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Hirohito, Emperor Showa

Historical Figure
Nationality:	Japan
Religion:	Shinto
Date of Birth:	1901
Date of Death:	1989
Cause of Death:	Cancer
Occupation:	Marine Biologist, Emperor of Japan
Spouse:	Empress Kōjun
Children:	Seven
Turtledove Appearances:

Worldwar _{POD: June 5, 1942}
Appearance(s):	In the Balance through Striking the Balance (although was probably still in power through Aftershocks)
Type of Appearance:	Contemporary references

Days of Infamy _{POD: March, 1941; Relevant POD: December 7, 1941}
Appearance(s):	Days of Infamy through End of the Beginning
Type of Appearance:	Contemporary references

The War That Came Early _{POD: July 20, 1936; Relevant POD: September 29, 1938}
Appearance(s):	Hitler's War through The Big Switch
Type of Appearance:	Contemporary references

"Joe Steele" _{POD: 1878} _{Relevant POD: July, 1932}
Type of Appearance:	Contemporary reference
Date of Birth:	1901
Date of Death:	1945
Cause of Death:	Killed by an American incendiary bomb

Southern Victory _{POD: September 10, 1862}
Appearance(s):	The Center Cannot Hold through In at the Death
Type of Appearance:	Indirect contemporary references

Hirohito, known postumously as Emperor Showa (1901-1989) was the 124th Emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, beginning his reign in 1926. Under his reign, Japan become a member of the Axis, and fought the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II. After the unconditional surrender of Japan in 1945, the Emperor cooperated with the reorganization of the Japanese state during the Allied occupation of Japan, and lived to see Japan become a highly urbanized democracy and one of the industrial and technological powerhouses of the world.

Hirohito in Worldwar Edit

When the Race's Conquest Fleet invaded Earth in 1942, Hirohito led Japan into a co-belligerency with his Axis allies as well as former enemies including the United States and China. Hirohito was firm about his country's intent to fight the Race from the outset, and the country remained independent,^[1]. although not without a price. The capital city, Tokyo, was destroyed by the Race when they learned of Japan's atomic bomb program.^[2] Thus, at the Peace of Cairo, Japan was less a negotiator and more an observer,^[3] and had their gains in China taken from them by the Race without recourse.

After the war, Hirohito formed much closer economic ties with the United States.^[4] In 1965, Japan successfully tested its own explosive-metal bomb at Bikini Atoll, and demanded full diplomatic relations with the Race.^[5]

Despite his title, the Race saw Hirohito as a "false front" for those who yielded true power in Japan.^[6]

Hirohito in Days of Infamy Edit

Hirohito gave his blessing to the the invasion of Hawaii as the opening stages of its war with the United States.^[7]

Hirohito in The War That Came EarlyEdit

During the reign of Hirohito, Japan attacked China in 1937, and then the Soviet Union in April, 1939.^[8] In summer, 1940, after Japan had successfully overrun Vladivostok, Japan and the USSR made peace.^[9] However, tensions between Japan and the United States began ratcheting up throughout the remainder of 1940. On January 12 1941, Japan launched a war with the U.S.^[10]

This article is a stub because the work is part of a larger, as-of-yet incomplete series.

Hirohito in "Joe Steele"Edit

Hirohito (1901-1945) was killed when his train was struck by an incendiary bomb during the United States' invasion of Japan late in 1945.

Hirohito in Southern Victory Edit

Hirohito inherited a Japan that had proven itself as a military force. Japan defeated Spain in the early 20th century, taking the Philippines, Korea, and Formosa and shoring up its holdings in East Asia. During the Great War, Japan had taken colonies from Germany and forcibly purchased former French Indochina and the Dutch East Indies from France and Holland respectively after the Entente's defeat. Under Hirohito's reign, Japan fought the inconclusive Pacific War. Japan also launched an attack on the United States during the Second Great War, which again proved inconclusive for both sides. Japan, unable to force the USA from the Sandwich Islands, abandoned Midway and Wake Island and turned its attention to the Asian holdings of its former ally, Britain.^[11]

Note: Hirohito's role in Southern Victory is speculative, as Hirohito is not specifically named. However, nothing in the known history of the timeline counters this assumption.