JN058 - The Emperor Hirohito - On December 8 (December 7 in Pearl Harbor) 1941, Japanese forces struck simultaneous attacks on Hong Kong, Malaya, Singapore, The Philippines and elsewhere in the Pacific. In Tokyo, the Emperor took a keen interest in military progress and was involved in helping to plan several military operations. In order to boost both military and civilian morale he also chose to wear the everyday uniform of a Japanese general complete, of course, with the traditional ‘Samurai Sword’... And that’s how we have portrayed him.