Military Operations
One of the largest controversies surrounding Hirohito was his signing of military operations. He did not agree with most of the military operations, especially in regards to invading Asia and the bombing of Pearl Harbor. However, he did sign the military operations. This could be due to his lack of power. It could also be due to Hirohito having had different views when addressing the public versus when he was talking to the military. There are people that claim he was a pacifist, while others believe that he should have been tried for warcrimes due to his active involvement in the military. It is also unclear to what degree of power Hirohito actually had at the time and whether he was pressured to sign the military operations or whether he did it of his own accord. Although Hirohito had his name put on all of these operations, Douglas MacArthur greatly advocated for Hirohito to retain his title as emperor, but only as a sort of figurehead with very limited power.