The reason given as to why the American occupiers provided immunity for Crown Prince Hirohito, and furthermore allowed for the continuation of the institution of the Emperor, is that its support was sought for the purposes of fighting Communism and the nearby Soviet Russia.

Bergamini, born in Tokyo and fluent in Japanese, draws his conclusion from a variety of novel sources, but gives prominence to his interpretation of various diaries kept by involved figures.

Reviews by both participants in the war, war tribunals, as well as historians, range from effusive praise (e.g. from Australian lawyer and Chief Justice of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East William Webb, The Associated Press, and The New York Times)[1] to outright condemnation (e.g. from British Japanologist Richard Storry[2] and American military historian Alvin Coox[3]).

Bergamini describes the Institute as a secret indoctrination center (protected by extensive security measures) for select younger sons, of politicians, Japanese nobility and militarist supporters, who desired to participate in fulfilling the dreams of Imperial conquest harbored among elements of Japan's aristocracy.

According to Bergamini's theory, graduates of this ultrasecret 'political' think tank, recruited only by special invitation from rightwing circles, continued its 'political' and 'military' practice in the occupation zones in Manchuria.