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If he has a conference with any of his economic advisors, he’s going to get a huge shock tomorrow.

As for the “reluctant war Emperor,” it appears to have been one of those myths created by a defeated Axis power, along with the “Honorable Wehrmacht, it was Hitler’s fault” myth. It has become more apparent with the passage of time that “Hirohito as figurehead” was a myth concocted by the Japanese military leadership to shield the Emperor from any war crimes guilt. In effect, they agreed to take all the blame for starting the war. Hara Kiri, if you will. Hirohito was astute enough to play his part in the myth. As World War 2 morphed into the Cold War, it became convenient for the United States to play along with the myth as we needed Japan as a bulwark against Asian communism. Just as we went along with the “honorable Wehrmacht” myth, as the beneficiaries of that myth became the leaders of the Bundeswehr, whom we needed as a bulwark against European Soviet communism.

More modern historical analysis would consider Hirohito an active participant, certainly to the extent of having full knowledge through military briefings, of all of Japan’s expansionist and militarist plans. And he went along willingly with all of them. Was he as culpable as Hitler? I think not, and not by a long shot. But was he a completely innocent figurehead? No, and not by a long shot.

The Japanese militarist leadership certainly bears most of the blame for the continued needless suffering of the Japanese people at this point in the war. But I will give them credit for taking the fall for their Emperor and not throwing him under the bus like Hitler’s cronies did to him. Maybe that’s a Japanese cultural thing. But by preserving the institution of the Emperor, and protecting his legacy, they gave Japan something to hold on to as the Japanese people struggled to rebuild the country the military ruined.

I guess there was a shred of honor among such men.