Hirohito, Emperor of JapanHirohito was the Emperor of the Japanese Empire from 1926-1989, and thus was in control of the IJN (Imperial Japanese Navy) and IJA (Imperial Japanese Army) during the Pacific War.
Hirohito succeeded from his deceased father, Yoshihito, as Emperor on December 25, 1926 at the age of 25 years. Immediately he was thrown into control of a Japan ridden of financial difficulty and a military gaining more and more power within the government. The years ahead saw violent political conflict between government parties. After a prime minister was fired, another mortally wounded and another assassinated, a full military coup was introduced by the Emperor and then commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Hirohito greatly objected against the abhorrent actions committed by soldiers during the Nanking Massacre, when the Japanese army raped, killed and tortured more than 200,000 Chinese civilians. He failed to bring those responsible to justice however, due to the rising power of the military in the government at the time and his fear that they might force him out of the throne. In 1940, Hirohito signed the Tripartite Pact with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy thus forming the Axis Powers. As Japanese troops continued to annex more of South-east Asia, the US placed an oil and steel embargo along with other economic sanctions on Japan. This led to Hirohito's ultimate decision to attack the Pearl Harbour naval base near Honolulu and bring the US into the war. Hirohito Post War
After the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, Hirohito made a formal radio announcement declaring Japan's surrender from World War II.
Despite the atrocities occurring during the Second World War, Hirohito was not tried for any war crimes under US occupation. General Douglas MacArthur, who was put in direct charge of running Japan post-war, realised that it would have thrown the country into hysteria due to Hirohito being looked upon as almost like a god to the people of Japan. As a result, Emperor Hirohito showed gratitude towards the US after the war, saying during a speech while on a visit to the United States, 'I deeply thank you Mister Nixon. You have brought Japan a long way.' |