He could further stabilize postwar Japan and legitimize Japanese officials working with the United States. They also warned that deposing the emperor might embitter the Japanese public and open the way later to a revanchist regime. Failure to extirpate the imperial system would lead to regrowth of a radical political culture bent on renewed conquest.
Memories of recent German history in this regard were all too pointed. To counter this propaganda and hopefully to mobilize leadership elements pushing for peace, the United States, Great Britain, and China issued the Potsdam Declaration. The only promise pertinent to the emperor was the pledge that after occupation and satisfactory demonstration that Japan was peaceful, the Japanese people would be free to choose their own form of government.
This clearly allowed the Japanese people to retain the imperial institution if they so choose. He would thus be empowered to block any occupation reform. This clearly was wholly unacceptable. It also illuminates how mistaken were later claims that Japan was only asking for retention of a figurehead emperor.
The US response to this ploy explicitly stated that the emperor would be subordinate to the occupation commander. The emperor had heard the plans for the attack and approved. Given the current conditions, I could say we have practically won already. A bookseller, a man named Takeo Hatano, owns the memo, and had kept it under wraps for nearly a decade.
Yakahisa Furukawa, a Japanese scholar from the University of Nihon, has verified the memo, however, and points out that there is little possibility Tojo could have proceeded with plans to attack the United States if Hirohito had not given at least tacit agreement.
The discovery of a Pearl Harbor veteran in the family tree leads to discovery of service and sacrifice. Kodo promoted subordination of the individual to the state and encouraged imperialist expansion. Hirohito presided over the invasion of China, the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and eventually, the Japanese surrender to the Allies. Many historical sources have portrayed Hirohito as powerless, constrained by military advisers that were making all the decisions.
Some have even portrayed him as pacifist. Hirohito was not tried for war crimes, as many members of the Japanese government were. But a growing number of scholars, including Herbert P. Bix in his Pulitzer Prize-winning biography, have said that Hirohito wielded more power than he is given credit for. There are clear historical examples, however, where Hirohito decisively exercised his power. In , for example, he moved swiftly to put down a coup among Japanese military leaders.
This cleared the way for the elevation of the hawkish and dictatorial Hideki Tojo. Bix and others also fault Hirohito for some of the more egregious crimes committed by the Japanese military. He also knew about mistreatment of prisoners of war, and about killings of civilians in Nanking, but did nothing to stop the practices or punish military leaders which he could have done.
These cases fit a larger pattern of Hirohito being blamed for inaction. This inaction persisted even where action could have prevented war. The invasion of Manchuria started without orders from Tokyo, but Hirohito acquiesced after being assured that the military could succeed in expanding his empire. As a child, Hirohito was separated from his parents, as was custom, and given an imperial education at the Gakushuin School, also known as the Peers' School.
He later attended a special institute which conditioned him to become emperor and was formally given the title of crown prince on November 2, Years later, in , he became the first crown prince of Japan to travel abroad and study, voyaging to Europe. In November , shortly after his return to Japan, Hirohito was appointed acting ruler of Japan due to his father's failing health. On January 26, , he married Princess Nagako later Empress Nagako , a distant cousin of royal blood. The couple would eventually have seven children.
On December 25, , following the death of his father, Hirohito succeeded him as emperor, taking the th Chrysanthemum Throne.
Shortly after Hirohito's induction as emperor, Japan found itself in a state of unrest. While his reign saw an incredible amount of political turmoil, he remained a gentle man who allegedly had limited influence over the military and its politics. Soon, the military began to revolt, resulting in the assassination of many public officials, including Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi. Hirohito was a reluctant supporter of the occupation of Manchuria, which led to the second Sino-Japanese War.
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