The movie begins as Japan surrenders because of the bombings brought by the atomic bomb
from the Allies.
On August 30, 1945, in an airplane 50 miles from Tokyo, Brigadier-General Bonner Fellers
flew to Japan as part of the occupation force.
He fears that the Japan he fell in love with has changed beyond recognition, as he has
seen aerial reconnaissance pictures and can barely recognize the country.
In the next room, Fellers informs General Douglas MacArthur that Emperor Hirohito rallied
his people a month ago.
They have sworn their allegiance to him and ordered them to "endure the endurable."
Still, if he orders them to surrender, the people will obey him.
They soon arrive at Atsuigi Airfield in Japan, where the military and the press greet them
to welcome them into the country.
They drive past many ruined warplanes, machines, and burned houses while the people are trying
to scrape by with what they can salvage.
Their United States Military High Command headquarters is in the Dai Ichi Building in
Tokyo, just across the Imperial Palace.
General MacArthur orders the Fellers to arrest and bring justice to 30 Class A war criminals
close to Emperor Hirohito.
He tells his men to prepare the suspects, beginning with former Prime Minister Hideki
Tojo.
Later, Fellers arranges the arrests with limited time and as simultaneously as possible before
the Japanese generals commit seppuku, a ritualistic suicide, to preserve their honor.
Before he departs, he privately orders his Japanese interpreter and driver, Takahashi,
to locate his old flame, Aya Shimada.
Then, they raid the Tojo's house.
As they arrive, they hear a gunshot and find him bleeding from a bullet wound to his chest.
Luckily, they can give him medical attention and arrest him afterward.
They have to keep him alive long enough to face execution.
They return to the headquarters and report to MacArthur that they successfully detained
26 of the top 29 accused war criminals, but the others took their own lives.
MacArthur informs Fellers that the U.S. President has taken the Emperor off the protected list
and that he can be tried as a war criminal.
Then, MacArthur orders Fellers to determine if Emperor Hirohito should be arrested and
tried for instigating the war against the U.S. and overseeing unspeakable atrocities
or if he will be allowed to remain in charge.
The latter would send the message to the Japanese people that the post-war American mission
is not to occupy and control but to facilitate the nation's rebuilding and recovery of its
people.
The General gives him ten days for his investigation and will decide almost solely based on Fellers'
report.
Fellers fears that the fate of the Emperor could lead to a revolt.
He tries to drink away his problems as he struggles with the idea of the investigation.
He has a special affection for Japan, which he studied before.
A Japanese transfer student he met in college in America, Aya Shimada.
The next day, Takahashi informs Fellers that Aya's Tokyo apartment was hit in a bombing
three months ago.
Fellers still holds out hope, as he remembers that she substituted at a school near Shizuoka,
Aya's hometown, and orders him to contact her uncle, General Kajima, as he may know
where she is.
Later, Fellers informs his staff of the new mission, and they compile a list of people
who advised Emperor Hirohito when the war started.
None of the Japanese who are friendly to the Americans is among them.
They resort to Tojo for more information.
They are aware that the Emperor handpicked Tojo, and the order to attack Pearl Harbor
came from his office.
They visit him at Sugamo Prison, where he is awaiting trial for war crimes.
He is being kept alive long enough to face execution.
Fellers threatens the life of the Emperor, and in exchange, he asks for three names involved
in the war, but Tojo only gives him one name.
He gives them the name of Fumimaro Konoe, the former prime minister.
Immediately, Fellers goes to Konoe's residence to interview him.
Konoe claims he was removed from power three months before Pearl Harbor happened, as he
secretly negotiated with President Roosevelt to avoid conflict.
Then, Fellers asks Konoe if the Emperor was responsible for starting the war.
Konoe gives no conclusive evidence, saying, "It's not a black-and-white issue" because
it tries hard to address aspects from both sides of the conflict.
They both argue that their countries have lost many lives and are just returning fire.
He claims they are just following the lead of America by taking territory by force, citing
many countries that have conquered continents for power before, and Japan isn't any different.
He directs Fellers to speak with Kichi Kido, Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal.
While Fellers waits to meet with Kido, Takahashi informs him that Kido will not show up as
he is afraid he will get arrested.
Fellers updates MacArthur about his progress and explains that Kido might be the key to
his investigation, but they are still looking for him.
MacArthur orders him to come back only if he has found him.
Fellers returns to his office and orders his staff to look for the key players who let
Japan go to war, especially those close to the Emperor.
The Chrysanthemum Throne is a mystery, even unto itself.
Soon after, Fellers recalls his 1940 visit to Tokyo, when he reunited with Aya, then
an English teacher.
He learns Aya returned to Japan after her father became ill and died.
During a banquet at MacArthur's residence, Major General Richter claims that MacArthur
is just using Feller as a scapegoat.
He says MacArthur will blame Feller if the Emperor is exonerated.
Richter explains that MacArthur spends much of his time posing for dramatic photos and
working the press as he eyes a post-military run for president.
After the banquet, Takahashi informs Fellers that he cannot contact Aya's uncle.
He also confirmed that she was teaching at a school near Shizuoka, but the town was bombed
nine months ago.
He immediately decides to travel there.
He is devastated by the damage, and seeing the remnants of a school, he orders Takahashi
to find a list of the dead in the town.
Fellers reminisces about the days when he visited Japan in the face of an impending
war and rabid anti-foreigner sentiment in Japan.
