sign in sign up
<<
Home , Government of Japan, Meiji Constitution, Order of the Rising Sun

THE SHOGUN’S : MACARTHUR & THE MAKING OF MODERN

“THE PEOPLE THEMSELVES CONTROL THEIR OWN CONSTITUTION AND ARE, IN THE FINAL ANALYSIS, THE SOVEREIGNS OF THEIR OWN LAND.” -DOUGLAS MACARTHUR DOUGLAS MACARTHUR (JANUARY 26, 1880 – APRIL 5,1964) ‘DUTY, HONOR, COUNTRY’ — THOSE THREE HALLOWED WORDS REVERENTLY DICTATE WHAT YOU OUGHT TO BE, WHAT YOU CAN BE, WHAT YOU WILL BE. THEY ARE YOUR RALLYING POINT TO BUILD COURAGE WHEN COURAGE SEEMS TO FAIL, TO REGAIN FAITH WHEN THERE SEEMS TO BE LITTLE CAUSE FOR FAITH, TO CREATE HOPE WHEN HOPE BECOMES FORLORN....-DOUGLAS MACARTHUR DOUGLAS MACARTHUR, GENERAL OF THE ARMY (5-STARS), WEST POINT GRADUATE, SERVED AS A GENERAL OFFICER IN WORLD WAR I, WORLD WAR II, & KOREA;

MILITARY ADVISOR TO THE COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES & FIELD MARSHALL OF THE PHILIPPINE ARMY;

DECORATIONS: RECIPIENT OF THE CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR; AWARDED THREE DISTINGUISHED SERVICE CROSSES, SEVEN SILVER STARS, & TWO PURPLE HEARTS; THE LÉGION D'HONNEUR & CROIX DE GUERRE FROM FRANCE; THE HONORARY KNIGHT OF THE ORDER OF THE BATH FROM AUSTRALIA; THE , GRAND CORDON FROM JAPAN;

SUPREME COMMANDER, SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA IN WORLD WAR II;

SUPREME COMMANDER FOR THE ALLIED POWERS DURING THE ;

COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE UNITED NATIONS FORCES IN THE KOREAN CONFLICT “ARTHUR MACARTHUR WAS THE MOST FLAMBOYANTLY EGOTISTICAL MAN I HAD EVER SEEN, UNTIL I MET HIS SON.” -ENOCH H. CROWDER

“THE BEST AND THE WORST THINGS YOU HEAR ABOUT HIM ARE BOTH TRUE.” -SIR THOMAS BLAMEY, AUSTRALIAN FIELD MARSHALL

“DOUGLAS MACARTHUR WAS ONE OF THE GREATEST GENERALS AMERICA HAS PRODUCED. HE WAS ALSO ONE OF THE MOST FLAMBOYANT, AND AS A RESULT HIS PERSONAL STYLE SOMETIMES ATTRACTED MORE ATTENTION THAN HIS ACCOMPLISHMENTS.

BECAUSE OF HIS ARISTOCRATIC BEARING AND GRANDILOQUENT SPEECH, HE MADE AN EASY TARGET FOR TASTEMAKERS AND SATIRISTS, WHO PORTRAYED HIM AS A VAINGLORIOUS ANACHRONISM, A HAUGHTY VICTORIAN BORN FIFTY YEARS TOO LATE.” -RICHARD NIXON, LEADERS

“HE WAS AS GREAT AS A MAN COULD BE WITHOUT VIRTUE, AND AS WISE AS A MAN COULD BE WITHOUT MODESTY.” -ALEXIS DE TOCQUEVILLE ON NAPOLEON “DOUGLAS MACARTHUR NEVER ACKNOWLEDGED THE BASIC TENET OF AMERICAN CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT: THAT THE MILITARY IS SUBORDINATE TO CIVILIAN CONTROL. HE MOVED QUITE EASILY BETWEEN CIVIL AND MILITARY WORLDS BECAUSE HE SAW HIMSELF AT THE APEX OF BOTH.

INDEED, DOUGLAS MACARTHUR FOUGHT MANY MILITARY AND POLITICAL BATTLES OVER THE COURSE OF HIS CAREER- WINNING SOME, LOSING OTHERS- BUT HIS GREATEST LOSS CAME IN A CAMPAIGN HE WAGED HIS ENTIRE LIFE: THE ONE AGAINST HIMSELF.

HE WAS BRILLIANT, CHARISMATIC, AND DECISIVE, BUT HE WAS ALSO MANIPULATIVE, DECEITFUL, AND AS EGOCENTRIC AS ANY MILITARY LEADER IN AMERICAN HISTORY- THE "GEORGE TRIO" OF GEORGE MCCLELLAN, GEORGE ARMSTRONG CUSTER, AND GEORGE S. PATTON BEING HIS ONLY CLOSE COMPETITION.” -WALTER R. BORNEMAN, MACARTHUR AT WAR MACARTHUR & EISENHOWER

EISENHOWER WAS MACARTHUR'S AID DURING THE 1930’S. IKE RECOGNIZED MACARTHUR’S ABILITIES & QUALITIES.

HOWEVER, HE COULD NOT ABIDE WITH MACARTHUR’S PENCHANT FOR THEATRICS. THEY WERE STUDIES IN CONTRAST, & WERE DERISIVE OF EACH OTHER AS IKE’S STAR ROSE.

MACARTHUR SAID IKE WAS THE “BEST CLERK I EVER HAD” & FOR EISENHOWER "MACARTHUR COULD NEVER SEE ANOTHER SUN, OR EVEN A MOON FOR THAT MATTER, IN THE HEAVENS, AS LONG AS HE WAS THE SUN.”

ON HEARING OF MACARTHUR’S FIRING BY PRESIDENT TRUMAN, IKE SAID THERE ARE CERTAIN PRIVILEGES YOU GIVE UP WHEN YOU PUT ON THE UNIFORM.

“DOUGLAS, YOU ARE OUR GREATEST GENERAL BUT I AM CONVINCED YOU WOULD BE OUR WORST POLITICIAN.”-FDR HE WAS A GREAT THUNDERING PARADOX OF A MAN, NOBLE AND IGNOBLE, INSPIRING AND OUTRAGEOUS, ARROGANT AND SHY, THE BEST OF MEN AND THE WORST OF MEN, THE MOST PROTEAN, THE MOST RIDICULOUS, AND MOST SUBLIME.

NO MORE BAFFLING, EXASPERATING A SOLDIER EVER WORE THE UNIFORM. FLAMBOYANT, IMPERIOUS, AND APOCALYPTIC, HE CARRIED THE PLUMAGE OF A FLAMINGO, COULD NOT ACKNOWLEDGE ERRORS, AND TRIED TO COVER UP MISTAKES WITH SLY, CHILDISH TRICKS.

