What was emperor hirohito about?

Answer 1

Hirohito was the 124th Emperor of Japan from December 25, 1926 to January 7, 1989. He was previously Regent from 1921 to 1926. He chose "Showa" ("Enlightened Peace") as name of his reign era.

Between 1926 and 1945, Hirohito was revered as a "living god". The Emperor ruled over Japan as leader of an oligarchy with a pluralistic decision making process. Hirohito governed by arbitration, seeking consensus within the oligarchy. When it was not possible to forge consensus, the Emperor had the power to resolve it by imposing a decision (for example, in 1942 Hirohito imposed the execution of three captive American airmen of the Doolittle Squadron [against the wishes of the Prime Minister, Gen. Tojo, who wanted to keep alive all the eight prisoners], and keeping alive the other five [against the wishes of the Chief of Staff of the Army, Gen. Sugiyama, who wanted to execute all of them]).

Hirohito ruled Japan during the Japanese expansion in East Asia and during World War II. As for his attitude regarding the start of the war, Prince Konoe (Prime Minister from 1937 to 1939 and from 1940 to 1941) told his chief cabinet secretary, Kenji Tomita: "Of course His Majesty is a pacifist, and there is no doubt he wished to avoid war. When I told him that to initiate war was a mistake, he agreed. But the next day, he would tell me: "You were worried about it yesterday, but you do not have to worry so much." Thus, gradually, he began to lean toward war. And the next time I met him, he leaned even more toward war. In short, I felt the Emperor was telling me: my prime minister does not understand military matters, I know much more. In short, the Emperor had absorbed the view of the army and navy high commands".

After Japan's defeat by the United States, the American occupying forces let him keep his throne in exchange of his acceptance of a new Constitution which stripped him of his former powers and "divinity". The Americans considered the survival of the Imperial Institution as an essential tool for a stable occupation of Japan and to prevent a hypothetical communist rise in that country. Hirohito became a "symbolic" Emperor under the new Constitution until his death in 1989. He was succeeded by his son Akihito.