When the Americans made the ultimatum to Japan, why weren't they willing to negotiate for the Emporer to have any power, even under a tight leash? Was he really that radical? What were some of his policies that would make the Americans so afraid even after the war was over?
2007-01-29 12:50:22 · 5 answers · asked by nobody_important_2day 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Military
The issue was not merely about power but of religious influence. Under the Japanese shinto religion, the Emperor and the Imperial Family are made in the image of God. Particularly the Emperor is the Son of Heaven. Only his life and the life of the royal family are worthy, and all the civilian life are worthless. According to the belief system at the time of the war, if the Emperor Hirohito was such a great divine ruler, why did he only rule over the island of Japan, and not the entire world? Suppose he was the Son of Heaven, then he should rule all that is below Heaven, which is all of the Earth.
Therefore, to discontinue the possibility of another war as a result of the people's worshiping of their Emperor, the Emperor of Japan's religious status as a semi-god was renounced under the surrender terms. With the departure of the religious status, also gone is his political power. However, whenever a right-wing Japanese politician pay visits to religious temples in Japan such as the former prime minister, it causes worries among the other Asian nations that they are backtracking to what they had before.
2007-01-29 13:00:12 · answer #1 · answered by The Answerer 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
It wasn't that he particularly had policies. He was practically worshipped as an emperor-god, or at least there was the potential for that to occur. We kept a tight string on what he did after the war. At first, we insisted he be seen in public, so that the populace could see that he was only a real man. After a few months of that, though, the crowds switched from dumbstruck wonder to cheers and praise, at which time we insisted that he no longer go out in public.
2007-01-29 21:01:00 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
In large part I believe Hirohito was taken down because of what he represented, aside from who he was as a man. He was symbolic of the old order and the head (even if in name only) of the Japanese Empire.
Since the U.S. wanted to crush all imperial ambitions on the part of the Japanese, it makes sense that they would do away with the Emperor. This had a coinciding benefit of causing a sharp, shocking break with the cultural past of Japan, which would help to transform the country from an aggressive, militarist society into a peaceful, democratic one.
2007-01-29 21:01:54 · answer #3 · answered by timm1776 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Given the culture of Japan, along with the feelings among the allies, it was imperative that the Japanese realize that they'd been beaten. The Imperial War parties always claimed that they were acting on behalf of the Emperor with their actions, and their "cult of leadership" needed to be wiped out.
The Americans allowed the Emperor to remain alive and in office, albeit as a figurehead -- akin to the British King.
2007-01-29 21:02:05 · answer #4 · answered by geek49203 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
he was in power until 1989 and I would say that the help the US gave worked out
2007-01-29 20:53:03 · answer #5 · answered by monetspicasso 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