Hirohito wanted to admit his war shame

Andy H · #1

From today's Daily Telegraph

Hirohito wanted to admit his war shame
By Colin Joyce in Tokyo
(Filed: 12/06/2003)

Emperor Hirohito considered making an astonishing personal apology for the Second World War in which he was to express "deep shame at my immorality", according to a newly discovered document.

Emperor Hirohito pictured in full army uniform in 1943
The short speech, which was never delivered, was written by Michiji Tajima, who was from 1948 to 1953 the head of the Imperial Household Agency, the Japanese equivalent of Buckingham Palace. Though the document is in Mr Tajima's handwriting, there is little doubt it was written on Hirohito's orders.

Tajima's biographer, Kyoko Kato, who found it among his papers, said Tajima was in daily contact with the emperor at the time and, by the standards of the formal imperial household, on friendly terms with him.

The document uses the personal pronoun chin, which is used only by emperors. Ms Kato argues that Tajima would never have presumed to use the royal pronoun unless the speech was commissioned by the emperor.

She suggested that the message was written out of a desire to communicate to a weary nation the emperor's regret over the suffering caused by the war waged in his name.

The document, apparently drafted in 1948, uses words of apology that are clearer and stronger than anything ever expressed by Emperor Hirohito, his successor, the ruling Emperor Akihito, or the Japanese government.

Ms Kato said the Japanese character used to express "shame" in the document is the strongest of three that were in use at the time.

The apology was clearly addressed to the Japanese people, rather than the victims of Japanese aggression. It expresses sorrow for those who died overseas and those who lost family before describing the emperor's pain at post-war hardships.

"For more than 20 years since my enthronement, I constantly endeavoured to do my duty," it said. "However, I could not change the current of the times, lost good relations with our neighbours and fought with great powers, which ultimately led to miserable defeat in war and brought about the terrible disaster we experience now.

"I am burning with the flame of anguish. I am deeply ashamed of my immorality. I do not have peace of mind. Thinking of the nation, I do not know what to do with the heaviness of the burden I bear." The message was written at a time of crisis for the imperial family. Many Japanese as well as those in the Allied nations believed the emperor bore some responsibility for the war.

Remarkably, the document addressed demands that the Emperor should abdicate, rejecting it as an easy option. "I would like to seek immediate peace of mind [but abdication] is not the true way of taking responsibility," it says. "By bearing these hardships, I devote myself to the reconstruction of the country's destiny and to the happiness of the nation."

The document was made public in Bungei Shunju, a Japanese monthly magazine. Ms Kato said the reasons it was never delivered remain unknown but suggested that a change of government thwarted the imperial apology. She argues that Shigeru Yoshida, the incoming prime minister, opposed dwelling on regrets over the past and argued that Japan should look to the future.

It is also believed the prime minister's advisers feared an apology could reopen debate about the imperial system and the emperor's war responsibility, when the Tokyo war trial had already attributed blame to politicians and military leaders, effectively absolving Hirohito. Present-day Japanese politicians say it would be inappropriate for the emperor to apologise for the war. Under Japan's constitution, he occupies a purely symbolic role and his freedom to comment on political matters, or indeed anything, is severely curtailed.

But Emperor Akihito, Hirohito's son, expressed his "sorrow" over the war during a visit to China in 1992. Three years later, the Japanese parliament passed a motion expressing "deep remorse" for the war, which subsequent prime ministers have echoed.

Former British prisoners of the Japanese and other victims have refused to accept such words, describing them as half-hearted and evasive. In the 50 years since Tajima drafted his document, no apology has come close to it.

Aufklarung · #2

If Japan and her people are incapable of expressing something more than remorse for what was done to Allied soldiers and non-combattants during WW2, I cannot express any regret for nuking 2 of their big cities. Fairs fair.

regards
A

Sam H. · #3

If any of the Axis countries are denying its past, it is the Japanese. They have many issues that have not been adequately addressed.

Dan Reinbold · #4

It would be interesting to see the world reaction if Germany started "denying" some of its wartime activities. There seems to be a double standard when it comes to the treatment of Germany and Japan in regards to questionable wartime actions.

