This paper explains that the reign of Emperor Hirohito, from 1926 to 1989, was designated Showa, or "Enlightened Peace";
this period includes World War II but historians disagree on the degree to which Hirohito supported Japan's
expansionist policies from 1931 to World War II. The author points out that, on Jan. 1, 1946, Hirohito repudiated the traditional quasi-divine status of Japan's emperors and, under the nation's new constitution, drafted by U.S. occupation authorities, Japan became a constitutional monarchy with sovereignty resided in the people, not in the emperor, whose powers were severely curtailed. The paper relates the political issues during the Showa period and the prior era in which Japan rejected Western
colonization. Table of Contents Introduction Showa Period Political Developments Japan's Rise as a Colonial Power