Who was the axis ruler of Japan during World War II?

Question

and any good info on him would be helpful, thanks.

Answer 1

Emperor Hirohito, I believe.

Answer 2

The emperor of Japan was Hirohito, however, like most monarchies by that time, he was more of a figure head than anything else and it was prime Minister Tojo that acutally did most of the war time work, especially with the military.

Answer 3

Prime Minister Hideki Tojo.

Answer 4

Emperor Hirohito.

HIROHITO, (1901-1989), 124th Emperor of Japan, who succeeded to the throne in 1926 after a period of five years as regent. The Showa era, as his reign is called, witnessed dramatic transformations in Japanese life, including the status of the Emperor himself.

Role in National Life

The imperial messages of Aug. 15, 1945, concluding hostilities in WORLD WAR II , and of Jan. 1, 1946, declaring that the Emperor is a mortal, were epoch-making events in the history of Japan. The continued existence of the imperial system was left to the choice of the Japanese people. The constitution of 1947 determined that the Emperor would not have political power but would remain a symbol of Japan; sovereign power would lie with the people, war would be abandoned, and fundamental human rights would be guaranteed. Thus, during the long and eventful reign of the Showa Emperor, Japan emerged from a period of military expansion, culminating in national tragedy, and entered a new period of international cooperation during which it became one of the world's three greatest economic powers.

Until the end of 1945, the Emperor was revered as a god. Afterward, Japanese political leaders attempted to bring him closer to the people. The initial step had been taken by the Emperor himself in his dramatic radio broadcast announcing the surrender of Japan. The sole condition sought by the Japanese government had been that the Emperor should retain his throne. In postwar Japan, the everyday life of the imperial family was reported in detail. The marriage in 1959 of Crown Prince Akihito (born 1933) to Michiko Shoda, the daughter of an industrialist, was eagerly accepted by the people.

Life

Emperor Hirohito was born in Tokyo on April 29, 1901. His father was the Taisho Emperor, Yoshihito. His mother, Empress Teimei, was Princess Sadako, the fourth daughter of Prince Michitaka Kujo. The future Emperor Hirohito was their first son, and his name as a child was Michinomiya. He graduated from the Gakushuin (Peers' School) in 1914 and became crown prince in 1916. After graduating from the Crown Prince's School in 1921, he traveled in Europe for six months--a tour without precedent for a Japanese crown prince.

In November 1921, after his return to Japan, he became regent for his father, who was ill. In 1924 he married Princess Nagako, the first daughter of Prince Kunihiko Kuninomiya. On Dec. 25, 1926, when the Taisho Emperor died, Crown Prince Hirohito became Emperor of Japan. His enthronement ceremony took place in Kyoto on Nov. 10, 1928.

Emperor Hirohito and Empress Nagako had seven children--two sons and five daughters--the oldest of whom was born in 1925 and the youngest in 1939. In September-October 1971, Hirohito met with President Nixon in Anchorage, Alaska, and then toured western Europe, marking the first trip abroad for a reigning emperor.

In his youth, Emperor Hirohito developed an interest in marine biology that he continued to pursue during his reigning years. His work included the classification of sea animals and plants at the Biological Institute in the Imperial Palace and the collecting of plants at Nasu and Hayama. He published numerous scholarly works dealing with his scientific research. The Emperor died of cancer at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Jan. 7, 1989.