Diplomats
For diplomats such as Prime Minister Yoshida Shigeru his focus lied on the treatment of the emperor. To him the kind treatment is what led to lessening the fears of the people. According to Shigeru it all stems back to the treatment of the Throne of the Emperor:
The General had come to have a great respect for the Emperor, and even told me once that, although Japan had lost the war, the Throne was still important to the Japanese people and the reconstruction of Japan depended on the people rallying to the Imperial symbol…at any rate, the fact remains that the respect and understanding shown by the General towards the Throne, and his decision to exculpate the emperor from all and any relationship with war crimes, did more than anything to lessen the fears of the majority of the Japanese people in regard to the Occupation and to reconcile them to it. [17]
It is here that we see the first difference in the occupation in regard to the viewpoint of what the primary concern was. The citizens were less focused on what was going to happen in regard to changes, rather they focused on what was going to happen to them as people referring to their treatment. Meanwhile, Shigeru focused more on how the occupation was going to treat the Emperor, the symbol of Japan, rather than how the people were going to be treated.
While, treatment may have been the center of attention during the beginning of the occupation, these worries began to shift as policies were implemented. While, the people were speaking heavily about education, diplomats were more focused on the purges which were instituted by the Occupation authorities. These purgers were a method of punishing the people the Occupation authority deemed as being responsible for the war, these were the lead militarists and statesmen from the time. Both Yoshida Shigeru and Foreign Minister Okazaki Hisahiko explained the impact on the government. [18]
Shigeru explains this through the sheer number of people who had been purged:
"Occupation headquarters consented to cancel the purge charges of only about one hundred and fifty, the Board itself went out of existence at the time of the announcement of the last list of purgees. However, since 200,000 persons had by then been purged, the handicap arising from such a large number of men of ability being debarred from useful activity began to make itself strongly felt, both in the national life and on popular sentiment in the country…I paid a visit to General MacArthur and requested permission to set up a second Appeal Board…the Supreme Commander readily consented, and the news, when announced, was most favorably received, not only by the purge themselves, but the country generally." [19]
While, Hisahiko explains this through how damaging it was under the surface.
" As a matter of fact, the Purge had a harmful influence on Japan. The very generation of Japanese who has received high level-education during the peacetime in the Meiji through early Showa periods, who were well exposed to foreign countries, and who had been in responsible positions during the TaishÅ Democracy to the era of militarism were dismissed. Instead, those who had only been in mediocre positions during the era of militarism with precious little overseas experience, or their succeeding generations who had received the military education which suppressed personal qualities, assumed leadership positions for a long time in postwar Japan." [20]
