Hirohito backed U.S. war months before Pearl Harbor attack, says aide’s diary

Story by Stephen J. Thorne

Japanese Emperor Hirohito was long depicted as a naïve pacifist who reluctantly acceded to the wishes of his hawkish military leaders.

But the newly released diaries of one of his closest aides suggest the emperor posthumously known as Shōwa thought war with the West was inevitable and was preparing for it earnestly two months before Japan attacked Pearl Harbor.

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The birth of the Maple Leaf

Story by Sharon Adams

On Dec. 15, 1964, the bitter argument over the new Canadian flag came to an end when closure was invoked to shut down the debate in Parliament.

Two months later, the new Maple Leaf flag became the official Canadian national flag, replacing the Union Jack—officially known as the Royal Union Flag—and the Canadian Red Ensign.

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How mission creep undermined NATO’s mission in Afghanistan

Story by Stephen J. Thorne

Eighteen years of Western operations in Afghanistan were doomed by “mission creep,” as allied nations poured undue effort and resources into helping rebuild the country rather than focus on their core mission of defeating terrorism, says the head of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Dec. 1 that NATO went into Afghanistan to prevent terrorists from continuing to use the country as an operations and training base. On that score, it succeeded—at least for now.

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Hirohito’s role

Story by Sharon Adams

In December 1941, Emperor Hirohito of Japan agreed, by some accounts reluctantly, to go to war against the United States.

Although Japan had technically been part of the Second World War since signing the Tripartite Pact with Germany and Italy in September 1940, its war with China had preoccupied its attention.

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