. He ascended to the Japanese throne on December 25th, 1926; a significant time in history for the Japanese imperialism view which led to expansionism until Japan’s surrender to the Allied forces at the end of the war. Although he was as responsible as the rest of his army in committing crimes in the Pacific Asia War, he was able to negotiate with the west to escape prosecution. In fact, he was not even called as a witness during the whole Tokyo Trial as his deal with the United States kept the Supreme Shrine out of the trial. Under his leadership, not only did Japan would rise industrially in just 80 years, Japan would emerge a new era in the reconstruction of modern Japan.

References

1. Bix, Herbert P. Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan (New York, 2000).

2. Bix, Hebert P. War Responsibility and Historical Memory: Hirohito's Apparition (Volume 6 | Issue 5 | May 03, 2008).

3. Burma, Ian. The Wages of Guilt: Memories of War in Germany and Japan (New York, 1994)

4. Citino, Robert. < https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/launching-war-hirohito-and-pearl-harbor>

5. Kawamura, Noriko. Emperor Hirohito and the Pacific War (University of Washington Press, 2015).

6. Kitamara, Jun < https://open.library.ubc.ca/cIRcle/collections/ubctheses/831/items/1.0090684>

7. Wetzler, Peter. Hirohito and War: Imperial Tradition and Military Decision Making in Prewar. (University of Hawaii, 1998).