In 1990 Hata argued that the recently released monologue of Emperor Hirohito, the former Emperor's recollection of wartime Japan which he recorded shortly after World War II, had likely been created to prove to the United States that he was not involved in war crimes and consequently Hata theorized that an English language translation must have also been drawn up at the same time, a theory which was mocked by right-wing scholars who felt the monologue was created as a simple historical record without ulterior motives. In 1997 the English language draft was discovered.