Why was Ronald Reagan shaking hands with Emperor Hirohito, the man that many historians consider to have played a major role in sanctioning the military activities and war crimes that happened during World War II?

Japan-101 - Pictures of Japan - Emperor Hirohito & American President Ronald Reagan


And why did Gerald Ford host a White House state dinner for said war criminal?


And for that matter, why did George HW Bush attend his funeral and pay homage to him?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hirohito#Death_and_state_f...

If the right wing is going to get all upset that President Obama is showing respect to an Emperor who was between the ages of 6 and 12 when WWII happened, then perhaps they should examine their own glass houses before throwing stones

Note: I couldn't get the first image of Reagan and Hirohito shaking hands to load so I have included a link to it