Emperor’s Shōwa possible (but unrealized) abdication after World War II

At the end of World War II, the Allies were almost unanimous that Japanese Shōwa Emperor (known as Hirohito) had to be tried as a war criminal and the imperial institution, seen as the foundation of Japanese militarism, be abolished. The final decision was left to general Douglas MacArthur, who carried the responsibility for occupation policies in Japan. The general, especially after the first meeting with the Emperor (27 Sept. 1945), found the throne as “a symbol which unites all Japanese” and a key to the success of the occupation reforms. He telegraphed Washington that no evidence had been discovered that would implicate the Emperor in war crimes. The British occupation authorities in Japan (sir Alvary Gascoigne, George Sansom) fully shared this opinion. Hirohito was not put on trial, but in 1948, when IMFTE sentenced to death seven former ministers and generals, there were rumours that he was seriously considering whether to abdicate. MacArthur, believing that such a step would be politically disastrous, on 12th November 1948 intervened confidentially and successfully via prime minister Yoshida Shigeru and director of the imperial Household agency Tajima Michiji. The last abdication rumours appeared in October 1951, after the peace treaty was signed. But the Emperor, bound by a promise given to MacArthur, remained on the throne.