Emperor Showa And The Pacific War

Mikado Showa Hirohito, as the highest spirit authority and the despotic emperor of the modern Japan, the generalissimo of the land army and navy, without doubt has the responsibility which cannot be shirked for the war. But Mikado was exempted the prosecution and escaped from the trial on the Far East International Military Tribunal, for this reason, the force of right wing in Japan alleged that Mikado was innocent to deny the aggressiveness of the war and exculpated Mikado's responsibility. In many Japanese history works, the responsibility for the foreign war was only attributed to military headquarters or the young military officers, so Mikado, the chief helmsman of the foreign aggression was covered. As a result of this, the question of Mikado's responsibility for the war has become one of argument focal points in the field of history. Just because Chinese were suffered from the Japanese foreign aggression greatly, so many studies about Mikado's responsibility for the war of many countries were concentrated on the aspect of China's being invaded, while it little involved to the Pacific War. And up to the present there are still very little monographs or papers which systemically elaborates this question can be found. Therefore, in this article we want to do some discussion on Mikado's words, deeds and functions around Pacific War one by one. By doing that to illuminate how Mikado participated in decision-making process of the war positively, and also illuminated that Mikado directed the war and influenced the war situation greatly. And in this way to show the Mikado's responsibility for the war, so as to refute the right wing's allegation that Mikado is a false emperor or a pacifist and the validity of the war launched by them.The article is mainly composed of three sections. In section 1, we first elaborated that the outbreak of the Pacific War mainly attributed to the Japan government's foreign aggression and expanding. By analyzing the function and influence of Mikado's words and deeds in the process of south bound policy's establishment and implementation, we show that Mikado can exert a supreme and guiding influence over the making and implementation of the battle plan, and we also refute the viewpoint that Mikado was hoodwinked before planning to still-hunt Pearl Harbor. And at last we emphasized that Mikado, just after having studied the all sorts of conditions, discussed with military headquarters repeatedly and listened to high-ranking officials' suggestions before making the "wise decision" that dig up the hatchet with the UK and USA.In section 2, we mainly narrated how Mikado positively participated in the process of war decision-making, and just by doing that we divulged that Mikado was "Mr. of the inactivity" in the war to be a false appearance. In the initial stage of the war, Mikado, being in raptures over their victory, didn't foresee the turning point of the war and even not stir an eyelid on the Midway Island's disastrous defeat. In the Guadalcanal Island battle, just because Mikado unceasingly exerted pressures to the military headquarters and finally caused a disastrous consume for the war. With the deterioration of the war situation, and in order to mediate the internal contradictions and dispute in the allocations of strategic resources and ships, Mikado had to play a positive and direct role over the issue of the state and military. After the Saipan Island defeat, Mikado, facing the growing "anti-Tojo movement", decided to desert Tojo and continued to adhere to the war.In section 3, we have analyzed the truth of "emperor's decision" about the surrender of Japanese. Mikado, having known that they were certain to lose the war, in order to keep his own dominant status, still adhered to the war and caused huge destructions which could have avoid to native place of Japan. Throughout the war time, nearly all significant military actions or plans were made by Mikado or at the command conference. In other words, Mikado should be responsible for the war directly, and it can be said to a certain extent that: he was just the true manipulator of the Japan's war machine. However, the postwar history viewpoint of the political circle in Japan caused it to be blurry.Finally, we deemed Mikado to be neither a warmonger nor a pacifist for he had hesitated to launch the war before. And it was not the original outlook of him. The Mikado had not been hasty, but had considered and discussed with the head of the arm and the minister repeatedly to launch the war. That was "emperor decision". And just the "emperor decision" caused more 30 million peoples of many countries (barring Japan) to be massacred and 3100 thousand Japanese to be killed. So, the Mikado should be responsible for the war without question.