Hirohito (Emperor Showa) (April 29, 1901 - January 7, 1989) was the 124th Emperor of Japan. His army invaded Manchuria in 1931 and parts of China in 1937. He ratified the Japanese Army's proposal to remove the constraints of international law on the treatment of Chinese prisoners making him entirely responsible for the Nanking Massacre, an infamous episode of mass murder and rape. In 1940, Japan formed Tripartite Pact with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, forming the Axis Powers. After the war, he was not prosecuted for war crimes. During the postwar period, he became the symbol of the new state and Japan's recovery. Underwood & Underwood, 1926 (cropped and cleaned).