YET HE WAS ALSO ENDOWED WITH GREAT PERSONAL CHARM, A WILL OF IRON, AND A SOARING INTELLECT.

UNQUESTIONABLY HE WAS THE MOST GIFTED MAN- AT-ARMS THIS NATION HAS PRODUCED. -WILLIAM MANCHESTER, AMERICAN CAESAR CAESAR WAS NOT AND IS NOT LOVABLE.

HIS GENEROSITY TO DEFEATED OPPONENTS, MAGNANIMOUS THOUGH IT WAS, DID NOT WIN THEIR AFFECTION.

HE WON VICTORIES THAT HIS INTELLECTUAL ABILITY, APPLIED TO WARFARE, BROUGHT THEM.

YET, THOUGH NOT LOVABLE, CAESAR WAS AND IS ATTRACTIVE, INDEED FASCINATING.

HIS POLITICAL ACHIEVEMENT REQUIRED ABILITY, IN EFFECT AMOUNTING TO GENIUS, IN SEVERAL DIFFERENT FIELDS, INCLUDING ADMINISTRATION AND GENERALSHIP, BESIDES THE MINOR ARTS OF WIRE PULLING AND PROPAGANDA.

IN ALL THESE, CAESAR WAS A SUPREME VIRTUOSO. -ARNOLD TOYNBEE AN AMERICAN SHOGUN GAIJIN SHŌGUN (外人将軍)

FOR SEVEN CENTURIES, JAPAN WAS LED BY SHOGUNS, FEUDAL MILITARY LORDS WHO HAD DICTATORIAL CONTROL.

THE TITLE REFERS TO THE COMMANDER- IN-CHIEF IN WHOM ALL MILITARY POWER WAS CONCENTRATED & WHO GOVERNED IN THE NAME OF THE EMPEROR.

SHOGUNS RULED FROM THE 12TH CENTURY UNTIL FEUDALISM WAS ABOLISHED. THE SHOGUNATE WAS TERMINATED WITH THE OF 1868.

RULING POWER WAS THEN RETURNED TO THE EMPEROR UNDER THE OF 1889. MACARTHUR: THE DOMINANT AMERICAN FIGURE IN ASIA “GIVE ME 10,000 FILIPINO SOLDIERS AND I WILL CONQUER THE WORLD.” “I shall return!” THE 1941-1945: “THE SOLDIER ABOVE ALL OTHERS PRAYS FOR PEACE, FOR IT IS THE SOLDIER WHO MUST SUFFER AND BEAR THE DEEPEST WOUNDS AND SCARS OF WAR”–DOUGLAS MACARTHUR “We’re the battling bastards of Bataan. No mama, no papa, no Uncle Sam. No aunts, no uncles, no cousins, no nieces. No pills, no planes, no artillery pieces. And nobody gives a damn.”

THE PHILIPPINES CAMPAIGNS OF 1942 & 1944 PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES: I HAVE RETURNED. BY THE GRACE OF ALMIGHTY GOD OUR FORCES STAND AGAIN ON PHILIPPINE SOIL—SOIL CONSECRATED IN THE BLOOD OF OUR TWO PEOPLES. WE HAVE COME DEDICATED AND COMMITTED TO THE TASK OF DESTROYING EVERY VESTIGE OF ENEMY CONTROL OVER YOUR DAILY LIVES, AND OF RESTORING UPON A FOUNDATION OF INDESTRUCTIBLE STRENGTH, THE LIBERTIES OF YOUR PEOPLE. ― DOUGLAS MACARTHUR, 1944 JEAN MARIE FAIRCLOTH MACARTHUR (1898 –2000)

MARRIED GENERAL MACARTHUR IN 1937, THEIR SON ARTHUR WAS BORN IN 1938.

THE MACARTHUR FAMILY REMAINED TOGETHER THROUGHOUT WORLD WAR II & THE OCCUPATION OF JAPAN. THEY DID NOT RETURN TO THE US UNTIL 1951, SPENDING 14 YEARS IN ASIA.

PRESIDENT REAGAN AWARDED HER THE MEDAL OF FREEDOM IN 1988 & THE PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT GAVE HER ITS LEGION OF MERIT IN 1993. VICTORY OVER JAPAN AUGUST 1945 IN WAR, YOU WIN OR LOSE, LIVE OR DIE - AND THE DIFFERENCE IS JUST AN EYELASH. ― DOUGLAS MACARTHUR TODAY THE GUNS ARE SILENT. A GREAT TRAGEDY HAS ENDED. A GREAT VICTORY HAS BEEN WON...

A NEW ERA IS UPON US. EVEN THE LESSON OF VICTORY ITSELF BRINGS WITH IT PROFOUND CONCERN, BOTH FOR OUR FUTURE SECURITY AND THE SURVIVAL OF CIVILIZATION.

THE DESTRUCTIVENESS OF THE WAR POTENTIAL, THROUGH PROGRESSIVE ADVANCES IN SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY, HAS IN FACT NOW REACHED A POINT WHICH REVISES THE TRADITIONAL CONCEPTS OF WAR.

THE PROBLEM BASICALLY IS THEOLOGICAL AND INVOLVES A SPIRITUAL RECRUDESCENCE AND IMPROVEMENT OF HUMAN CHARACTER THAT WILL SYNCHRONIZE WITH OUR MATCHLESS ADVANCES IN SCIENCE, ART, LITERATURE AND ALL MATERIAL AND CULTURAL DEVELOPMENTS OF THE PAST TWO THOUSAND YEARS.

IT MUST BE OF THE SPIRIT IF WE ARE TO SAVE THE FLESH. -DOUGLAS MACARTHUR, SEPTEMBER 2, 1945 WE STAND IN TODAY REMINISCENT OF OUR COUNTRYMAN, COMMODORE PERRY, NINETY-TWO YEARS AGO. HIS PURPOSE WAS TO BRING TO JAPAN AN ERA OF ENLIGHTENMENT AND PROGRESS, BY LIFTING THE VEIL OF ISOLATION TO THE FRIENDSHIP, TRADE, AND COMMERCE OF THE WORLD.

BUT ALAS THE KNOWLEDGE THEREBY GAINED OF WESTERN SCIENCE WAS FORGED INTO AN INSTRUMENT OF OPPRESSION AND HUMAN ENSLAVEMENT. FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION, FREEDOM OF ACTION, EVEN FREEDOM OF THOUGHT WERE DENIED THROUGH APPEAL TO SUPERSTITION, AND THROUGH THE APPLICATION OF FORCE.

