Editing Occupation of Japan (section)

===Preserving the Emperor===

[[File:Macarthur hirohito.jpg|thumb|left|upright|alt=two men standing in a black and white portrait|[[Gaetano Faillace]]'s famous photo of Douglas MacArthur and Emperor Hirohito]]
Once the food network was in place, MacArthur set out to win the support of [[Hirohito]]. The two men met for the first time on September 27, 1945; the photograph of the two together is one of the most famous in Japanese history.{{sfn|Dower|1999|p=292}} Some were shocked that MacArthur wore his standard duty uniform with no tie, instead of his dress uniform, when meeting the Emperor Hirohito. The difference in height between the towering MacArthur and the diminutive Hirohito also impressed upon Japanese citizens who was in charge now.{{sfn|Dower|1999|p=293}} With the cooperation of Japan's reigning monarch, MacArthur had the political ammunition he needed to begin the real work of the occupation. While other Allied political and military leaders pushed for Hirohito to be tried as a [[war crimes|war criminal]], MacArthur resisted such calls, arguing that any such prosecution would be overwhelmingly unpopular with the Japanese people. He also rejected calls for [[abdication]], promoted by some members of the [[Imperial House of Japan|imperial family]] such as [[Takahito, Prince Mikasa]] (younger brother of Hirohito) and former prime minister [[Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni]] (father-in-law of Hirohito's eldest daughter, [[Shigeko Higashikuni|Princess Shigeko]]) and demands of intellectuals like [[Tatsuji Miyoshi]].<ref>{{harvnb|Bix|2001|pp=571–573}}</ref>