y the U.S. Separating from the state the Shinto religion, and ridding Japan of the imperial government, MacArthur would use Hirohito as a measure of control. One of the demands required of him, though, was the infamous “Declaration of Humanity” that occurred on New Years Day, 1946. In the final revision Hirohito, while claiming to not have been a “god” in a sense, never denied that he was a descendent of the sun goddess as set forth by the Meiji constitution of 1868. While Hirohito was being exonerated of war crimes, guilt was place on a relatively small group of Japanese leaders. With the Nuremberg Trials as its only precedent, the Tokyo war-crime trials expanded the rules of what was and wasn’t acceptable in war. As put forth by the Potsdam Declaration, “stern justice shall be meted out to all war criminals, including those who have visited cruelties upon our prisoners.” What was so disturbing about these proceedings was the precedent it set forth for future figures of authority. Countries that may way war in the future, whether of defensive nature or acts of aggression, could face dire consequences if on the losing side. Victors could make up the rules as they went, and the defendants could be tried for crimes that may never have been previously established by international law. At the same time, racism seemed to play a large part in the proceedings. Much of this had to do with the facts that over 25 percent of American and British soldiers were estimated to have died while captives of the Japanese, compared to 4 percent in Germany. In very un-American fashion, the tribunal required only a majority vote to find the defendants guilty, and the rules of evidence were relaxed a great deal, allowing for the admission of hearsay. With such a stacked deck, very few stood a chance of acquittal, but to the end almost all shielded Hirohito from blame. Another serious aspect of the ̶...
