f Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 was described by the emperor as "enduring the unendurable and suffering what is insufferable," but he asked the Japanese people to do just that when it was clear that there was no other choice. The terms of surrender included the occupation of Japan by Allied military forces, assurances that Japan would never again go to war, the restriction of the sovereignty of Japan to the four main islands, and the surrender of Japan's colonial holdings. From 1945 to 1947, there followed a period of demilitarization and democratization under the direction of General Douglas MacArthur, the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP). At that time, Japan's navy and army ministries were abolished, her munitions and military equipment destroyed, and her war industries converted to civilian uses. War crimes trials were held at which 4,200 Japanese officials were found guilty. Seven hundred were executed, and 186,000 public figures were purged. Shinto as the state religion was disestablished, and Emperor Hirohito repudiated his divinity
...