It seems the common explanation is that the US went the "reverse course" to have a bulwark against the rise of communism in East Asia. Japan was not to adopt co

It seems the common explanation is that the US went the "reverse course" to have a bulwark against the rise of communism in East Asia. Japan was not to adopt communism at any cost. And the best way to ensure a society does not adopt communism is to give the diametrically opposed forces in the country the upper hand: Right-wing nationalism. So many people who were responsible for the worst atrocities Japan committed in the last two decades in Asia were made leaders of the new "democratised" Japan. Hirohito as the spearhead was only one example. The people who were actuallt prosecuted and sentenced to death for war crimes were all deemed expendable by the Japanese anyway. This is what haunts Japan until today - Nippon Kaigi, Nippon Foundation (aka Sasakawa Foundation), etc. are all basically think tanks and well-budgeted secret government agencies promoting right-wing nationalist or even borderline fascist ideas in Japan and astroturfing them overseas. Just read about the Sasakawa Foundation to get an idea.