Emperor Hirohito repeatedly advocated for the necessity of rearmament. An Interview with journalist Ryuichi Kitano.
The Showa Emperor was a deeply divisive figure whose role in the tumultuous period from 1933-1945 was clouded by lingering postwar taboos and censorship. Since his death in 1989 multiple accounts have given us a clearer picture of his thoughts and actions in ways that are often unflattering.