The U.S. ordered Japan to be free. Japanese officialdom bowed low, smiled and consented: very well, if they must, they would make a stab at it.
In a six-page memorandum to the Imperial Government, General of the Army Douglas MacArthur last week decreed revolution. He demanded full civil liberties, release of political prisoners, abolishment of all totalitarian powers and dismissal of the Minister of Home Affairs, who had persistently abused these powers. There was to be freedom of speech (even about the Emperor) and freedom of thought (under Japanese law, people suspected...
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