TODAY, FREEDOM IS ON THE OFFENSIVE, IS ON THE MARCH. TODAY, IN ASIA AS WELL AS IN , UNSHACKLED PEOPLES ARE TASTING THE FULL SWEETNESS OF LIBERTY, THE RELIEF FROM FEAR. -DOUGLAS MACARTHUR, SEPTEMBER 2, 1945 IT IS MY EARNEST HOPE AND INDEED THE HOPE OF ALL MANKIND THAT FROM THIS SOLEMN OCCASION A BETTER WORLD SHALL EMERGE OUT OF THE BLOOD AND CARNAGE OF THE PAST—A WORLD FOUNDED UPON FAITH AND UNDERSTANDING—A WORLD DEDICATED TO THE DIGNITY OF MAN AND THE FULFILLMENT OF HIS MOST CHERISHED WISH —FOR FREEDOM, TOLERANCE AND JUSTICE. ― DOUGLAS MACARTHUR, SEPTEMBER 2, 1945 I, A PROFESSIONAL SOLDIER, HAD THE CIVIL RESPONSIBILITY AND ABSOLUTE CONTROL OVER 80-MILLION PEOPLE, AND I WOULD MAINTAIN THAT CONTROL UNTIL JAPAN HAD ONCE MORE DEMONSTRATED THAT IT WAS READY, WILLING AND ABLE TO BECOME A RESPONSIBLE MEMBER OF THE FAMILY OF FREE NATIONS.

NEVER IN HISTORY HAD A NATION AND ITS PEOPLE BEEN MORE COMPLETELY CRUSHED THAN WERE THE JAPANESE AT THE END OF THE WAR.

MY PROFESSIONAL MILITARY KNOWLEDGE WAS NO LONGER A MAJOR FACTOR, I HAD TO BECOME AN ECONOMIST, A POLITICAL SCIENTIST, AN ENGINEER, A MANUFACTURING , A TEACHER, EVEN A THEOLOGIAN OF SORTS. I HAD TO REBUILD A NATION TOTALLY DESTROYED BY WAR. -DOUGLAS MACARTHUR, REMINISCENCES THE OCCUPATION OF JAPAN AS SUPREME COMMANDER FOR THE ALLIED POWERS (SCAP) IN JAPAN, GENERAL MACARTHUR WOULD PROVE TO BE A BENIGN, PATERNALISTIC PRO-CONSUL WHOSE ADMINISTRATION WOULD PROVE CONCILIATORY & BROAD-MINDED.

FOR THE JAPANESE, HE BECAME A CHRIST-LIKE FIGURE DEVOTED TO RESURRECTING A NEW JAPAN FROM THE ASHES.

THE JAPAN MACARTHUR TOOK CHARGE OF WAS A NATION IN RUINS. THE WORLD REMEMBERS THE DESTRUCTION OF & NAGASAKI, BUT THE ENTIRE COUNTRY IN FACT HAD BEEN LEVELLED TO THE GROUND BY AMERICAN AIR POWER.

JAPAN HAD TO ACCEPT A SURRENDER SEEN AS SHAMEFUL, THE COUNTRY WAS NOT ONLY DEVASTATED BY WAR BUT, MORE IMPORTANTLY PERHAPS, IT WAS DEMORALIZED BY DEFEAT.

THE GENERAL & HIS ADMINISTRATION ENABLED JAPAN TO REBUILD ITSELF, ERADICATE & ULTRA-NATIONALISM, PROMOTE POLITICAL & CIVIL LIBERTIES, INSTITUTE DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENT, & CHART A NEW COURSE THAT ULTIMATELY MADE JAPAN ONE OF THE WORLD'S LEADING POWERS. THE ALLIED OCCUPATION OF JAPAN WAS OSTENSIBLY AN AMERICAN OPERATION RUN IN LARGE MEASURE UNDER THE AUSPICES & WITH THE LEADERSHIP OF GENERAL MACARTHUR.

HE BECAME THE AMERICAN SHOGUN.

THE OCCUPATION OF GERMANY SAW THE DIVISION OF THE COUNTRY INTO CLEARLY-MARKED ZONES OF OCCUPATION BY THE ALLIES & A VIGOROUS ANTI- NAZIFICATION POLICY.

IN JAPAN, UNDER MACARTHUR'S DIRECTION, THE AMERICANS PERMITTED THE JAPANESE TO RETAIN THEIR POSITIONS UNDER THEIR ULTIMATE SUPERVISION & CONTROL. A PARTNERSHIP DEVELOPED BETWEEN THE OCCUPIERS & OCCUPIED.

MACARTHUR PLACED THE BLAME FOR THE WAR WITH THE MILITARY, PRINCIPALLY TOJO. THIS SPARED THE EMPEROR & PRESERVED THE MONARCHY. TOJO WAS ARRESTED, CONVICTED BY THE INTERNATIONAL MILITARY TRIBUNAL FOR THE FAR EAST, SENTENCED TO DEATH, & HANGED ON DECEMBER 23, 1948. A TOTAL OF 1,100 JAPANESE SOLDIERS WERE PLACE ON TRIAL FOR WAR CRIMES. EMPEROR (1926-1989)

RULED AS EMPEROR OF THE (1926-1947) UNDER THE MEIJI CONSTITUTION & REIGNED AS UNDER MACARTHUR’S CONSTITUTION (1947-1989)

“THE GENERAL SAW THE REVERENCE FOR THE EMPEROR, EVEN IN SURRENDER, WAS WHAT HELD JAPAN TOGETHER …. MACARTHUR ALSO TOOK AN IMMEDIATE LIKING TO THE BOOKISH, UNASUMING YET QUIETLY DIGNIFIED MONARCH. THE SUPREME COMMANDER DECIDED TO KEEP THE EMPEROR IN PLACE AND THROUGHOUT THE OCCUPATION TREATED HIM WITH RESPECT.” –RICHARD NIXON, LEADERS GENERAL MACARTHUR UNDERMINED THE IMPERIAL MYSTIQUE WITH THIS FAMOUS PHOTOGRAPH, TAKEN AT THE AMERICAN EMBASSY IN TOKYO, ON SEPTEMBER 27, 1945.

THE JAPANESE FOR THE 1ST TIME SAW THE EMPEROR AS A MAN, OVERSHADOWED BY THE MUCH TALLER MACARTHUR, INSTEAD OF BEING A LIVING GOD.

IN EFFECT, IT HUMANIZED HIROHITO & THE PHOTO TRANSFORMED MACARTHUR INTO A FIGURE WORTHY OF REVERENCE.

THEY LITERALLY EXCHANGED PLACES IN THE PERCEPTIONS OF THE PUBLIC.

FOR THE : "WE LOOK TO MACARTHUR AS THE 2ND JESUS CHRIST.” MACARTHUR IS THE FATHER OF MODERN JAPAN. THE GENERAL RECREATED THE JAPANESE STATE AS A PROSPEROUS, PEACEFUL, DEMOCRATIC NATION FIRMLY ALLIED TO THE WEST.

HE LITERALLY CONVERTED THE VANQUISHED NIPPON FROM A BITTER FOE INTO A VALUED FRIEND.

