On 28 Dec 2003 23:16:37 -0800, wrote:

Charles Gray wrote in message . ..
On 27 Dec 2003, wrote:



But incase you're still lost, you can still save face by writing one
sentence a hundred times on the blackboard. Don't worry, it's only
made up of five little words:

"YOU CAN KEEP YOUR EMPEROR."

Perhaps this 2nd assignment will help you to grasp how powerful such a
simple Potsdam clarification might have been in rendering your above
questions moot.


Ah, one of hte typical fantasys of those who live in the pink
colored world where they never have to fight.
That was never on the table. The japenese at the time of potsdam
might have given some thought to a surrender agreement that allowed
them to keep the emperor, as he was-- the semi-divine figurehead ruler
of Japan, set above the people.
Those who point out "well we kept the emperor" miss one very
important fact-- the "Emperor" as he existed before 1945 died. He
lost all temporal power, and more importantly, was both "De-deified"
and subjegated to the will of the Japanese people.
The entire equation of legitimacy was turned on its head, where the
emperor gained whatever legitimacy he had via the will of the Japanese
people, a starkly impossible concept for the pre-surrender Japan. At
no point do you find that on the table, even in teh private
discussions of the "pro-peace" party.