MacArthur Page #7

No, sir.

Now,

Japanese women.

What about them?

They must be given the vote.

The men are not gonna like that.

Well, neither did

our men at first.

General, I'm sorry,

but I still think

it's too much to expect

a feudal country like Japan

to swallow a whole

new constitution in one gulp.

Their cabinet

will never go for it.

The old cabinet wouldn't,

but we've yet to hear

from the new prime minister.

And may I

congratulate you

on your appointment,

Mr. Shidehara.

Thank you.

General, I extend

to you my gratitude

for the penicillin your medical

services made available to me.

It aided me in recovering

from a serious illness.

Happy to be of assistance.

Diseases are conquered, sir,

even very old,

epidemic diseases.

Yes?

Sometimes, though, the

cure is slow and painful.

Yes, of course.

Is there some

particular difficulty?

General, our new

constitution must forbid

any military establishment

in Japan whatsoever.

There must not be an army,

a navy or an air force.

We must renounce now and forever

the use of force as an

instrument of national power.

Mr. Prime Minister,

I can only...

Please, hear me out.

Of course.

In this way,

and only this way,

can we eliminate forever

the power of the militarists.

Only in this way

can we reassure the world

that Japan no longer has warlike

design against any people.

We are a poor country, with 70

million person to feed and clothe.

We cannot afford armaments.

We cannot afford

the trapping of power.

And never, never again can we

suffer Nagasaki and Hiroshima.

Let us renounce war, sir.

Please, let us renounce war

in the new constitution

and forever.

Mr. Shidehara,

no man detests war

more than this soldier.

My abhorrence for it

reached its height

with the development

of the atom bomb.

No man, sir, could be

more moved by your offer

or more determined to accept it.

Well, it's damned embarrassing.

I've been telling

Congress for months

we need 400,000 men in Japan,

and MacArthur holds

a press conference,

says he can make do

with half that number.

Now, General, did he clear

this with you? No, sir.

There's been some

misunderstanding.

Not by me, there isn't.

I invited MacArthur

to come home.

I wanted to discuss

occupation policy with him,

and I expected him

to back up our position

before the congressional

committees.

So I held out

the big carrot to him.

I told him we'd set up a series

of welcome-home

demonstrations

and a joint session of Congress.

Well, you know what he

replied, Congressman?

He said he thought the situation

was just too dangerous over there

for him to come home right now.

Said he was too busy.

That's what he said to the President

of the United States. Damn it!

General Derevyanko,

I must say I've missed you.

Only short visit to Moscow.

A meeting with my superiors,

a holiday on

Caspian Sea with family.

Good, good. I was afraid

that Stalin had had you shot.

No, no, no, no. Why do you say that?

Would Truman have you shot?

Sometimes I wonder.

Now, General,

it's come to my attention

that several

hundreds of thousands

of Japanese prisoners

fell into your hands

in the closing days of the war.

You understand

that the Japanese authorities,

and my own superiors as well, are

pressing me for an accounting.

We have some small numbers of enemy

troops in our hands, that is true,

but I can assure you that,

in this matter, as you know,

my government will abide by the

decisions of the Potsdam Conference.

Yes, yes, yes. When

will they be repatriated?

Soon. In that connection,

my government is making plans

for the occupation

of Hokkaido Island.

Hokkaido Island is occupied.

It is under my command.

The Soviet Union

is a coequal ally.

It is my government's intention

to occupy Hokkaido

on its own behalf.

As the supreme commander,

I represent all Allied powers.

We are fully prepared to

commence our rightful occupation

whether you approve or not.

You see, the terms

of my command are absolute.

This is not Germany.

I will not countenance separate

spheres of influence or occupation

of the home islands of Japan

as long as I'm in command.

Well, then, sir, my government

will insist upon a new

supreme commander.

If the day comes

when Soviet troops

attempt to land on Japanese soil

without my expressed consent,

I will throw the entire Soviet

delegation in Tokyo into jail.

Including you,

General Derevyanko.

I believe you would.

And I believe

this is where you get off.

As the historic changes

continue to transform Japanese life,

it was becoming evident this

week that the women of Japan

were winning their fight to end

family contract marriages,

the right to equal

cigarette and sake rations,

and the right to vote.

Dress fashions are not the only

thing that have changed radically.

In the newly established election,

13 million women went to the polls,

and in an unprecedented sweep,

elected 38 women lawmakers

to the House of Representatives.

I regret to say

something terrible has happened.

A prostitute, Your Excellency,

has been elected to

House of Representative.

Prostitute? Well, how many

votes did she receive?

256,000.

She must have

an unusually loyal clientele.

Now, after two and

a half years of painstaking work,

the war crimes trial

in Tokyo comes to an end.

As America prepares for another

presidential election year,

Japan celebrates 1948

with the first anniversary

of its new constitution.

Mmm. Not these.

I think this one's the best.

I thought you

might like that one.

That's fine.

Court, what time is it

in Wisconsin?

Oh, heck,

I can never figure out...

Polls closed

an hour ago.

I wish I had been there.

I would have had one of these

on every lamppost for you.

No, you don't, Vic.

No electioneering

within 50 feet of the candidate.

Why, General,

you're not a candidate.

Just another available citizen.

Excuse me, General,

but I'm from Wisconsin,

and my folks are voting for you.

Matter of fact, I would be,

too, only I'm not old enough.

Well,

thank you, son.

All the precincts?

This just came in on the wire.

You only won eight delegates.

Eight delegates out of 27.

It's their loss, General. You would

have made a great president.

Well, what's on

the calendar for today?

Here's to four more years, Mr.

President!

Hear! Hear!

Happy days are here again

The skies above

are clear again

So let's sing a song

of cheer again

Happy days are here again

All together shout it now

There's no one

who can doubt it now

So let's tell the world

about it now

Roaring their approval

here in the 1949 Tokyo World Series.

The Giants are the heavy

favorites this year.

Meanwhile,

as the Japanese economy

continued its painful

but steady recovery,

the mood of the nation began to

reflect the growing cultural change.

Yes?

General, I'm sorry to

disturb you at this late hour.

We have a dispatch

from South Korea.

The North Koreans have

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