THE CORNERSTONE OF HIS ACHIEVEMENT WAS THE POST-WAR “MACARTHUR” CONSTITUTION.

FOR SEVEN CENTURIES, JAPAN WAS LED BY SHOGUNS, A TRADITION MACARTHUR APPRECIATED.

WITH THE OF 1868, THE SHOGUNATE WAS ELIMINATED IN FAVOR OF A MONARCHY WITH VESTED IN THE DIVINITY OF THE EMPEROR.

THE MEIJI CONSTITUTION OF 1889 WAS INSPIRED BY THE PRUSSIAN CONSTITUTION OF BISMARCK'S GERMANY.

THE MEIJI RESTORATION ENDED WITH THE SURRENDER.

THE MACARTHUR DEPARTED FROM ITS MEIJI PREDECESSOR IN EMPHASIZING THREE IMPORTANT POINTS:

(1) POPULAR, NOT IMPERIAL, SOVEREIGNTY; (2) RESPECT FOR FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN ; (3) PACIFISM & THE RENUNCIATION OF WAR. IN MY EFFORTS FOR A REVISION OF THE MEIJI CONSTITUTION, I EMPHASIZED THE POINT THAT WE FELT A DEMOCRATIC REGIME WAS ESSENTIAL TO THE NEW JAPAN, AND THAT WE COULD ONLY INSURE SUCH A SOCIETY BY HAVING A PLAINLY WRITTEN AND CLEARLY UNDERSTOOD STATEMENT OF RIGHTS. -GENERAL MACARTHUR, REMINISCENCES SOURCES OF THE MACARTHUR CONSTITUTION: 1. THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE & THE US CONSTITUTION 2. PHYSICALLY AVAILABLE IN TOKYO IN 1945 3. THE 4. NEW DEAL/FAIR DEAL POLICES OF FDR & TRUMAN 5. THE BRITISH 6. COLD WAR CONCERNS 7. THE BACKGROUND & EXPERIENCES OF MACARTHUR’S STAFF

ARTICLE 13. ALL OF THE PEOPLE SHALL BE RESPECTED AS INDIVIDUALS. THEIR RIGHT TO LIFE, LIBERTY, AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS SHALL, TO THE EXTENT THAT IT DOES NOT INTERFERE WITH THE PUBLIC WELFARE, BE THE SUPREME CONSIDERATION IN LEGISLATION AND IN OTHER GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS. THE NEW CONSTITUTION WAS PREPARED IN A 10 DAY SPAN IN ORDER TO FORESTALL ANY INPUT FROM THE SOVIETS.

GENERAL COURTNEY WHITNEY, CALLED ON THE PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION STAFF (INCLUDING LAWYERS) TO DRAFT THE NEW CONSTITUTION, FUNCTIONING AS A CONSTITUTIONAL ASSEMBLY ACTING IN COMPLETE SECRECY.

MACARTHUR'S STAFF DRAFTED A NEW CONSTITUTION THAT INSTITUTED A PARLIAMENTARY SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT, UNDER WHICH EMPEROR HIROHITO WOULD BECOME A CONSTITUTIONAL MONARCH.

THE CONSTITUTION ALSO ENFRANCHISED WOMEN, GUARANTEED FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHTS, OUTLAWED RACIAL DISCRIMINATION & OUTLAWED BELLIGERENCY AS AN INSTRUMENT OF STATE POLICY (ARTICLE 9).

LT. COLONEL CHARLES KADES PLAYED A CENTRAL ROLE IN DRAFTING THE CONSTITUTION. THE CONSTITUTION IS CONSISTS OF 103 ARTICLES, ORGANIZED INTO 11 CHAPTERS.

IT IS KNOWN AS THE “MACARTHUR CONSTITUTION.”

IT PLACES SOVEREIGNTY NOT IN THE EMPEROR BUT IN THE JAPANESE PEOPLE.

THE EMPEROR IS NO LONGER DIVINE.

ACTUAL POWER IS TAKEN FROM THE EMPEROR & VESTED IN THE DIET (THE PARLIAMENT), WITH AUTHORITY IN THE DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED

EXECUTIVE AUTHORITY IS VESTED IN THE , HEADED BY THE PRIME MINISTER

31 ARTICLES ARE DEVOTED TO HUMAN RIGHTS WE, THE JAPANESE PEOPLE, ACTING THROUGH OUR DULY ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES IN THE , DETERMINED THAT WE SHALL SECURE FOR OURSELVES AND OUR POSTERITY THE FRUITS OF PEACEFUL COOPERATION WITH ALL NATIONS AND THE BLESSINGS OF LIBERTY THROUGHOUT THIS LAND, AND RESOLVED THAT NEVER AGAIN SHALL WE BE VISITED WITH THE HORRORS OF WAR THROUGH THE ACTION OF GOVERNMENT, DO PROCLAIM THAT SOVEREIGN POWER RESIDES WITH THE PEOPLE AND DO FIRMLY ESTABLISH THIS CONSTITUTION. GOVERNMENT IS A SACRED TRUST OF THE PEOPLE, THE AUTHORITY FOR WHICH IS DERIVED FROM THE PEOPLE, THE POWERS OF WHICH ARE EXERCISED BY THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE PEOPLE, AND THE BENEFITS OF WHICH ARE ENJOYED BY THE PEOPLE. THIS IS A UNIVERSAL PRINCIPLE OF MANKIND UPON WHICH THIS SITUATION IS FOUNDED. WE REJECT AND REVOKE ALL CONSTITUTIONS, LAWS, ORDINANCES, AND RESCRIPTS IN CONFLICT HEREWITH.

WE, THE JAPANESE PEOPLE, DESIRE PEACE FOR ALL TIME AND ARE DEEPLY CONSCIOUS OF THE HIGH IDEALS CONTROLLING HUMAN RELATIONSHIP, AND WE HAVE DETERMINED TO PRESERVE OUR SECURITY AND EXISTENCE, TRUSTING IN THE JUSTICE AND FAITH OF THE PEACE-LOVING PEOPLES OF THE WORLD. WE DESIRE TO OCCUPY AN HONORED PLACE IN AN INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY STRIVING FOR THE PRESERVATION OF PEACE, AND THE BANISHMENT OF TYRANNY AND SLAVERY, OPPRESSION AND INTOLERANCE FOR ALL TIME FROM THE EARTH. WE RECOGNIZE THAT ALL PEOPLES OF THE WORLD HAVE THE RIGHT TO LIVE IN PEACE, FREE FROM FEAR AND WANT.

