Japan's War: Hirohito’s Holy War Against the West

by Stewart Binns

A new perspective on Japanese tactics during the Asia-Pacific War, using remarkable first-hand Japanese source material.

Even after eighty years since the end of a conflict that killed at least thirty-five million people, there remains a deep well of bitterness and anger about the way the Asia Pacific War was fought and the behaviour of the combatants, especially the Japanese.

Japan has been vilified for its aggression and condemned for the countless examples of its cruelty to civilians and prisoners of war. In turn, those criticisms have led to a backlash in Japan, where many deny that the accusations are true.

By going back to the origins of modern Japan, and by using only Japanese accounts, Seisen - Japan's Holy War against the West - will offer a powerful yet dispassionate account of the events of the war and explain in detail why Japan and the Japanese did what they did.

Genres: History

336 pages, Hardcover

First published April 24, 2025

About the author

Stewart Binns began his professional life as an academic. He then pursued several adventures, including a stint at the BBC, before settling into a career as a schoolteacher, specializing in history. Later in life, a lucky break took him back to the BBC, which was the beginning of a successful career in television. He has won a BAFTA, a Grierson, an RTS and a Peabody for his documentaries. Stewart's passion is English history, especially its origins and folklore. Conquest is his first novel.

Reviews

[David Clayton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great narrative history of Japan during World War 2. Goes into much more detail of the pre-1939 period than we normally read in the West. It also investigates the Japanese culture and history that led up to this period of brutality and cruelty.

Fantastic read for anyone with an interest in the Second World War and/or Japanese Culture and history.

[Jake · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Men were able to fight courageously only when their human characteristics were suppressed. This was the Emperor's Army."

Japan's War: Hirohito's Holy War Against the West by Stewart Binns offers a refreshing insight into Japan's aggressive territorial expansion, military code and political infighting during the Asia-Pacific War. While not being an in-depth study, it succeeds in explaining the root cause of why Japan waged a war that couldn't have been won.

"Hirohito and his nation had launched Japan's Holy War; its Seisen ('Crusade') - called a 'Day of Infamy' by US President Roosevelt. It was the beginning of a Pacific War that would be brutal in the extreme, and one that Japan would bitterly regret."

When it comes to the title of a book, the subtitle, while not always necessary, can help highlight the theme of the book. I've come across countless books on the Asia-Pacific War that are accompanied by generic subtitles which are sometimes not even woven into the overall narrative and you wonder why the author even made the decision to use it in the first place.

Stewart Binn's use of the subtitle "Hirohito's Holy War Against the West" was a deliberate & appropriate subtitle used to convey and highlight the theme throughout this book and it is executed perfectly. Since the end of the Pacific War many have debated Japan's Emperor at the time, Emperor Hirohito, on his role during the Asia-Pacific war and if he had the ability to put and end to the war earlier or before it even started in the first place.

"Shōwa" was the title used for Emperor Hirohito's reign, which in sadistic irony, translates into 'Enlightened Peace'. Straight off the bat you can tell the author is very anti-Emperor. Some of you might groan at this revelation and call this work biased. However, like Stewart's use of the subtitle "Hirohito's Holy War Against the West," he is able to effectively explain why this truly was Hirohito's Holy War and not just Japan's War.

Stewart Binns covers the events of Japan's modernization from a feudal society to a modern military power confident to take on the United States and its Allies. If you're looking for an in-depth chronology of the War in the Pacific, you will not find it here. However, this isn't the point of the book. The point that Stewart Binns wants to convey is why Japan went to war and how its warped view of expansionism and aggressive militarism led it into a war that Japan will forever bitterly regret. This is why his work stands out from the countless other books written on this subject.

While not being the best book written on Japan's ambitions during the Asia-Pacific war which that title still belongs to John Toland's "The Rising Sun: The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1936-1945". Japan's War: Hirohito's Holy War Against the West still offers a valuable and riveting insight into the minds of Japan's leaders, soldiers and civilians through many recently uncovered documents, interviews & eyewitness accounts of a Holy War gone to Hell.

[Konstantinos93 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, but absorbing presentation of the development of the Asia-Pacific War based on Japanese perspectives through witnesses, testimonies and diaries. Binns presents the war as the culmination of the previous expansion of Japan in East Asia. The Asia-Pacific war is interpreted through the lens of the regime's ideology and the will of Hirohito to dominate the region.
Because of its short length, many important topics are not discussed in detail, such as the maintenance of Hirohito's status after the war and the opposing arguments regarding the decision to use the atomic bombs in Hirosima and Nagasaki.
The witnesses and the passages from diaries are very interesting, because they show how members of the elite, as also ordinary people, did not identify always with the emperor's decisions but they had their objections, which they could not express openly.
Worth reading for someone interested in this period of history and this region.

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

While it is very short given the considerable period of time it covers and the incredible magnitude of the events it describes, the fact it tells the story virtually entirely from the Japanese perspective is incredibly attractive and illuminating even to people familiar with the history.
The inclusions of short biographies of contributors, Japan's war criminals and a chronology of the conflict also makes the book useful to have around.

[Eddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

very good

You can tell author is not a professional historian, ( this is not a criticism) it is an extremely readable and well written account of the Pacific War from a Japanese perspective, it is also very moving and the author does not hold back his criticism of the Emperor. A very good read.

[Ben Gilling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great books that spends time going through the build up to the Second World War for Japan.

Some really interesting accounts from some of the men and women who lived in Imperial Japan and, unfortunately, some incredibly horrific stories of the imperial armys treatment of civillians and POWs.

[Nick Harriss · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I have read quite a bit on the Asia Pacific theatre of WW2, this brings an interesting angle to my studies. Focussed very much on Hirohito's role and that of Japanese culture, I would recommend it primarily to those well versed on WW2 history rather than a starting point.

[Tom Sysel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good intro into the topic. Great usage of primary sources.

[Mike Morrow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting and well written. Recommended. Gives the facts as well as insights.

[Samuel (Still Reading Sam) M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

WW2 through the eyes of Japan.
4.25