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Hirohito wanted to admit his war shame By Colin Joyce in Tokyo (Filed: 12/06/2003) Emperor Hirohito considered making an astonishing personal apology for the Second World War in which he was to express "deep shame at my immorality", according to a newly discovered document. Emperor Hirohito pictured in full army uniform in 1943 The short speech, which was never delivered, was written by Michiji Tajima, who was from 1948 to 1953 the head of the Imperial Household Agency, the Japanese equivalent of Buckingham Palace. Though the document is in Mr Tajima's handwriting, there is little doubt it was written on...

Tuesday, June 10, 2003 at 09:00 JST TOKYO — A draft of an apology speech thought to have been in preparation for Emperor Hirohito to give after World War II has been found among the papers of a late former chief of the imperial household office, a former Sophia University lecturer said Monday. Kyoko Kato said she was going through documents of Michiji Tajima, who headed what is now the Imperial Household Agency from 1948, when she found the draft of the speech, handwritten by Tajima using a fountain pen on two sheets of paper. The draft speech, estimated to...

Lest we Forget...December 7, 1941A day that will live in infamy...   USS West Virginia in fire in Pearl Harbor Shortly before 8 AM on December 7, 1941, the Japanese Navy, employing the largest naval attack force ever assembled, launched an unprovoked, sneak attack on the US Pacific Fleet, that lay at rest at Pearl Harbor and on surrounding military bases.  Within short order, 5 of the 8 battleships docked on "Battleship Row" were either sunk or sinking and the rest were severely damaged.  Several other smaller ships and most of Hawaii's combat aircraft were damaged or destroyed, as well. ...

Mixed feelings over San Pedro film event NO SHOW: Insensitivity to Japanese-Americans is cited. Vets are stunned. By Donna Littlejohn DAILY BREEZE It was going to be a night to remember. Ushers dressed in World War II military uniforms, vintage cars pulling up to the curb, Pearl Harbor survivors and a recently restored 1940s military searchlight would be on hand Dec. 7 to greet the crowds at a special anniversary showing of “Tora! Tora! Tora!” at San Pedro’s historic Warner Grand Theatre. The 1970 film — a joint American and Japanese production — is considered one of the most accurate...