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George Kizaki, an 84-year-old second-generation Japanese-American man living in Tokyo, who used to be an interpreter for Gen Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP), during the Allied Powers' occupation of Japan following World War II. He was referring to MacArthur's statement comparing the nation to a 12-year-old boy, referring to the immaturity of Japanese society. (Mainichi Shimbun)
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I'd say Japan is about 40 years old now. Tokyo was burned to the ground. And look at how it has prospered since then, and how it has stayed peaceful.
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HollisBrown
In many ways a still immature 40 years old. Maybe that's one of the reasons it has remained peaceful.
domtoidi
I have a hard time believing General MacArthur used a teenage boy as an interpreter.
And the MacArthiur quote is this:
"Measured by the standards of modern civilization, [Japan] would be like a boy of twelve as compared with [the Anglo-Saxon] development of 45 years.”
He didn't say Japan was a nation of 12 year olds, like so many misquote him to have said. The context was very, very different.
bruinfan
Thanks for writing this. I had misunderstood this one for years...