Emperor

Japan has surrendered,

brought to its knees

by the most terrible weapon ever devised,

the atomic bomb.

The country is a smoking ruin.

Despite this, their ruler,

Emperor Hirohito,

is still worshipped

by his people as a living god.

We have placed

this Sacred Son of Heaven

on the protected list

until we decide

what to do with him.

I fear the Japan I fell in love with

will be scarred

beyond recognition.

I'm seeing

aerial reconnaissance photos,

but they only tell part of the story.

General Fellers,

the old man wants you up front.

General MacArthur, sir.

I'm told there will be

2,000 Imperial troops

lining the road

we'll have to drive, and, um...

We have 100 men, sir,

and the cars they've requisitioned

for us are not armored.

The snipers could take us out

at any point, General.

Fellers?

Sir, the Emperor rallied his people

in ways that were unimaginable

only a month ago.

He did so by ordering them

to surrender

without ever using

the word "surrender."

He simply asked that they

"endure the unendurable."

And I do not doubt

their allegiance to him,

nor to his order to surrender, sir.

Get through to Washington

and tell them

I've consulted my experts,

and there's nothing

to worry about.

That'll do.

Gentlemen, we will take

no weapons with us

when we step off this airplane.

Nothing will impress them more

than a show

of absolute fearlessness.

If they don't know

they're licked by now,

they will get the picture today.

Now, let's show them

some good old-fashioned

American swagger.

General! General Mac!

Welcome to Japan, Mac.

Good to see you.

This way, sir!

The worst war

in all history is over.

Now is the time to win

this fragile peace,

or impose it if we have to.

We are the occupying power...

but we must be seen

as liberators, not conquerors.

Not your usual surrender formation.

They avert their gaze

for the Emperor, too, sir.

They are paying you

the ultimate respect.

I know.

All right, let's move it!

- You two men at the top of the stairs.

- Sir!

Our headquarters is just across

from the Imperial Palace

in one of the few buildings

our B-29s missed.

The palace is strictly

off limits to our forces.

General MacArthur

has ordered me to arrest

and bring to justice

30 of the Class A war criminals

who are close

to Emperor Hirohito.

Rogers.

Sir?

Take those down.

- Listen up.

- Attention, gentlemen.

I want all suspects arrested

in a one-hour window.

We cannot give them time to react.

We'll begin with former

Prime Minister Tojo at 2100 hours.

Let's go!

You heard him! Get busy!

Hustle it up!

The arrests must be made

as close to simultaneous as possible.

All right.

Let's move it out!

Let's go!

It's an island.

They're not going anywhere.

There's a long tradition

of suicide, General.

General Fellers?

I am Takahashi,

your driver and interpreter.

What did you say

your name was again?

Takahashi, at your service.

Follow me.

And you work for me, correct?

Exclusively, sir.

Move it!

It's a private matter.

Find her.

Let's go.

Go, move it.

Come on!

Go!

Move!

Watch for booby traps.

Check that door!

He's still alive.

Get a medic in here, now.

Medic!

Shoots himself in the chest

and misses his heart?

What was he mumbling?

He was apologizing

for taking so long to die.

These people are barbaric.

They have different ideas of honor.

- Sir.

- Sector five, six, and nine.

I'll take care of it.

General MacArthur, sir.

As you were.

Come with me.

Richter?

26 of the top 29 accused were

successfully detained, sir.

And the others?

Took their own lives, sir.

That is unacceptable,

unacceptable.

What about Tojo?

Attempted,

but we got there in time.

Do not let that son of a b*tch die

before we get a chance to hang him.

Our mission has changed.

The President has taken the Emperor

off the protected list.

He can be tried

as a war criminal if we want.

Clearly, it is what

the Justice Department wants.

But they have given me

all often days

to conduct an investigation

into the Emperor's role in the war.

- Ten days?

- That's right.

That's not feasible, sir.

But isn't there

a consensus already, sir?

The whole world wants

the Emperor damned to hell.

Thank you, Richter, that'll do.

Sir.

Come in here, Fellers.

How long since you were here?

Five years ago, sir.

It's hard to come back

and see it like this, isn't it?

Yes, sir.

Well, we have a job to do.

There is a strong consensus

about the fate of the Emperor,

but it doesn't mean sh*t to me.

I won't be bullied

by those cretins in Washington.

My mission is to rebuild Japan.

Yes, sir.

If I arrest the Emperor,

I'll face mass suicides,

possibly open revolt.

If I put him on trial,

I could be setting a spark

to a powder keg

at precisely

the wrong moment.

Your thoughts, Fellers?

There's always the question

of justice, sir.

And on the practical side,

there's Stalin.

Oh, that son of a b*tch.

I don't want

the Communists in here.

But Washington wants

vengeance on the Emperor,

because their voters do,

and their voters have no f***ing idea

what's good for them.

If the Emperor goes,

the Reds will enter.

Staving off the Communists

is the plight of our times, sir.

A plight that rests with you, Fellers.

I'm making this your job,

not Richter's.

Ten days.

I have confidence in you.

Sir, I am deeply honored,

but I'm not sure...

You know this country.

You love it.

You hate it.

Your thinking about it

has been dead on so far,

and I know you'll meet

their deadline,

because, like me,

you don't want those bastards

making our decisions for us.

The conclusion has to be ours.

Pardon the Emperor,

or depose and arrest him,

but make a decision.

Commit it to paper

for my consideration and approval.

You're right.

General, I have a Jeep for you.

I'll walk.

Ifs not safe.

On the night

of the 10th of March, 1945,

our bombers turned

the Japanese capital

into the largest crematorium

the world has ever known.

100,000 people were incinerated

in a single air raid.

The stench of burnt flesh

and rotting bodies still lingers.

This country is starving

and teetering on the edge

of total collapse.

It wouldn't take much

for their resentment

to ignite into revolt.

And the fate of the Emperor

could be just the spark.

Miss! Excuse me, miss.

You dropped these.

Thank you.

Keep it.

Let's do the Lindy!

Aya, let's go somewhere else.

Sorry, I didn't know

it would be so wild in there.

Let's dance here.

I've been wondering

how you got the nerve

to come so far

from home all alone.

Well, lam too,

how do you say...

outspoken for a Japanese girl.

Outspoken?

Is that a serious flaw?

Sir.

I checked the address

of her apartment in Tokyo.

It was hit in a bombing

three months ago.

The house was demolished.

She substituted

at a school near Shizuoka.

Contact her uncle,

General Kajima.

He'll know where she is.

Yes, sir.

Gentlemen,

our mission has changed.

We will investigate

Rate this script:5.0 / 1 vote