peror was the head Priest of the Shinto Religion, which was practiced by 99% of the Japanese population and spread by the state. Several Historians point out that when General Tojo
             was appointed as Prime Minister, no previous Prime Minister exceeded Tojo in his passion to carry out Emperor Hirohito's slightest whim. As stated before, the Meiji Constitution gave the Emperor enormous power within the government. The Constitution was also supposed to show that Japan was a modern nation. As these quotes, from the book "Japan; a Modern History" written by James L. McClain in 2002, shows. "For Ito and his colleagues, the Constitution of the Empire of Japan announced Japan's modernity to the world, exemplified the nation's enlightened progress, and established new concepts of political authority, all delicately wrapped in the legacy of the past and legitimated by ancient values." " The document itself was clearly the repository of tradition and the embodiment of modernity. The first seventeen articles, grouped together under the heading "Chapter 1," concerned the Emperor. The very first article established that "The Empire of Japan shall be reigned over and governed by a line of Emperors unbroken for ages eternal," while the following clauses declared him "sacred and inviolable" with full and sole possession of "the rights of sovereignty." The remainder of Chapter 1 specified the monarch's duties. Of particular importance, it empowered the emperor to open, close, prorogue, and dissolve the Imperial Diet. In addition, according to Article 6, The emperor "gives sanction to laws, and orders them to be promulgated and executed." Article 8 extended that prerogative, authorizing the throne to issue "Imperial Ordinances in the place of law" when the Diet was not sitting, and other provisions designated the emperor the supreme commander of the...