Ah, The Things We Remember

In a note about Bush's failed attempt to destroy Social Security in the US, Billmon reminds us of one of my favourite quotes of all time from a Japanese Emperor. Actually, it's one of the only quotes I know from a Japanese Emperor, but it's still pretty funny.

By the end of the war, Japan had lost any ability to defend itself. Sure, the Japanese of the time may have charged American GIs with bamboo spears, but all that would have done is ratchet up the body count. Japan's cities were equal parts ash and blood, millions were dead, and the situation was so dire that graffiti in Tokyo called for the death of the Emperor. Then comes Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and suddenly the Emperor knew the war was over for good. He couldn't know that the US had a limited number of bombs, but based on what he knew, it was possible Japan would be totally destroyed from the air, without another US soldier being killed.

So, if you're the head of a totally beaten and despondent state, who's been lying to your people for years about the progress of the war, how do you announce the surrender? Like this:

"We declared war on America and Britain out of Our sincere desire to ensure Japan's self preservation and the stabilization of East Asia, it being far from Our thought either to infringe upon the sovereignty of other nations or to embark upon territorial aggrandizement. But the best that has been done by every one - the gallant fighting of the military and naval forces, the diligence and assiduity of Our servants of the State and the devoted service of Our one hundred million people, the war situation has developed not necessarily to Japan's advantage, while the general trends of the world have all turned against her interest."

Boy, imagine what he'd have said if the war had gone really badly.