an at a "virtual standstill, and even agricultural production had fallen off about one third because of long years without new tools, adequate fertilizer, or sufficient labor" (Reischauer & Jansen, 1995, p. 103). Morale had collapsed. Spirits were drained. Ethics took a turn for the worse: criminal delinquency increased significantly. Rather than Confucius, it was confusion which reigned and offered a politically receptive terrain for change in political, social, industrial, and educational directions.
General MacArthur, Supreme Commander Allied Powers (SCAP), became the virtual dictator of a vanquished Japan. No matter that he commanded the "Allied Powers": the British were too scarred themselves to meddle, and the Russians refused to get involved unless they had full power over part of Japan and were not under the command of the American general. Yet, MacArthur had the foresight to transact changes through the Japanese establishment--after a thorough purge of undesirable elements, viz. those who had wilfull
...