WE BELIEVE THAT NO NATION IS RESPONSIBLE TO ITSELF ALONE, BUT THAT LAWS OF POLITICAL MORALITY ARE UNIVERSAL; AND THAT OBEDIENCE TO SUCH LAWS IS INCUMBENT UPON ALL NATIONS WHO WOULD SUSTAIN THEIR OWN SOVEREIGNTY AND JUSTIFY THEIR SOVEREIGN RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHER NATIONS.

WE, THE JAPANESE PEOPLE, PLEDGE OUR NATIONAL HONOR TO ACCOMPLISH THESE HIGH IDEALS AND PURPOSES WITH ALL OUR RESOURCES. MACARTHUR APPRECIATED THE SYMBOLIC IMPORTANCE OF THE EMPEROR, & IN EARLY 1946 HE PREVAILED UPON WASHINGTON TO SPARE HIROHITO—WHATEVER HIS ROLE IN CONDONING & THEN ENCOURAGING THE WAR—FROM FACING CHARGES AS A WAR CRIMINAL. HIROHITO ESCAPED THE SCAFFOLD; JAPANESE PRIDE WAS MASSAGED, & ORDER WAS MAINTAINED.

THE EMPEROR WOULD BECOME THE HEAD OF STATE, HIS SUCCESSION IS DYNASTIC, & HIS DUTIES & POWERS ARE SUBJECT TO THE CONSTITUTION & THE PEOPLE'S WILL.

ARTICLE 1. THE EMPEROR SHALL BE THE SYMBOL OF THE STATE AND OF THE UNITY OF THE PEOPLE, DERIVING HIS POSITION FROM THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE WITH WHOM RESIDES SOVEREIGN POWER.

“UNDER THE MACARTHUR CONSTITUTION HIROHITO BECAME A CONSTITUTIONAL MONARCH WHOSE CEREMONIAL ROLE WAS CIRCUMSCRIBED….THE INSIGHT BEHIND IT COULD ONLY HAVE COME FROM A PROFOUND UNDERSTANDING OF THE HISTORY AND CULTURE OF THE PEOPLE HE NOW GOVERNED…. THROUGHOUT THE FIVE YEARS OF HIS RULE HE REMAINED ALOOF, AS MYSTERIOUS AS HIROHITO HAD BEEN BEFORE.” –RICHARD NIXON, LEADERS CHAPTER IV.THE DIET ARTICLE 41. THE DIET SHALL BE THE HIGHEST ORGAN OF STATE POWER, AND SHALL BE THE SOLE LAW-MAKING ORGAN OF THE STATE.

CHAPTER V. THE CABINET ARTICLE 65. EXECUTIVE POWER SHALL BE VESTED IN THE CABINET. ARTICLE 66. THE CABINET SHALL CONSIST OF THE PRIME MINISTER, WHO SHALL BE ITS HEAD, AND OTHER MINISTERS OF STATE, AS PROVIDED FOR BY LAW. GENERAL MACARTHUR & POST-WAR PRIME MINISTER THE MACARTHUR CONSTITUTION ESTABLISHES A PARLIAMENTARY SYSTEM WITH LEGISLATIVE AUTHORITY RESIDENT IN THE DIET & EXECUTIVE POWER CARRIED OUT BY THE CABINET HEADED BY THE PRIME MINISTER. THE DOCUMENT ALSO PROVIDES FOR AN INDEPENDENT & A SUPREME COURT WITH POWERS OF . MACARTHUR WAS A CONSERVATIVE, WHO SOUGHT THE REPUBLICAN PARTY’S PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION IN 1948 & 1952.

BUT MACARTHUR’S CONSTITUTION WAS ANYTHING BUT CONSERVATIVE.

THE CONSTITUTION'S SOCIAL REFORMS WERE TRANSFORMATIVE, DESIGNING A NEW ROLE FOR THE JAPANESE IMPERIAL FAMILY & ESTABLISHING RIGHTS FOR WOMEN.

THE CONSTITUTION’S HAS MANY PROGRESSIVE FEATURES: THERE ARE ARTICLES GUARANTEEING THE PROVISION OF WELFARE & PUBLIC HEALTH, A RIGHT TO EQUAL PUBLIC EDUCATION, A GUARANTEE OF ACADEMIC FREEDOM, THE RIGHT OF LABOR TO ORGANIZE & BARGAIN COLLECTIVELY, & PROHIBITIONS AGAINST CENSORSHIP, DISCRIMINATION & THE INFLICTION OF TORTURE.

MACARTHUR ALSO INSTITUTED WIDE-SPREAD LAND REFORM THAT RADICALLY ALTERED THE COUNTRY’S SOCIO-ECONOMIC LANDSCAPE.

BETWEEN 1947 & 1949, APPROXIMATELY 4,700,000 ACRES (OR 38% OF JAPAN'S CULTIVATED LAND) WAS PURCHASED FROM LANDLORDS UNDER THE GOVERNMENT'S REFORM PROGRAM (COMPENSATION FOR APPROPRIATED LANDS), & 4,600,000 ACRES WAS RESOLD TO FARMERS.

BY 1950, 89% OF JAPAN’S AGRICULTURAL LAND WAS OWNER-OPERATED. OF PARTICULAR NOTE, MACARTHUR’S CONSTITUTION REDEFINES THE LEGAL STATUS OF WOMEN. THE SOLE WOMAN ON MACARTHUR’S STAFF WAS BEATE SIROTA GORDON, A 22-YEAR-OLD VIENNESE-BORN, NATURALIZED AMERICAN WHO SPOKE JAPANESE.

SIROTA DRAFTED ARTICLE 14 & ARTICLE 24, A GENDER-SPECIFIC PROVISION THAT AFFORDED WOMEN EQUAL STATUS IN MARRIAGE, DIVORCE, PROPERTY RIGHTS & OTHER SPHERES OF DOMESTIC RELATIONS/FAMILY LAW. IT ENSHRINES THE “INDIVIDUAL DIGNITY AND ESSENTIAL EQUALITY OF THE SEXES.”

LT. COLONEL KADES: “MY GOD, YOU HAVE GIVEN JAPANESE WOMEN MORE RIGHTS THAN IN THE AMERICAN CONSTITUTION!”

SIROTA RESPONDED, “THAT’S NOT VERY DIFFICULT TO DO, BECAUSE WOMEN ARE NOT IN THE AMERICAN CONSTITUTION.” ARTICLE 14. ALL OF THE PEOPLE ARE EQUAL UNDER THE LAW AND THERE SHALL BE NO DISCRIMINATION IN POLITICAL, ECONOMIC OR SOCIAL RELATIONS BECAUSE OF RACE, CREED, SEX, SOCIAL STATUS OR FAMILY ORIGIN.

