In fairness to the Japanese, they expected the same treatment to be meted out to them; they were shocked that we even bothered to hold trials for their leaders, and that everyone else was basically given a pass. As bad as their treatment of our prisoners was, their treatment of civilians on the Asian mainland was much worse.
Yep, the Japs murdered 10,000 Chinese civilians just in their search for downed Doolittle crewmen.
Not to mention millions more Chinese who had the misfortune to be regarded as subhuman by the invading Japs.
Any credit should go to the Emperor, who in his broadcast told the Japanese people to accept defeat & occupation as absolutely inevitable. He defused an entire nation that had been prepared to fight to the last human standing.
Then MacArthur arrived and said, “I have deprived Japan of its divine emperor, but I’m giving you another - me!”
;^)