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> Indeed, we declared war on America and Britain out of our sincere desire to ensure Japan's self-preservation and the stabilization of East Asia, it being far
by AnimalMuppet 3y ago
> Indeed, we declared war on America and Britain out of our sincere desire to ensure Japan's self-preservation and the stabilization of East Asia, it being far from our thought either to infringe upon the sovereignty of other nations or to embark upon territorial aggrandizement.
That is a flat-out lie, and no amount of "the context was different" can make it anything other than a flat-out lie. Some of the other parts were bad, but that bit was absolutely egregious.
So no, I don't think it's "shallow nitpicking over phrasing". Hirohito was either in total denial about what the war actually was, or he was lying through his teeth.
- ThrowawayR2 3y agoIf the author is expecting the center of the Japanese cult of emperor worship, a literal living god to his subjects, to admit wrongdoing or fallibility, particularly when his only control over the situation is entirely rooted in the fact he was considered a living god and even then barely avoided a military coup attempt the night before in spite of even that, then, yes, he does not understand the historical context. Of course Hirohito lied through his teeth; he had to.