There is a lot of controversy about Hirohito. Some people think that he is the chief culprit of the Japanese launching the Second World War, while others think that he is only a puppet of the military department and has no real power. However, it is undeniable that he turned a blind eye to the growing strength of the military department. He has the right to punish soldiers who do not listen to instructions, but he did not do so, but was optimistic.
Hirohito has a famous saying: "The problem is not what we have done, but the reaction of the whole world to what we have done", which means that he cares most about his reputation and responsibility.
After Japan surrendered, the Soviet Union, China, Britain, Australia, New Zealand and other countries listed Hirohito as Japan's number one war criminal. British Prime Minister Attlee and Soviet Commander Stalin called MacArthur respectively, demanding that the war criminal Emperor Hirohito be severely punished, and suggested hanging after a public trial.
MacArthur, considering that in order to foster an ally in the Cold War with the Soviet Union in the Far East, a Japan in chaos due to the trial and execution of the emperor is not conducive to the interests of the United States, and the Mikado system can play a role in rallying Japan's conservative anti-communist forces, so MacArthur himself supports giving up investigating the emperor's war responsibility, and hereby sends an urgent telegram report to the then US President Truman:
"Japanese nationals ... have worshipped the Japanese emperor for more than one hundred years. In the Pacific War, a few militarists used this as a fanatical means to incite nationalism and called on the emperor to sacrifice himself. After the war, the Japanese people's worship of Emperor Hirohito increased, and they regarded him as a national god. In my opinion, if Emperor Hirohito is executed by public trial, the pillars of Japan's national beliefs will be completely disintegrated, and even crazy riots and riots against allies will be triggered across Japan. The execution of Hirohito is unacceptable throughout Japan, and the future of our reconstruction and transformation in Japan is unimaginable, and the result may be a historical tragedy.
Therefore, as the plenipotentiary representative of the allied countries in Japan, I decided to exempt Emperor Hirohito from prosecution for war responsibility out of consideration for Japan's future fate.
If the Allied Forces decide to arrest and execute the Emperor as a war criminal, the Allied Forces Command in Japan will need to reinforce 6,543,800 combat troops. ...
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Washington quickly called back to agree with MacArthur, so MacArthur issued the first order of Allied Command:
For the sake of Japan's future and national belief, the Allies decided not to pursue the responsibility of waging war against Emperor Hirohito of Japan, and not to prosecute and arrest him. In the future, Hirohito's personal status and personal freedom should be protected by the Constitution like other Japanese nationals.
Masayasu Yasuka, a visiting scholar at Rikkyo University in Japan, believes that the emperor is responsible for the war: "Even if the emperor is only a rubber stamp, he is the only person in the army who has the right to speak. Moreover, in reality, many people dare to give their lives by shouting' Long live the emperor'. "
Mou Tian Changping, a senior researcher at Japan's Asian Historical Archives Center, believes that there are differences in how Japan treats the history of aggression today, partly because Hirohito's wartime responsibility has not been liquidated after the war: "Germany has Hitler. Italy has Mussolini. However, Japan lacks matching figures. " This may be partly because of Japan's national characteristics-the Japanese are used to avoiding clarifying the responsibilities that individuals should bear. "
Japanese leftist writer Kato, one of the founders of the Nine-Article Meeting organized by seven people including Nobel Prize in Literature winner Kenzaburo Oe, said on Monday: "I have seen so many values sacrificed in the name of patriotism, especially human life-individuals are required to sacrifice themselves for the emperor in the war. What a nuisance! "