“IT SET A BASIS FOR A BETTER, A MORE EQUAL SOCIETY BY JUST WRITING THOSE THINGS INTO THE CONSTITUTION -OUR CONSTITUTION DOESN’T HAVE ANY OF THOSE THINGS- BEATE GORDON INTERVENED AT A CRITICAL MOMENT. AND WHAT KIND OF 22-YEAR-OLD GETS TO WRITE A CONSTITUTION?” -CAROL GLUCK, PROFESSOR OF JAPANESE HISTORY AT COLUMBIA UNDER MACARTHUR’S CONSTITUTION, WOMEN WERE GIVEN THE VOTE. THE 1ST ELECTION AFTER ITS ADOPTION RESULTED IN 13 MILLION WOMEN VOTING WITH 39 WOMEN BEING ELECTED TO THE DIET.

JAPANESE WOMEN ARE DISPLAYING AN INCREASING INTEREST IN POLITICAL, SOCIAL, AND ECONOMIC AFFAIRS WHICH EXCEEDS THE MOST HOPEFUL ANTICIPATION OF POLITICAL OBSERVERS. IT ATTESTS TO THE POWERFUL APPEAL OF THE DEMOCRATIC IDEA AND TO THE ENTHUSIASM WITH WHICH JAPANESE WOMEN ARE DISCARDING THE AGE-OLD BONDS OF CONVENTION WHICH HAVE SO LONG DENIED THEM THE FUNDAMENTAL DEMOCRATIC RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN COMMUNAL AFFAIRS BEYOND THE HOME. -DOUGLAS MACARTHUR THE MOST COMMENTED ASPECT OF MACARTHUR’S CONSTITUTION IS ARTICLE 9 日本国憲法第9条, WHEREIN THE JAPANESE PEOPLE “FOREVER RENOUNCE WAR AS A SOVEREIGN RIGHT OF THE NATION AND THE THREAT OR USE OF FORCE AS A MEANS OF SETTLING DISPUTES.” ALTHOUGH THE JAPANESE SELF DEFENSE FORCES EXIST, JAPAN RELIES ON THE US FOR ITS PROTECTION PER THE US-JAPAN SECURITY TREATY.

ARTICLE 9. (1) ASPIRING SINCERELY TO AN INTERNATIONAL PEACE BASED ON JUSTICE AND ORDER, THE JAPANESE PEOPLE FOREVER RENOUNCE WAR AS A SOVEREIGN RIGHT OF THE NATION AND THE THREAT OR USE OF FORCE AS MEANS OF SETTLING INTERNATIONAL DISPUTES. (2) IN ORDER TO ACCOMPLISH THE AIM OF THE PRECEDING PARAGRAPH, LAND, SEA, AND AIR FORCES, AS WELL AS OTHER WAR POTENTIAL, WILL NEVER BE MAINTAINED. THE RIGHT OF BELLIGERENCY OF THE STATE WILL NOT BE RECOGNIZED. ARTICLE 9 NOT ONLY FORBIDS THE USE OF FORCE AS A MEANS TO SETTLING INTERNATIONAL DISPUTES BUT SPECIFICALLY FORBIDS JAPAN FROM MAINTAINING AN ARMY, NAVY OR AIR FORCE.

IN STRICTLY LEGAL TERMS, THE JAPAN SELF DEFENSE FORCES ARE EXTENSIONS OF THE NATIONAL FORCE. THIS HAS HAD BROAD IMPLICATIONS FOR FOREIGN, SECURITY & DEFENSE POLICY.

UNLIKE PREVIOUS PRIME MINISTERS, SHINZO ABE HAS BEEN OPEN ABOUT HIS INTENTIONS TO AMEND ARTICLE 9. HE BELIEVES THE MACARTHUR CONSTITUTION WAS IMPOSED UPON JAPAN BY THE AMERICAN OCCUPATION.

ARTICLE 9, ACCORDING TO ABE, IS A LIMITATION ON JAPAN’S RIGHTS TO HAVE A FULLY FUNCTIONAL DEFENSE FORCE WHICH INCLUDES OFFENSIVE MILITARY CAPABILITIES.

FROM HIS PERSPECTIVE, JAPAN CANNOT BE A “NORMAL STATE” UNTIL JAPAN HAS FULLY FUNCTIONAL ARMED FORCES.

FOR HIS PART, PRESIDENT TRUMP HAS CRITICIZED THE FACT THAT THE US UNDERWRITES JAPAN’S DEFENSE. MUCH OF JAPAN’S ECONOMIC SUCCESS CAN BE ATTRIBUTED TO ITS SECURITY BEING GUARANTEED BY WASHINGTON. PRIME MINISTER ABE HAS MADE AMENDING ARTICLE 9 AN ISSUE, BUT HE HAS YET TO ACT ON IT. THERE HAS BEEN AGITATION FOR REVISION DUE TO THE PROVOCATIONS OF THE NORTH KOREANS. JAPANESE NATIONALISTS & CONSERVATIVES HAVE LONG ARGUED FOR CHANGE OBJECTING TO ITS OCCUPATION ORIGINS. OPINION POLLS SHOW THAT THE MAJORITY OF JAPANESE SUPPORT THE SELF-DEFENSE FORCES, BUT DO NOT WISH THEM TO BE ENLARGED. FEAR OF MILITARISM IS NEVERTHELESS STILL STRONG IN JAPAN. MANY JAPANESE FEEL THAT THE LESSON OF WW II IS THAT RELIANCE ON MILITARY POWER IS SELF-DEFEATING. THEY FEAR A STRONG MILITARY CANNOT BE CONTROLLED & WOULD ULTIMATELY DESTROY DEMOCRACY. HOWEVER, ATTITUDES ARE CHANGING AS FEWER & FEWER PEOPLE RETAIN A LIVING MEMORY OF WW II. PRIME MINISTER ABE’S CHANCES OF PUSHING THROUGH EVEN MODERATE CHANGES TO THE CHERISHED 1947 “PEACE CONSTITUTION” ARE NOT GUARANTEED. THE REQUIREMENTS FOR CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGE ARE A FORMIDABLE CHALLENGE; TWO-THIRDS MAJORITY IN BOTH HOUSES OF THE DIET, & AT LEAST 51% SUPPORT IN A REFERENDUM. IT IS WITH A SENSE OF DEEP SATISFACTION THAT I AM TODAY ABLE TO ANNOUNCE A DECISION OF THE EMPEROR AND TO SUBMIT TO THE JAPANESE PEOPLE A NEW AND ENLIGHTENED CONSTITUTION WHICH HAS MY FULL APPROVAL. THIS INSTRUMENT HAS BEEN DRAFTED AFTER PAINSTAKING INVESTIGATION AND FREQUENT CONFERENCE BETWEEN MEMBERS OF THE JAPANESE GOVERNMENT AND THIS HEADQUARTERS FOLLOWING MY INITIAL DIRECTION TO THE CABINET FIVE MONTHS AGO.

