Abstract: Begins by noting that, early in the Occupation period, General Douglas MacArthur (SCAP) told Japanese leaders that their country could not fulfill the terms of the Potsdam Declaration without revising its Constitution. It analyzes seminal documents from Washington (particularly JCS 1380 and SWNCC 228), emphasizing their warning that Japan should take leadership of this project. It shows that, by the end of January 1946, MacArthur, pressed by Allies on the Far Eastern Commission, had determined that Japan could not accomplish this goal without active American intervention.

Keywords: Far Eastern Commission (FEC), General Douglas MacArthur, JCS 1380, Potsdam Declaration, Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP), SWNCC 228,