The administration of any defeated country is，of course，difficult，no matter how much good sense the accepted policy shows。In Japan the problems of food and shelter and reconversion are inevitably acute。They would be at least equally acute under an ad-ministration which did not make use of Japanese governmental personnel。
The Japanese have a long hard road before them，no doubt，but if rearmament is not provided for in the State budget they have an opportunity to raise their national standard of living。
Any European or Asiatic country which is not arming during the next decade will have a potential advantage over the countries which are arming，for its wealth can be used to build a healthy and prosperous economy。
What the United States cannot do-what no outside nation could do-is to create by fiat a free，democratic Japan。It has never worked in any dominated country。No for-eigner can decree，for a people who have not his habits and assumptions，a manner of life after his own image。The Japanese cannot be legislated into accepting the authority of elected persons and ignoring“proper station”as it is set up in their hierarchal sys-tem。They cannot be legislated into adopting the free and easy human contacts to which we are accustomed in the United States，the imperative demand to be independent，the passion each individual has to choose his own mate，his own job，the house he will live in and the obligations he will assume。The Japanese themselves，however，are quite ar-ticulate about changes in this direction which they regard as necessary。Their public men have said since VJ-Day that Japan must encourage its men and women to live their own lives and to trust their own consciences。They do not say so，of course，but any Japanese understands that they are questioning the role of“shame”in Japan，and that they hope for a new growth of freedom among their countrymen：freedom from fear of the criticism and ostracism of“the world。”
The Japanese have taken the first great step toward social change by identifying ag-gressive warfare as an“error”and a lost cause。They hope to buy their passage back to a respected place among peaceful nations。It will have to be a peaceful world。At pres-ent the Japanese know militarism as a light that，failed。They will watch to see whether it has also failed in other nations of the world。If it has not，Japan can relight her own warlike ardor and show how well she can contribute。If it has failed elsewhere，Japan can set herself to prove how well she has learned the lesson that imperialistic dynastic enterprises are no road to honor。