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On September 27, 1945, Emperor Hirohito paid a visit to US Army General Douglas MacArthur at the United States Embassy in Tokyo.<br/><br/> Except for the Emperor's personal translator (he spoke the Imperial Dialect of Japanese, which was difficult for native Japanese to understand) his entourage was politely, but effectively, shut out of the meeting.
On December 7–8, 1941, Japanese forces carried out surprise attacks on Pearl Harbor, attacks on British forces in Malaya, Singapore, and Hong Kong and declared war, bringing the US and the UK into World War II in the Pacific.<br/><br/> After the Soviet invasion of Manchuria and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, Japan agreed to an unconditional surrender on August 15. The war cost Japan and the rest of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere millions of lives and left much of the nation's industry and infrastructure destroyed.
Hirohito, the Shōwa Emperor (April 29, 1901 – January 7, 1989), was the 124th emperor of Japan according to the traditional order, reigning from December 25, 1926, until his death in 1989. Although better known outside of Japan by his personal name Hirohito, in Japan he is now referred to exclusively by his posthumous name Emperor Shōwa.<br/><br/> At the start of his reign, Japan was one of the great world powers and one of the five permanent members of the council of the League of Nations. Emperor Hirohito headed Japan's imperial expansion, militarization, and involvement in World War II. After the war, he was not prosecuted, but remained emperor, though with significantly reduced power.
Informal picture of the Imperial family playing a board game (1950s). Crown Prince Akihito left, Empress Kojun centre, Emperor Hirohito right.<br/><br/> Hirohito, the Shōwa Emperor ,(April 29, 1901 – January 7, 1989), was the 124th emperor of Japan according to the traditional order, reigning from December 25, 1926, until his death in 1989. Although better known outside of Japan by his personal name Hirohito, in Japan he is now referred to exclusively by his posthumous name Emperor Shōwa.<br/><br/> At the start of his reign, Japan was one of the great world powers and one of the five permanent members of the council of the League of Nations. Emperor Hirohito headed Japan's imperial expansion, militarization, and involvement in World War II. After the war, he was not prosecuted, but remained emperor, though with significantly reduced power.