He also studied Japanese culture and wrote his thesis on "The Psychology of the Japanese
Soldier."
Aya introduced him to her uncle, General Kajima, for help with a paper on the mindset of the
Japanese soldier.
It gives him an insider's understanding of Japanese pride and honor.
Kajima insists that if the United States and Japan were at war, the Japanese would win
because of the Japanese soldier's duty to the Emperor.
Fellers now understands that the Japanese soldiers will blindly follow the Emperor's
orders because they believe in his divine will, as the Emperor is regarded by his people
as a god on Earth.
When Fellers returns to Tokyo, he decides he must interview Vice Minister Teizaburō
Sekiya, a High Palace official and a member of the Privy Council.
Fellers has tried contacting him and his office multiple times but has failed, so he asks
for MacArthur's help to request access to the Imperial Palace.
He gives him a letter addressed to the Imperial Household, allowing Feller to enter the Imperial
premise to meet with the Vice Minister immediately.
MacArthur also allows him to bring a small contingent solely for his protection.
When Takahashi receives the letter, he advises Fellers that it is unwise to barge into the
palace, but he still chooses to do so.
They show the palace guards the letter; he is allowed inside but must go alone with no
weapons.
Fellers requests anything inside the palace that could reflect the Emperor's state of
mind before and during the war, but Sekiya claims there is nothing.
He only shares the poem that the Emperor has recited, which still does not vindicate him
of anything.
Sekiya, like Konoe, does not give any evidence to exonerate the Emperor.
Later, he wanders the bombed-out, rain-swept streets of Tokyo, getting morosely drunk on
sake for his unresolved problems, and he gets in a fight in a local bar where he doesn't
belong.
Fellers drunkenly writes his report on his investigation, concluding that the Emperor
is part of and must be the instigator of the Pacific War.
He understands that his arrest and trial will cause internal unrest but finds it unnecessary.
Later that night, Takahashi wakes him because Kido wants to talk to him.
Kido unexpectedly arrives in the middle of the night to be interviewed by Fellers.
Meanwhile, Richter tries to sabotage Fellers's investigation, as he wants the Emperor to
be prosecuted.
He informs MacArthur of Fellers's pre-war love interest, Aya Shimada, and for deliberately
steering the bombing missions away from her home, claiming Fellers is a "Jap-lover."
Recalling the time just before the Japanese surrendered, Kido tells about the meeting
when Supreme Council convened after the bombings.
They discuss the decision of whether or not to surrender.
Three chief ministers from the Council spoke against the surrender, but the Foreign Minister,
the Navy Minister, and the President of the Privy Council wanted to surrender.
The Emperor leads the Council, and there is a tie between those who favor surrendering
and those who do not.
The Emperor trusts the Allies and wants to accept their terms and the Council to agree
with him.
However, the War Minister, Anami, begs on his knees to the Emperor not to surrender.
Because there were radical militarists in the Imperial Army, the Emperor made an audio
recording of his order to surrender.
Before they could broadcast the recording, the militarists attempted a coup and attacked
the Imperial Palace.
Fortunately, the Emperor and Kido survived and were able to broadcast it.
The nation listened to the Emperor, saying Japan had accepted the Allies' terms.
Unfortunately, the other witnesses committed suicide, and all records were destroyed, leaving
him only with Kido's testimony.
Kido informs Fellers that the Emperor's role is, in actuality, a ceremonial one.
Yet, the Emperor dared to stand up against the militarists and was influential in ending
the war.
After the meeting, Fellers apologizes to Takahashi for what he said before and asks for advice
on coping with his family's loss.
Still, Takahashi answers that he hasn't dealt with it yet.
Fellers recalls when Japanfacesg an impending war and the police are rounding up the Americans.
Fellers and Aya are tragically separated, as Kajima orders him not to see her again
as it will put her at risk.
Soon, Fellers decides to visit General Kajima, who has survived the war.
Kajima explains to Fellers that the Japanese people are selfless and capable of great sacrifice
and unspeakable crimes because of their intense devotion to their cultural values.
Kajima does not know if the Emperor is guilty, but he notes his role in ending the war.
He gives Fellers a box of folded letters written by Aya, and Fellers learns that Aya died in
an Allied bombing raid and mourns her loss.
Fellers concludes that it cannot be determined whether the Emperor is guilty or innocent.
Still, his role in ending the war was significant.
He gives his conclusion to MacArthur, who is displeased by the lack of concrete evidence.
Fellers argues the Emperor should be exonerated as the Allies agreed they would allow Japan
to keep him as the head of state.
MacArthur orders Fellers to arrange a meeting between him and the Emperor before he calls
Washington for a decision.
He tries to convince MacArthur that receiving an interview with the Emperor is almost impossible.
When Fellers goes to the Imperial Palace, Sekiya tells him the Emperor will not come.
Then, Takahashi suggests to Fellers that the Emperor might meet with them if it was a social
visit, prompting Fellers to invite the Emperor for tea at MacArthur's home.
Before the Emperor arrives, Fellers informs MacArthur of his role in diverting Allied
bombers away from Shizuoka.
MacArthur decided to turn a blind eye since no American lives were lost because of it.
When Emperor Hirohito arrives, he offers himself to be punished rather than Japan.
MacArthur stated he did not intend to punish Japan or Hirohito and wished to discuss Japan's
reconstruction.
The movie ends as many of Hirohito's inner circle were eventually executed or life-imprisoned
for their roles in the war, while many others committed suicide before standing trial.