[Eric in the Ozarks]

Its hard to get inside MacArthur's head on why the emperor avoided the noose. The general made many mistakes in his career but his approach in Japan has paid major dividends.

[Nachoman]

Its hard to get inside MacArthur's head on why the emperor avoided the noose.

Its not really hard at all. The Emperor agreed to convince the populace to submit to the surrender and the occupation. If he had been executed, he would have been elevated to martyr, and we would still be fighting Japs today.

[MarkL]

Its hard to get inside MacArthur's head on why the emperor avoided the noose. The general made many mistakes in his career but his approach in Japan has paid major dividends.

I've often wondered about why the US didn't take a similar approach to Iraq, in imposing a new government on the country. It really did work well in Japan. Sometimes I think that the reason that Hirohito needed to be kept alive was in order to ensure that the population saw he was just a man and nothing more, but at the same time, their in-bred respect and awe of him helped ensure the transition to the new government.

Mark