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