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Pradyu Prasad - Imperial Japan, the God Emperor, and Militarization in the Modern World

Today I talk to Pradyu Prasad (blogger and podcaster) about the book "Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan" by Herbert P. Bix. We also discuss militarization, industrial capacity, current events, and blogging.

Pradyumna (Pradyu) PrasadguestDwarkesh Patelhost

Apr 27, 20221h 40mWatch on YouTube ↗

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EPISODE INFO

Released: April 27, 2022
Duration: 1h 40m
Channel: Dwarkesh Podcast
Watch on YouTube: ▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Today I talk to Pradyu Prasad (blogger and podcaster) about the book "Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan" by Herbert P. Bix. We also discuss militarization, industrial capacity, current events, and blogging. Episode website + Transcript: https://www.dwarkeshpatel.com/p/pradyu-prasad Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3KxwZaO Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3KGplej Follow me on Twitter to be notified of future content: https://twitter.com/dwarkesh_sp Get the Book: https://www.amazon.com/Hirohito-Making-Modern-Japan-Herbert/dp/0060931302 Follow Pradyu's Blog: https://brettongoods.substack.com/ Follow Pradyu on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PradyuPrasad TIMESTAMPS: Intro 0:00:00 Pradyu 0:00:42 Hirohito and Introduction to the Book 0:02:42 Meiji Restoration and Japan's Rapd Industrialization 0:06:22 Industrialization and Traditional Military Norms 0:11:54 Alternate Causes for Japanese Atrocities 0:15:33 Richard Hanania's Public Choice Theory in Imperial Japan 0:17:46 Hirohito's Relationship with the Military 0:22:17 Rant on Japanese Strategy 0:25:16 Modern Parallel to Russia/Ukraine 0:33:53 Economics of War and Western War Capacity 0:39:05 Elements of Effective Occupation 0:48:57 Ideological Fervor in WW2 Japan 0:56:36 Cynicism on Elites 1:00:08 The Legend of Godlike Hirohito 1:01:12 Postwar Japanese Economy 1:07:30 Blogging and Podcasting 1:14:06 Spooky 1:21:48 Outro 1:39:15

SPEAKERS

Pradyumna (Pradyu) Prasad
guest
Dwarkesh Patel
host
Narrator
other

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Dwarkesh Podcast, featuring Pradyumna (Pradyu) Prasad and Dwarkesh Patel, Pradyu Prasad - Imperial Japan, the God Emperor, and Militarization in the Modern World explores Hirohito, public choice, and lessons from Japan’s militarized rise Dwarkesh Patel and Pradyumna Prasad discuss Herbert Bix’s biography *Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan*, arguing that Emperor Hirohito was far from a powerless figurehead and bears significant responsibility for Japan’s wartime conduct. They use public choice theory to explain how Japan’s army captured the state, manufactured crises in China, and dragged the country into catastrophic war despite structural disadvantages against the U.S. and USSR.

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