DECLARED BY ITS TERMS TO BE THE SUPREME LAW FOR JAPAN, IT PLACES SOVEREIGNTY SQUARELY IN THE HANDS OF THE PEOPLE. IT ESTABLISHES GOVERNMENTAL AUTHORITY WITH THE PREDOMINANT POWER VESTED IN AN ELECTED , AS REPRESENTATIVE OF THE PEOPLE, BUT WITH ADEQUATE CHECK UPON THAT POWER, AS WELL AS UPON THE POWER OF THE EXECUTIVE AND THE JUDICIARY, TO INSURE THAT NO BRANCH OF GOVERNMENT MAY BECOME AUTOCRATIC OR ARBITRARY IN THE ADMINISTRATION OF AFFAIRS OF STATE. IT LEAVES THE THRONE WITHOUT GOVERNMENTAL AUTHORITY OR STATE PROPERTY, SUBJECT TO THE PEOPLE'S WILL, A SYMBOL OF THE PEOPLE'S UNITY. IT PROVIDES FOR AND GUARANTEES TO THE PEOPLE FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN LIBERTIES WHICH SATISFY THE MOST EXACTING STANDARDS OF ENLIGHTENED THOUGHT. IT SEVERS FOR ALL TIME THE SHACKLES OF FEUDALISM AND IN ITS PLACE RAISES THE DIGNITY OF MAN UNDER PROTECTION OF THE PEOPLE'S SOVEREIGNTY. IT IS THROUGHOUT RESPONSIVE TO THE MOST ADVANCED CONCEPT OF HUMAN RELATIONS - IS AN ECLECTIC INSTRUMENT, REALISTICALLY BLENDING THE SEVERAL DIVERGENT POLITICAL PHILOSOPHIES WHICH INTELLECTUALLY HONEST MEN ADVOCATE. FOREMOST OF ITS PROVISIONS IS THAT WHICH, ABOLISHING WAR AS A SOVEREIGN RIGHT OF THE NATION, FOREVER RENOUNCES THE THREAT OR USE OF FORCE AS A MEANS FOR SETTLING DISPUTES WITH ANY OTHER NATION AND FORBIDS IN FUTURE THE AUTHORIZATION OF ANY ARMY, NAVY, AIR FORCE OR OTHER WAR POTENTIAL OR ASSUMPTION OF RIGHTS OF BELLIGERENCY BY THE STATE. BY THIS UNDERTAKING AND COMMITMENT JAPAN SURRENDERS RIGHTS INHERENT IN HER OWN SOVEREIGNTY AND RENDERS HER FUTURE SECURITY AND VERY SURVIVAL SUBJECT TO THE GOOD FAITH AND JUSTICE OF THE PEACE LOVING PEOPLES OF THE WORLD. BY IT DOES A NATION, RECOGNIZING THE FUTILITY OF WAR AS AN ARBITER OF INTERNATIONAL ISSUES, CHART A NEW COURSE ORIENTED TO FAITH IN THE JUSTICE, TOLERANCE AND UNDERSTANDING OF MANKIND. THE JAPANESE PEOPLE THUS TURN THEIR BACKS FIRMLY UPON THE MYSTICISM AND UNREALITY OF THE PAST AND FACE INSTEAD A FUTURE OF REALISM WITH A NEW FAITH. -DOUGLAS MACARTHUR, MAY 2, 1946 THE DOCUMENT WAS ACCEPTED BY HIROHITO, GRATEFUL NO DOUBT FOR HAVING BEEN SPARED. ONCE HIROHITO GAVE HIS “FULL APPROVAL” TO THE DRAFT, MACARTHUR ANNOUNCED HIS CONCURRENCE, & ON MARCH 6, 1946 THE JAPANESE GOVERNMENT MADE PUBLIC ITS NEW CONSTITUTION.

IT WAS APPROVED IN THE DIET BY OVERWHELMING NUMBERS: 421 TO 8 IN THE LOWER HOUSE & 298 TO 2 IN THE UPPER CHAMBER & THEN OVERWHELMINGLY IN A POPULAR REFERENDUM.

IT FORMALLY TOOK EFFECT ON MAY 3, 1947, AN ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATED ANNUALLY AS KENPO KENENBI (CONSTITUTION DAY). JAPAN NEEDED TO BE PACIFIED. JAPAN ALSO DESPERATELY NEEDED TO HAVE ITS ECONOMY RESTORED. IRONICALLY, THE KOREAN WAR ASSURED THE LATTER WHILE ARTICLE 9 SECURED THE FORMER. THE GENERAL NEEDED TO REGENERATE AN ECONOMICALLY VIBRANT, DEMOCRATIC JAPAN FIRMLY WITHIN THE AMERICAN ORBIT. MACARTHUR’S CONSTITUTION ACHIEVED THAT & MORE.

THE , ALSO CALLED THE TREATY OF PEACE WITH JAPAN, WAS SIGNED ON SEPTEMBER 8, 1951. THE OCCUPATION FORMALLY ENDED ON APRIL 28, 1952.

“PEACE TREATY WAS SIGNED THE DAY BEFORE YESTERDAY. MY HEART AND THE HEARTS OF ALL JAPANESE TURN TO YOU I N GRATITUDE. FOR IT WAS YOUR FIRM AND KINDLY HAND THAT LED US, A PROSTRATE NATION ON THE ROAD OF RECOVERY AND RECONSTRUCTION. IT WAS YOU WHO FIRST PROPOUNDED THE PRINCIPLES FOR A FAIR AND GENEROUS PEACE WHICH WE NOW HAVE AT LAST. IN THE NAME OF THE JAPANESE GOVERNMENT AND PEOPLE I SEND YOU OUR NATION’S HEARTFELT THANKS.” -WESTERN UNION TELEGRAM SENT TO GENERAL MACARTHUR BY SHIGERU YOSHIDA THE KOREAN CONFLICT

“In war there is no substitute for victory.” PRESIDENT TRUMAN RELIVED GENERAL MACARTHUR OF HIS COMMANDS IN KOREA & JAPAN ON APRIL I, 1951.

“I FIRED MACARTHUR BECAUSE HE WOULDN'T RESPECT THE AUTHORITY OF THE PRESIDENT. I DIDN'T FIRE HIM BECAUSE HE WAS A DUMB SON OF A BITCH, ALTHOUGH HE WAS, BUT THAT'S NOT AGAINST THE LAW FOR GENERALS. IF IT WAS, HALF TO THREE-QUARTERS OF THEM WOULD BE IN JAIL.” -PRESIDENT HARRY TRUMAN LEAVING JAPAN 1951: JAPANESE DISPLAYED HEARTFELT BANNERS: WE LOVE YOU. WE ARE GRATEFUL TO THE GENERAL. WITH SINCERE REGRET. SAYONARA.

