This is an eye-opening view of Hirohito's life and times. Having just read the history of Japan, I was curious about how involved the emperor was in the awful fighting that took place between the world wars and during WWII. Hirohito waffled between fear (of his military leaders) and ignoring (the worst) and urging the military along. It is not hard to see how easily the military overran this man. I am still shocked that Hirohito did not stand trial for war crimes (particularly for the Nanking Massacre).
However, I WAS shocked to see that the perpetrators of Nanking, especially Unit 731, were never prosecuted but were granted immunity and RECRUITED TO THE US TO CONDUCT FURTHER RESEARCH AND SHARE THE FINDINGS OF THEIR EXPERIMENTS. I can understand General MacArthur, having spent so much time in Japan and Asia would believe that the Japanese people needed their emperor (and thus did not prosecute him). However, what on earth were the other Americans doing allowing the Nanking disaster to go unpunished? I've read recently that the US also welcomed into the US a variety of the worst of the Nazis of the Holocaust. Unbelievable.
However, I WAS shocked to see that the perpetrators of Nanking, especially Unit 731, were never prosecuted but were granted immunity and RECRUITED TO THE US TO CONDUCT FURTHER RESEARCH AND SHARE THE FINDINGS OF THEIR EXPERIMENTS. I can understand General MacArthur, having spent so much time in Japan and Asia would believe that the Japanese people needed their emperor (and thus did not prosecute him). However, what on earth were the other Americans doing allowing the Nanking disaster to go unpunished? I've read recently that the US also welcomed into the US a variety of the worst of the Nazis of the Holocaust. Unbelievable.
