Makino found the manuscripts in the Fukiage section of the Imperial Palace, where Hirohito spent his later years. They were among a stack of papers Makino collected for disposal. He thought the ...

The truth about Hirohito’s fateful decision in the summer of 1945 Rain of Ruin, a new study by war expert Richard Overy, decisively shows that the atomic bombs didn’t force the Japanese ...

The public will now be able to take a tour of St James's Palace, including the room where King Charles III was formally proclaimed as monarch, following successful trials. The Royal Collection ...

Hirohito died of cancer in the Fukiage Palace in Tokyo in January 1989, aged 87, after a reign of 62 years. The state funeral was a careful modernisation and dilution of the traditional Shinto rites.

Japanese Emperor Naruhito, left, accompanied by Empress Masako, right, waves to well-wishers from the balcony of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on his 65th birthday, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025.

Historians often suggest that America’s super-weapon forced Hirohito to surrender in 1945. Look closer, and the truth is more ...