[laughing_man]

The occupation authorities were focused on rebuilding Japan enough that it would become a bulwark against Soviet expansion. Anything that would demoralize or anger the population, like trying the Emperor for his part in the war or having trials related to Unit 731, was not going to happen.

Though even in that light it's difficult to understand why people like Ishii weren't quietly hanged. I can't imagine his cooperation produced a nontrivial amount of useful information we couldn't have gleaned from documentation.

[PolygonSheep]

I do wonder why the occupation authorities did the exact opposite for Germany, emphasizing war crimes, collective guilt, etc, since (West) Germany was also a bulwark against the Soviet bloc?

[amunozo]

Maybe partition has something to do? You had another Germany that would be viewed as "the good one" if these things are not done.

[laughing_man]

It may just be that there were different people involved making different decisions.

But I suspect the reason was they viewed Naziism as a greater evil than Communism, whereas the emperor worship in Japan was seen as relatively harmless. Though they did hang a whole lot of Japanese politicians and officers.

[gotwaz]

Cycles in an ecosystem. During each phase of the cycle different groups and behaviors dominate. In this case we are talking about moral ecosystems. 5 behaviors arranged in impact through the cycle >> exploration(morally neutral small groups) discovers something >> exploitation(morally negative but highly rewarding. small group) >> opportunism. rewards attract the majority. Morality is ambiguous. Costs multiply. >> moralists who have been screaming and taking hits through the entire cycle gain ground but dont have power to make change >> reputation/status sensitive actors(ie ppl with power) act on "moral grounds" only when they see themselves taking status/rep hits and stop acting as soon as they see status stabilize.

[Shitty-kitty]

In Shinto religion the emperor is viewed as direct descendant of the sun goddess Amaterasu. During the rule of the Shogunate, the Emperor was simply a figurehead, a role he was relegated to again after WW2.