Great comment Robert.

Irrespective of how much the Emperor approved of himself, Japan was far from having a cohesive agenda and strategy.

There was the famed inter-service rivalry between the Japanese Imperian Armies and Navies; as well as a spate of Prime Ministers in the 1930s who were assassinated or stood down due to their inability to rein in the armed forces.

So even if the Emperor had not approved, it would have been tricky to rein it all in.