End of Era Of Hirohito Stirs Debate; Critics Question Wave Of Respect for Emperor From: The Washington Post | Date: October 1, 1988| Author: Margaret Shapiro | Copyright 1988 The Washington Post. This material is published under license from the Washington Post.  All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post.Copyright information

Emperor Hirohito's rapidly failing health is prompting a debate in Japan, for almost the first time since the end of World War II, about this country's imperial past, its wartime record and the nature of the Japanese state.

On one side are some conservatives and others who have never fully accepted Japan's postwar constitution, which was drafted by U.S. occupation forces and which demoted the emperor from the status of living god to mere mortal "symbol" of the state. It also prohibit...