Emperor Hirohito received his first report on the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima from the Imperial Japanese Army about half a day after the blast on Aug. 6, 1945, the official record of his reign showed Tuesday.
Emperor Hirohito, known posthumously as Emperor Showa, refrained for many years from going out on the anniversaries of the two atomic bombings as a sign of mourning for the victims, according to the record compiled by the Imperial Household Agency. He visited Hiroshima in 1947 and Nagasaki in 1949.
A close aide told the Emperor at 7:50 p.m., 11 hours and 35 minutes after the bombing, that according to information from the Navy Ministry, Hiroshima had been "attacked with a special bomb from a U.S. bomber" and "most parts of the city" had been flattened.