Word: bungei
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Akihito's accession had been meant to herald a new era in which the imperial office would be free of the controversy that surrounded his father, Emperor Hirohito, for his role in World War II. But it coincided with the publication in the magazine Bungei Shunju of some recently discovered notes on conversations between Hirohito and aides in 1946, in which he discussed his role prior to Pearl Harbor. "It was unavoidable for me as a constitutional monarch," he said, "to do anything but give approval to the Tojo Cabinet on the decision to start the war." Had he opposed...