Emperor Hirohito and Showa Japan Book

I bought this book in Hiroshima in 2001 and never finished it. Glad I persevered again. It is very illuminating.

I was really interested in learning about the American Occupation of Japan. According to the author, Japan's royal family was one of the few to survive WWII (whereas in a number of European countries the royal families lost their position). Supposedly due to MacArthur's influence. Also of interest was the suggestion that the Americans used the threat of trying the Emperor as a war criminal if the Japanese did not accept their preferred revised Constitution. I thought the author did a good job of painting the background of the Showa Emperor as a way of explaining his actions during the war. It also shed light of several aspects of Japanese modern society for me and explained things I've come across. Saburo's Grandfather coming back from the war was removed from his position as a Post Master and now I realise this was part of large-scale purge across Japan at this time.

Date read is approximate. Think I read it in Dubai.