1- Emperor Hirohito ascends the throne
2- Japan faces a major economic crisis
3- Japan attacks Manchuria
4- Japan withdraws from the League of Nations
5- The Second Sino-Japanese War begins
6- Japan joins the Axis powers
Hirohito, emperor of Japan from 1926 until his death in 1989, was seen as a deity by the Japanese. Always dressed in imposing and impeccable clothes, he was considered a descendant of the sun goddess Amaterasu.