Emperor Showa
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Emperor Showa is the name given to Hirohito after he died. Emperors of Japan are normally renamed like this, and people start using the new name.
He was the emperor (leader) of Japan during World War II and after. He was born on April 29, 1901 and he died on January 7, 1989. He started ruling Japan in 1926 and ruled until he died. Many people outside Japan call him Emperor Hirohito, or just Hirohito. He helped Japan make many important changes that made it become a rich country today.
Hirohito was the leader of Japan during the war in Asia from 1931 to 1945. Some people and historians say that he was a bad person and authorized bad things such as bombing, massacre, use of chemical weapons and human experimentation, but other people say that he did not have a lot of power and that his prime ministers such as Hideki Tojo, the prime minister (or elected leader) from 1941 to 1944, were the ones who made the decisions.
Either way, Japan decided to fight instead of talk things through with their enemies. In the end, Hirohito had to give up and let the Allies win.
Some of the winners wanted Hirohito and some of his brothers and uncles "put on trial" (taken to court where another person says he did something and a group of people says if he did or did not) for the bad things he did during the war, but the United States general Douglas MacArthur did not want that. He wanted Hirohito to still be the Emperor (leader). The people of Japan thought that their emperor was a god before this time, but the general said that Hirohito had to tell his people that he was not a god.
Hirohito did not have a job in the government of Japan anymore. He was a figurehead, a person that had importance, but not power.
Hirohito met with famous leaders and represented Japan to other countries. He helped the people of Japan learn to like the new ways of doing things (that the Americans taught them) with his example.
Hirohito died because of medical problems. He had cancer.
