Japan Protests After Former Emperor Shown Alongside Hitler, Mussolini In Ukraine Tweet

Ukraine was on the defensive Sunday after posting a video comparing Japan's WWII-era Emperor Hirohito to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and Italy's Benito Mussolini.

Japan has said that it will continue to support Ukraine against Russia despite the blunder. Already the country has provided $300 million to Ukraine and neighboring countries amid an influx of refugees.

All three leaders were part of an alliance during WWII, but some in Japan were quick to point out the lack of historical context the video provides relating to Hirohito's role in the war and his significance in Japan. Posthumously, Japan knows him as Emperor Showa and during the war, he was regarded as a god until he renounced his divinity after defeat.

In the video, however, the emperor is seen with the two other leaders for a moment with the phrase "fascism and Nazism were defeated in 1945." After protests from Japan, Ukraine's Twitter account took down the video and took out Hirohito's picture alongside Hitler and Mussolini.

Hirohito ruled Japan from 1926 until his death in 1989. His role in Japan's military efforts with the Axis powers has remained ambiguous and controversial as many had viewed Hirohito as more of a figurehead that lacked political power.

Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihiko Isozaki told reporters that "portraying Hitler, Mussolini and Emperor Showa [Hirohito] in the same context is completely inappropriate. It was extremely regrettable."

Ukraine's social media and PR work throughout the invasion and continued war has been heralded by many, but this incident caused outrage on social media.

Ukraine took to Twitter to apologize on Sunday saying they had no intentions of offending the people of Japan with the comparison. Since the change, a new video has been posted.

Still, some say that Japan still needs to reckon with its actions in World War II, which includes war crimes in China, across Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands, and the attack on Pearl Harbor.

As a member of the Group of Seven, Japan has an important role across East Asia after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Many fear that the invasion will embolden China to invade Taiwan, fears that have stoked again more recently.