Emperor Hirohito (8 pm)
Hirohito was Emperor of Japan from 1926 until his death in 1989. His role in Japan's government in the World War Two remains highly controversial.
The emperor was regarded as divine by many Japanese. In reality he had little power, with civilian and increasingly military officials deciding national policy. He reluctantly supported the invasion of Manchuria and the war against China, and attempted to encourage cooperation with Britain and the USA. However, he had no choice but to approve the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that led to war between Japan and the United States in December 1941. Despite his lack of enthusiasm over the decision to go to war, he was pleased with the Japanese military and naval successes that followed.
By the spring of 1945, the defeat of Japan seemed imminent. The Japanese government was deeply divided between military leaders who favored continuing the war and civilians who wanted to negotiate for peace. Hirohito appears to have favored peace. Following the atomic bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Hirohito insisted that Japan surrender. On 15 August 1945, he made a radio broadcast announcing the end of the war.
At the end of World War II Japan was under American control. It was widely anticipated that Emperor Hirohito would face trial for war crimes, but no trial ever took place. This film sets out to explore why, and to ask whether the Emperor escaped his responsibility. The film's archival footage provides powerful testimony about a nation on the verge of war, the atrocities committed during the war in the name of the country, the fierce and tragic battles fought by the people, and the country's post-war management. Based on his aide's diaries and other records, the dramatization sheds light on the Emperor's decisions to go to war, continue the war and end the war.