A RESOLUTION OF THE DIET CITED GENERAL MACARTHUR AS THE ONE “WHO HELPED OUR COUNTRY OUT OF THE CONFUSION AND POVERTY PREVAILING AT THE TIME THE WAR ENDED.” THE WORLD HAS TURNED OVER MANY TIMES SINCE I TOOK THE OATH ON THE PLAIN AT WEST POINT, AND THE HOPES AND DREAMS HAVE LONG SINCE VANISHED, BUT I STILL REMEMBER THE REFRAIN OF ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR BARRACK BALLADS OF THAT DAY WHICH PROCLAIMED MOST PROUDLY THAT:

OLD SOLDIERS NEVER DIE; THEY JUST FADE AWAY. AND LIKE THE OLD SOLDIER OF THAT BALLAD, I NOW CLOSE MY MILITARY CAREER AND JUST FADE AWAY, AN OLD SOLDIER WHO TRIED TO DO HIS DUTY AS GOD GAVE HIM THE LIGHT TO SEE THAT DUTY. GOOD BYE. -DOUGLAS MACARTHUR, APRIL 19, 1951 THE JAPANESE PEOPLE, SINCE THE WAR, HAVE UNDERGONE THE GREATEST REFORMATION RECORDED IN MODERN HISTORY.

WITH A COMMENDABLE WILL, EAGERNESS TO LEARN, AND MARKED CAPACITY TO UNDERSTAND, THEY HAVE, FROM THE ASHES LEFT IN WAR'S WAKE, ERECTED IN JAPAN AN EDIFICE DEDICATED TO THE SUPREMACY OF INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY AND PERSONAL DIGNITY; AND IN THE ENSUING PROCESS THERE HAS BEEN CREATED A TRULY REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT COMMITTED TO THE ADVANCE OF POLITICAL MORALITY, FREEDOM OF ECONOMIC ENTERPRISE, AND SOCIAL JUSTICE.

POLITICALLY, ECONOMICALLY, AND SOCIALLY JAPAN IS NOW ABREAST OF MANY FREE NATIONS OF THE EARTH AND WILL NOT AGAIN FAIL THE UNIVERSAL TRUST.

I KNOW OF NO NATION MORE SERENE, ORDERLY, AND INDUSTRIOUS, NOR IN WHICH HIGHER HOPES CAN BE ENTERTAINED FOR FUTURE CONSTRUCTIVE SERVICE IN THE ADVANCE OF THE HUMAN RACE. -DOUGLAS MACARTHUR, APRIL 19, 1951 PEOPLE GROW OLD ONLY BY DESERTING THEIR IDEALS. YEARS MAY WRINKLE THE SKIN, BUT TO GIVE UP INTEREST WRINKLES THE SOUL. YOU ARE AS YOUNG AS YOUR FAITH, AS OLD AS YOUR DOUBT; AS YOUNG AS YOUR SELF- CONFIDENCE, AS OLD AS YOUR FEAR; AS YOUNG AS YOUR HOPE, AS OLD AS YOUR DESPAIR.

WHEN YOUR HEART IS COVERED WITH THE SNOWS OF PESSIMISM AND THE ICE OF CYNICISM, THEN AND THEN ONLY ARE YOU GROWN OLD—AND THEN, INDEED, AS THE BALLAD SAYS, YOU FADE AWAY. –DOUGLAS MACARTHUR MACARTHUR’S LEGACY IN JAPAN “THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF GENERAL MACARTHUR IN THE INTEREST OF OUR COUNTRY ARE ONE OF THE MARVELS OF HISTORY. IT IS HE WHO HAS SALVAGED OUR NATION FROM POST-SURRENDER CONFUSION AND PROSTRATION, AND STEERED THE COUNTRY ON THE ROAD TO RECOVERY AND RECONSTRUCTION. IT IS HE WHO HAS FIRMLY PLANTED DEMOCRACY IN ALL SEGMENTS OF OUR SOCIETY. IT IS HE WHO PAVED THE WAY FOR A PEACE SETTLEMENT. NO WONDER HE IS LOOKED UPON BY ALL OUR PEOPLE WITH THE PROFOUNDEST VENERATION AND AFFECTION.” -SHIGERU YOSHIDA “HE DEALT WITH THE JAPANESE PEOPLE NOT AS A CONQUEROR BUT A GREAT REFORMER. HE WAS A NOBLE POLITICAL MISSIONARY. WHAT HE GAVE US WAS NOT MATERIAL AID AND DEMOCRATIC REFORM ALONE, BUT A NEW WAY OF LIFE, THE FREEDOM AND DIGNITY OF THE INDIVIDUAL... WE SHALL CONTINUE TO LOVE AND TRUST HIM AS ONE OF THE AMERICANS WHO BEST UNDERSTOOD JAPAN’S POSITION.” -THE MAINICHI SHIMBUN MACARTHUR’S CONSTITUTION REMAINS IN EFFECT WITHOUT A SINGLE WORD BEING ALTERED. BY CONTRAST, THE US CONSTITUTION HAS BEEN AMENDED 27 TIMES SINCE ITS ADOPTION IN 1787. MORE TO THE POINT, THE CONSTITUTION OF THE FRENCH FIFTH REPUBLIC HAS BEEN AMENDED 10 TIMES SINCE IT WAS FIRST PROPOSED IN 1958 BY GENERAL DE GAULLE.

ARTICLE 96. AMENDMENT TO THIS CONSTITUTION SHALL BE INITIATED BY THE DIET, THROUGH A CONCURRING VOTE OF TWO- THIRDS OR MORE OF ALL THE MEMBERS OF EACH HOUSE AND SHALL THEREUPON BE SUBMITTED TO THE PEOPLE FOR RATIFICATION WHICH SHALL REQUIRE THE AFFIRMATIVE VOTE OF A MAJORITY OF ALL VOTES CAST THEREON, AT SPECIAL REFERENDUM OR AT SUCH ELECTION AS THE DIET SHALL SPECIFY. (2) AMENDMENTS WHEN SO RATIFIED SHALL IMMEDIATELY BE PROMULGATED BY THE EMPEROR IN THE NAME OF THE PEOPLE, AS AN INTEGRAL PART OF THIS CONSTITUTION. “THE JAPANESE PEOPLE SAW HIM AS A LIBERATOR. THE JAPANESE WERE TIRED OF THE BRUTAL RULE BY THE MILITARY AND WERE PLEASED WITH FREE SPEECH AND THE RIGHT TO ASSEMBLY THAT MACARTHUR BESTOWED ON THEM.

THE JAPANESE PEOPLE DID NOT TRUST THEIR LEADERS BUT THEY TRUSTED MACARTHUR TO FIX THEIR COUNTRY. THE JAPANESE PEOPLE THOUGHT THAT MACARTHUR WAS LIBERATING THEM FROM WAR, POVERTY AND DESPAIR.” - TOMMY LOUK