Very curious to say the least...

Cory C · #5

aufklarung wrote:...I cannot express any regret for nuking 2 of their big cities. Fairs fair.

regards
A

Quit taking credit for America's work!

~Cory

ChristopherPerrien · #6

True Japanese , he wanted to apologize to "His" people, not the rest of us non- human Barbarian world who his people attacked.

Davey Boy · #7

So why was he sorry? For the war, or for losing it? The latter methinks. May the bastard roast in hell.

Gott · #8

Davey Boy wrote:So why was he sorry? For the war, or for losing it? The latter methinks. May the bastard roast in hell.

He was a hyprocrite. He said he was a peaceful man, but nevertheless he had his military to conquer Asia. He said he is shameful, but he feels shameful to his nation, not to the Asians who suffered in the war. Sorry, I just don't buy his so-called 'apology.'

ChristopherPerrien · #9

You know he was born the richest man in the world, and may well have died that way too.

This is also why I think he was never prosecuted for war crimes.

Nila MadhaVa · #10

Quit baging out the japanes and the axis powers. they did commit war crimes but what was the bombing of hiroshima and nagasaki? the war was over but the americans still destroyed two cities and killed thousands and scared millions. so dont take the easy way out and say the japanes are bad, becouse the americans continue to comit crimes against other people and nations everyday. so any americans who have the hide to say anything against anyone else about war crime are hypocrits and need to pull their head out of the sand and take a good look at the world and their own history.

George Lepre · #11

Quit baging out the japanes and the axis powers. they did commit war crimes but what was the bombing of hiroshima and nagasaki? the war was over but the americans still destroyed two cities and killed thousands and scared millions. so dont take the easy way out and say the japanes are bad, becouse the americans continue to comit crimes against other people and nations everyday. so any americans who have the hide to say anything against anyone else about war crime are hypocrits and need to pull their head out of the sand and take a good look at the world and their own history.

The loudest voices demanding an apology from the Japanese government have not been American. Rather, they were the Korean, Chinese, and Philippine people who lived under Japanese occupation and endured medical experiments (China), forced prostitution (Korea), mass rape (the Philippines), famine (Indochina), etc. If you are unaware of the bitterness that exists in Asia concerning Japan and its actions during the Second World War, then it is you who has your head in the sand.

Nila MadhaVa · #12

I have no doubt that the japanese commited great attrocities, but i was commenting on the post that sayed that the author didnt feel remorse for bombing the two japanese cities with nukes. i was commenting on how hypocritical that post was. and i have no doubt that the japanese have a blotch on their collective concience. but i was also making the poin that you cant expect someone to appologize when you have done something just as bad. and i hope nothing of what ive written is taken personally.

Fallschirmjager · #13

Read "The Rape of Nanking" by Iris Chang. And if you happen to pass by the Philippines, read "By Sword and By Fire" by Alfonso J. Aluit, & "The Warsaw of Asia: The Rape of Manila" by Jose Maria Escoda. Tell me if the Americans commited such acts.

VirtueDecayed · #14

The Manhattan project was not entirely America's work..... GERMAN plutonium, EUROPEAN scientists..... But of course, it doesen't bother Americans to take all the credit for work mostly done by scientists originating from it's enemies land.

Oh and Americans, democracy doesen't work ok? so it's not an excuse to go starting wars. Wage war claiming concepts shouldn't be forced on people and then force democracy on them? Tch.

Tom Houlihan · #15

...but what was the bombing of hiroshima and nagasaki? the war was over but the americans still destroyed two cities and killed thousands and scared millions.

I would submit that the war was not over when those bombs were dropped. The end of the war was hastened by those two deliveries. President Truman made the decision based on the desire to end the war and minimize American casualties. He succeeded in that the war ended sooner, and an estimated million or so American Marines and soldiers did not die invading the Japanese homeland.
When one is engaged in combat, one is concerned with limiting one's own casualties, not the enemy's. It is indeed unfortunate that so many innocent civilians were killed, but I will agree with previous posters that the shades of the innocent dead in China, Korea, and the Philippines are not unhappy with America's final response.