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TOKYO -- The recent spirited speculation over whether or not Japan's
36-year-old Crown Princess Masako is pregnant with her first child and potential heir to the
Chrysanthemum Throne has produced a range of reactions.
Not the least significant of these sentiments--which extend from hope
that arrival of a royal heir might help awaken Japanese from their societal malaise to prospects for an
economic rebound-- is the recollection of the American role in preserving
the imperial system itself after World War II.
Allied commander in the Pacific and then supremo of the American
occupation of Japan Gen. Douglas MacArthur was the instrument of a series
of remarkable reforms.
There were arguments that held the emperor should be removed and tried
as a war criminal, that the imperial system be abolished and that, in
effect, a Japanese republic be established.
World and American politics became involved. Impending war crimes
trials with charges of "victors' justice" created a somber backdrop.
There were dark predictions that dumping the emperor might open the door
to communists.
At the end of the day, Japan had it both ways. The emperor was
allowed to remain as a symbol of the Japanese nation and continuance of a
family thread extending back more than 2,500 years. But MacArthur also
fitted Japan with a democratic constitution.
No one was completely happy and the arrangement has been argued by
academics who become blue in the face sifting nuances.
But in retrospect the solution has amounted to one of the most
brilliant political-diplomatic moves of the century.
MacArthur's "no-war constitution" remains, despite the ease with which
it could be changed, technically, if Japanese politicians could muster
first the initiative and second the votes, to do it.
Pacifists say revising the constitution might lead to a rearmed Japan. I
say it might lead to a more responsible Japan. Why not ask the Japanese
people?
More anachronistic than the constitution itself is a 1947 law banning
women from ascending to the throne. The line of succession provides only
for males, currently Naruhito and his younger brother Akishino, born in
1965 and now married and the father of two daughters. Should Naruhito and
Akishino fail to produce a male heir, the Japanese Diet would have to amend
the regulations or break the ancient lineage.
There have been eight Japanese god-queens, the most recent reigning in
th 18th century.
So, if Masako gives birth to boy, everyone except certain
anti-imperialists can rejoice. If it is a girl, the Imperial Household Act
will have to be revised so that she can be the emperor.
The MacArthur Constitution states that both sexes are equal and
traditionalists could not easily continue their resistance to change. A
female monarch might be the best thing that could happen to the imperial
system and to Japan. Both need to have their images jump-started and
revamped.
As for MacArthur, he was a hero to many in Japan for his perceived
benevolence.
Some Japanese wept when he was dismissed by President Harry Truman for
insubordination over Korean War strategy. There were plans for a
MacArthur memorial in Tokyo,
even though "Dugout Doug" claimed Tokyo already had too many statues.
The memorial idea lasted only until MacArthur's speech to the U.S.
Congress, on his return, in which he described the Japanese as a "nation
of 12-year-olds."
The Japanese were deeply hurt and plans for the MacArthur memorial were
dropped and never revived.
So while monuments and memorials in his honor dot landscapes in South
Korea and The Philippines, and of course in the U .S., there are none in
Japan.
In Tokyo today, a visitor even must have special permission to visit
MacArthur's old office in the Daiichi Insurance Building, which he
commandeered as occupation headquarters and where he had a famous first
meeting with Emperor Hirohito.The latter arrived in formal attire, while
MacArthur wore an open-necked shirt.
Edward Neilan (eneilan@crisscross.com) is a veteran journalist, based in Tokyo, who covers East Asia and writes weekly for World Tribune.com.