Hirohito

A revisionist portrait of Japan's late emperor traces Hirohito's life from birth to death and discusses his involvement in World War II, arguing that Hirohito played a key role in the conflict and that he should have been tried as a war criminal.

Along with Hitler and Mussolini, he was one of the "three most hated men" of WW II, but Emperor Hirohito of Japan became an internationally respected figure during his 63-year reign, which ended with his death in early 1989. Armed with new evidence, however, Behr ( The Last Emperor ) convincingly argues that Hirohito, far from being an innocent tool of the Japanese military, actually sanctioned military expansionism in the 1930s; did little to reverse a tendency toward battlefield confrontation with the U.S.; was fully informed of preparations for the attack on Pearl Harbor; and, in fact, presided over the war to the end. Describing how the Emperor later extricated himself from responsibility for the wartime deaths of millions, Behr concludes that Hirohito was "without doubt the ultimate survivor of all time." And, suggests the author, he set an example of slippery diplomacy that continues to reverberate: Japanese teachers, according to Behr, continue to relate to students a version of military events that characterizes their country as blameless victims of WW II. Photos.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The late emperor Hirohito has been the subject of several biographies, notably David Bergamini's Japan's Imperial Conspiracy (LJ 12/15/71) and Leonard Mosley's Hirohito: Emperor of Japan (LJ 6/15/66). The life and times of Hirohito remain controversial, however, and there is ample need for an ongoing reassessment by responsible writers. Behr, a Newsweek correspondent, presents a well-researched (though in English-language sources only) study that provides a fascinating and probing look at the life of the 20th century's longest-reigning monarch. Behr argues that a generation of Hirohito apologists have propagated the notion that Hirohito was a "peace-loving puppet" who didn't know what his generals and ministers were up to in the 1930s and 1940s; Behr's intention is to "restore the balance." The result, however, is not "balance" but a lawyer's brief for the prosecution.
- John Boyle, California State Univ., Chico
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.