Significant research supports the premise that Hirohito needed to remain in power after the Japanese surrender in World War II to aid the United States. During the war Hirohito and his staff worked with the U.S. occupation authorities to protect the emperor against impending war crimes. The United States and Hirohito mutually benefited from this relationship because it eased relations between the U.S. and the Japanese and Hirohito did not face charges as a war criminal.

The purpose of these relationships included protecting the p

There is much evidence suggesting that Hirohito would have been persecuted to the fullest extent had he participated in the war crimes tribunal. The decision to actively engage in war against the United States and approve the attack on Pearl Harbor was according to many historians, "long in coming" (Wetzler 33). Documentary evidence exists suggesting this attack was long planned and well thought out, with direct involvement from emperor Hirohito (Wetzler 33). Historical documents showed that the attack on Pearl Harbor was explained with much detail to the emperor and approved by the emperor in 1941 (Wetzler 35). After the attack however Hirohito claimed that he was informed of the military plans only after they had occurred, and suggested that he wasn't aware of the objectives of attacks, which included dismantling the U.S. fleets (Wetzler 35). Because of this controversial information Hirohito would likely have been severely punished and sentenced to death possibly as a result of his war crimes. Studies suggest that detailed information including outlines of the attack on Pearl Harbor were sent to the emperor (Wetzler 36). In September of 1945 General MacArthur ordered Japanese leaders involved in attacks against the U.S. arrested for trial (Large 135). Emperor Hirohito however is credited at the time with interacting with General MacArthur in a "noble spirited way" taking full responsibility for his actions, and this may have influenced Macarthur's perceived leniency and sparing of the emperor's life (Large 135). Macarthur had concluded however prior to meeting with Hirohito that the Occupation should retain the Emperor to help bring peace and democracy to Japan (Large 135).

Many of the people in Japan reveled in their "new found freedom and opportunities to voice complaints and seek improvements in their working and living conditions" (Tipton 149). Some eagerly formed labor unions (Tipton 149). Many worked eagerly and happily in conjunction with the Occupation to help establish their equality as employees in Japan but also as citizens of the country, and worked to secure higher wages and demand reforms that helped support the needs of workers (Tipton 150). Land reforms were among the more successful reforms initiated by the Occupation, helping improve the status of many Japanese residents (Tipton 149). Other economic reforms aimed at dissolving monopolies in the country and eliminating business conglomerates that were "considered to be the pillars of Japanese militarism and feudalism" (Tipton 150). Small and medium size companies began booming and receiving more recognition; reform also came in the way of education, with intense campaigns derived at eliminating nationalist curricula and new directives calling for history revision and "moral education" structured toward decentralization and democratized principles (Tipton 151).

Hirohito's Japan after the war was more reflective of the Emperor's need to preserve the practical and ideological "continuity" of Japan during the time, which carried along with it much "symbolic importance" (Large 144). While the American's viewed Japanese democracy more along the lines of "liberal idealism" which stressed "direct popular participation in politics" and government accountability, Hirohito's approach more resulted from varying origins and "was decidedly more conservative and patrician in character" (Large 144). While Hirohito "repudiated militarism and imperialist aggression" as well as political extremism, the postwar government as interpreted by Japanese leaders mirrored more of an elite bureaucratic system that was supported by large businesses and focused around the activities of the Emperor and his staff (Large 145).

During World War II Japan became politically an enemy of the United States, initiating what many have referred to as "terrorism in the form of warships that attacked and invaded American soil" (Prideaux 1). The Japanese military engaged willfully in

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Approximate Word count = 6158
Approximate Pages = 25 (250 words per page double spaced)