What Was the Showa Emperor’s War Responsibility?

An Arrangement of Debate on War Responsibility

Abstract

  This research note arranges the main points of debate on “the Showa Emperor’s war responsibility”. About the Showa Emperor’s war responsibility, there was a debateon how we understand his statements and actions referring to the war, his legal position in the Constitution of Empire of Japan, political role and moral attitude. Debaters addressed to these issues based on their interpretation of the emperor and war. However, they did not clarify what the emperor’s war responsibility was. On the contrary, debate was overlapped, confused and so they made it complicated what the key issues are. This research note divides the debate into three parts, that is, the emperor’s legal, political and moral responsibility. I will arrange the debate according to each of three parts.

   About the emperor’s legal responsibility some debaters insisted that it is difficult to blame the emperor’s responsibility for the war following the Constitution defining the legal status and political role of the emperor. About the emperor’s political responsibility, debaters asked whether the emperor spoke and acted as an absolute monarch. About the emperor’s moral responsibility, they asked who was responsible for the war from the people’s point of view. They took into consideration the emperor’s feelings and insisted that war responsibility was not solely on the emperor but also on every person. All debaters agreed on that the emperor was morally responsible.