Emperor Hirohito after the War (Sub)

What was "reconstruction" for him?
It was reconstruction of the nation, the economy, the international relations of Japan and I think it was of his moral, his life, and himself as a human.

"The emperor shall be the symbol of Japan"(Constitution of Japan Article 1)

It can be said that this article was not only part of the constitution, but also the latter half of his life itself.
——————
Emperor Hirohito (Emperor Showa) was the 124th Emperor of Japan.
During his childhood, he was educated by eminent scholars and Meiji era generals such as Nogi Maresuke and Togo Heihachiro. He was particularly interested in biology and published various papers throughout his life.
In 1921, he spent half a year in Europe. At that time, he was greatly influenced by King George V and he regarded the British way of "Sovereign reigns, but does not rule" as an ideal. After returning to Japan, he ascended to the throne in 1926.
In the 1930s, he struggled with the military runaway and his own ideal of a constitutional monarchy and failed to stop the momentum of them.
After World War II, he escaped prosecution because of the US intention in the Cold War structure, the efforts of Japanese politicians, and the fact that he was passive in the war.
Since then, he had been active in aiming for an open royal family like Britain, and laid the foundation for a symbolic Emperor system in Japan. He frequently visited various parts of Japan and issued statements, which supported the Japanese people emotionally during the post-war reconstruction period.
He also often advised successive prime ministers and exerted a behind-the-scenes influence on post-war Japanese politics.
Emperor Hirohito's turbulent life came to an end in 1989, when the Japanese economy was in an unprecedented boom.

Regarding His Power:
Although Hirohito held a wide range of authority called the "Emperor's prerogative" constitutionally, he did not exercise it by the customary law since Emperor Meiji and interpretation of Constitution he supported.
It is said that he made a his own decision and exercised his power only twice: the suppression of the February 26 Incident and the surrender of World War II.

Regarding War Crime:
The war crimes committed by the Japanese military were intentionally hidden from Hirohito by the military top. In his memoir, Hirohito says, "I had a suspicion about them, but I remained unsure of and in the end I could not prevent "
It is also proven by the evidentiary materials of the Japanese military.

References:
Bunshun Bunko, 1995, Monologue of Emperor Showa
Takashi Ito, 1983, Showa Period Politics
Takashi Ito, 2013, Exploring Showa history
Iwanami Shoten, NHK, 2021, Memoir of Emperor Showa


0:00 Imperial Rescript on Surrender
1:12 Promulgation of the new Constitution
1:48 End of the Allied Occupation
2:25 1964 Summer Olympics
2:47 Expo '70
3:12 U.S. Visit
4:27 The commemoration ceremony of the 50th anniversary of His Majesty the Emperor’s accession to the throne
5:17 The commemoration ceremony of the 60th anniversary of His Majesty the Emperor’s accession to the throne
5:57 A last general congratulatory palace visit