To bring the Emperor to trial would provoke guerrilla warfare throughout the nation and perpetuate a military government. MacArthur was more than determined to treat the Emperor with respect—against the advice of his own staff, who wanted him summoned peremptorily to Allied headquarters as a show of power. “To do so,” the general said, “would be to outrage the feelings of the Japanese people and make a martyr of the Emperor in their eyes. No, I shall wait and in time the Emperor will voluntarily come to see me.
