Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan (97 page)

One of Konoe's last official actions as prime minister was to join with T
j
in recommending Prince Higashikuni to succeed him. Many believed that Higashikuni would be able to control both the army and navy and secure the highest degree of national unity. Hirohito, however, refused: As he had before, he did not want to expose in any unnecessary way the future of the imperial house. He himself later acknowledged, “I dismissed the army's choice and allowed T
j
to form a cabinet,” because, of course, T
j
was the person he wanted, and he believed now especially that his personal preference should settle the issue.
⁷⁰
Konoe's letter of resignation pointed out that on four separate occasions he had sought to withdraw troops in order to preserve peace with the United States, while T
j
had opposed both the action and its purpose. With the China Incident unresolved, he, as a “loyal subject” of the emperor, could not take on the responsibility of entering into a huge new war whose outcome could not be foreseen. Hirohito accepted Konoe's resignation and threw his support to the army minister. He thereby also accepted T
j
's reasoning: Army morale had to be maintained; troop withdrawal would not solve the problem of relations with China; and yielding to the United States would only serve to make the United States higher-handed than ever.
⁷¹

A conference of senior statesmen convened at the palace to decide who should succeed. Kido, supported by army generals Hayashi and Abe, pushed T
j
; Admiral Okada objected. Kido explained that T
j
, abandoning the time limit for the war decision, would reexamine the whole problem of relations with the United States. He did not say that T
j
would be explicitly charged with making avoidance of war the reason for that reexamination of national policy, for the emperor had never ordered avoidance; nor
did Kido say that T
j
's reexamination would review Japan's options prior to the imperial conference decision of September 6.