In John W. Dower's Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II he points out that MacArthur felt that blaming the Emperor for war crimes would only serve to stiffen Japanese resistance to the occupation, and indicates that MacArthur likely felt a sort of kinship with Emperor Hirohito. read more
Because you can’t try a god for war crimes. But in all seriousness, he wasn ’t tried for anything because it wasn’t in the USA’s best interest to do so. read more
Hirohito in dress uniform, c. 1935 (Library of Congress).Q: Had the Allies captured Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini alive, they would certainly have been tried as war criminals. In Japan’s case, Emperor Hirohito was not. read more