Editing Hirohito (section)

=== Postwar reign ===
[[File:Emperor Hirohito and General MacArthur.jpg|thumb|alt=Black and White photo of two men|[[Gaetano Faillace]]'s photograph of [[Douglas MacArthur|General MacArthur]] and Hirohito at Allied General Headquarters in Tokyo, 27 September 1945]]

After the Japanese surrender in August 1945, there was a large amount of pressure that came from both Allied countries and Japanese leftists that demanded Hirohito step down and be indicted as a war criminal.<ref name="Yinan-He">{{cite book |title=The Search for Reconciliation: Sino-Japanese and German-Polish Relations since World War II |year=2015 |first=Yinan|url=https://archive.org/details/searchforreconci0000heyi/page/124/mode/2up |last=He|publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-51440-8 }}, pp. 125–126</ref> Australia, Britain and 70 percent of the American public wanted Hirohito tried as a Class-A war criminal.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/hirohito-the-war-criminal-who-got-away/ |title=Hirohito, the war criminal who got away |date=20 August 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.archives.gov/files/iwg/japanese-war-crimes/select-documents.pdf |title=Select Documents on Japanese War Crimes and Japanese Biological Warfare, 1934–2006 |last=Cunliffe |first=William H. |website=archives.gov |access-date=12 September 2022}}</ref> General [[Douglas MacArthur]] did not like the idea, as he thought that an ostensibly cooperating emperor would help establish a peaceful allied occupation regime in Japan.<ref name="thediplomat.com">{{cite web |url=https://thediplomat.com/2015/08/should-the-united-states-be-blamed-for-japans-historical-revisionism/ |title=Should the United States be Blamed for Japan's Historical Revisionism? |last=Gady |first=Franz-Stefan |work=The Diplomat |date=15 August 2015 |access-date=12 September 2022}}</ref>{{sfn|Bix|2000|p=545}} MacArthur saw Hirohito as a symbol of the continuity and cohesion of the Japanese people. To avoid the possibility of civil unrest in Japan, any possible evidence that would incriminate Hirohito and his family were excluded from the [[International Military Tribunal for the Far East]].<ref name="thediplomat.com"/> MacArthur created a plan that separated Hirohito from the militarists, retained Hirohito as a constitutional monarch but only as a figurehead, and used Hirohito to retain control over Japan to help achieve American postwar objectives in Japan.{{sfn|Bix|2000|p=545}}

As Hirohito appointed his uncle and daughter's father-in-law, [[Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni]] as the Prime Minister to replace Kantarō Suzuki, who resigned owing to responsibility for the surrender, to assist the American occupation, there were attempts by numerous leaders to have him put on trial for alleged [[war crimes]]. Many members of the imperial family, such as [[Yasuhito, Prince Chichibu|Princes Chichibu]], [[Nobuhito, Prince Takamatsu|Takamatsu]], and Higashikuni, pressured Hirohito to abdicate so that one of the Princes could serve as regent until his eldest son, Crown Prince [[Akihito]] came of age.<ref>Bix, pp. 571–573.</ref>{{incomplete short citation|date=October 2023}} On 27 February 1946, Hirohito's youngest brother, [[Prince Mikasa]], even stood up in the privy council and indirectly urged Hirohito to step down and accept responsibility for Japan's defeat. According to Minister of Welfare Ashida's diary, "Everyone seemed to ponder Mikasa's words. Never have I seen His Majesty's face so pale."<ref>''Ashida Hitoshi Nikki, Dai Ikkan'', Iwanami Shoten, 1986, p. 82.</ref>

Before the war crime trials actually convened, the [[Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers]], its International Prosecution Section (IPS) and Japanese officials worked behind the scenes not only to prevent the Imperial family from being indicted, but also to influence the testimony of the defendants to ensure that no one implicated Hirohito. High officials in court circles and the Japanese government collaborated with Allied General Headquarters in compiling lists of prospective war criminals, while the individuals arrested as ''Class A'' suspects and incarcerated solemnly vowed to protect their sovereign against any possible taint of war responsibility.{{sfn|Dower|1999|p=325}} Thus, "months before the [[Tokyo tribunal]] commenced, MacArthur's highest subordinates were working to attribute ultimate responsibility for Pearl Harbor to [[Hideki Tōjō]]"{{sfn|Dower|1999|p=585}} by allowing "the major criminal suspects to coordinate their stories so that Hirohito would be spared from indictment."{{sfn|Dower|1999|p=583}} According to [[John W. Dower]], "This successful campaign to absolve Hirohito of war responsibility knew no bounds. Hirohito was not merely presented as being innocent of any formal acts that might make him culpable to indictment as a war criminal, he was turned into an almost saintly figure who did not even bear moral responsibility for the war."{{sfn|Dower|1999|p=326}} According to Bix, "MacArthur's truly extraordinary measures to save Hirohito from trial as a war criminal had a lasting and profoundly distorting impact on Japanese understanding of the lost war."<ref>Bix, p. 585.</ref>{{incomplete short citation|date=October 2023}}

[[File:Hirohito Signing.JPG|upright=0.9|right|thumb|Hirohito signing Japan's 1947 constitution]]

Historian [[Gary J. Bass]] presented evidence supporting Hirohito's responsibility in the war, noting that had he been prosecuted as some judges and others advocated, a compelling case could have been constructed against him. However, the Americans were apprehensive that removing the emperor from power and subjecting him to trial could trigger widespread chaos and collapse of Japan, given his revered status among the Japanese populace.<ref name=":2" /> Additionally, the advent of the [[Cold War]] brought about harsh political circumstances. Chiang Kai-shek's Chinese [[Kuomintang|nationalists]] were losing the [[Chinese Civil War]] to [[Mao Zedong]]'s [[Chinese Communist Party]], prompting the [[Truman administration]] to consider the potential [[loss of China]] as an ally and strategic partner. As a result, ensuring Japan's strength and stability became imperative for securing a reliable postwar ally.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |date=19 October 2023 |title=Review {{!}} A riveting history of the Japanese war crimes trial after World War II |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2023/10/19/judgment-tokyo-trial-gary-bass/ |access-date=23 May 2024 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |issn=0190-8286}}{{better source needed|reason=Why are we citing a book review, and not the actual book?|date=November 2024}}</ref>