NEW YORK — A Japanese plastic surgeon known for his extreme political views has purchased at auction for $275,000 a memoir by Japanese Emperor Hirohito offering his recollections of World War II. “It should have been in Japan, but it ended up overseas,” Dr. Katsuya Takasu told The Associated Press in Tokyo. Hirohito dictated the memoir to his aides soon after the end of the war. The document, also known as the imperial monologue, covers events from the Japanese assassination of Manchurian warlord Zhang Zuolin in 1928 to the emperor’s surrender broadcast recorded on Aug. 14, 1945. It was transcribed by Hidenari Terasaki, an imperial aide and former diplomat who served as a translator when Hirohito met with McArthur.

Source: National Post December 06, 2017 23:03 UTC