That’s neat. My Dad told us the same things.
One of General MacArthur’s first orders was to treat the civilians with courtesy and respect. They were to refer to them as Japanese, not Japs.
The Japanese people and American forces came to have a good relationship. When MacArthur left Japan for the States after being fired, hundreds of thousands of Japanese turned out to bid him farewell.
We didn’t do it out of love for the Japanese, we did it to make sure they wouldn’t flip to support the Soviets. That’s what ultimately saved Hirohito, as well.