21. Rebuilding Japan and saving the emperor were MacArthur’s post-war goals
MacArthur is often criticized for his handling of the Japanese government in the post-war period. During that time he protected the emperor from accusations of war crimes. He was under orders to use the existing machinery of the Japanese government to control the people. MacArthur argued strongly about the need to retain the emperor, though he also ordered all Japanese newspapers to publish a photograph of his meeting with Hirohito. In the photograph, MacArthur towered over the diminutive Hirohito, whom the Japanese believed to that point to be a living god. MacArthur’s intent in having the photograph published across the nation was self-evident.
During his tenure in Japan, MacArthur organized another attempt to run for President, coordinating with far-right conservatives in the United States, while his public relations staff churned out statements about his popularity. His military and legal staff wrote a new constitution for Japan, and effectively made the emperor little more than a figurehead. MacArthur was, for all practical purposes, a dictator with supreme authority in Japan prior to the signing of a peace treaty, which did not occur prior to the election of 1948. He chose not to resign prior to the treaty, but also refused to withdraw from running for the Republican nomination. MacArthur was replaced by the new Japanese government in 1949, though he remained in Japan in command of American occupying forces.
