|
I wouldn't call it a Quaker-Republican-Japanese cabal or a conspiracy. It was more like interlocking interests pushing the entire system towards a conservative Japan (although any Japanese interested in political history knows just how much backdoor dealings are done within Japanese politics). Furthermore, up until the 1950's the old school networks (all that families presenting their girls to society, etc) were still strong enough to greatly influence policies, so what may seem to be a conspiracy clique from the the POV of us was really just business as usual (think about it, if this Quaker group was a cabal, what about the Chinese Lobby?).
Now, for your main question: Who was the alternative to MacArthur? I condensed the potential SCAP heads to the six main military strategists of the Pacific War: King, Marshall, Leahy, Arnold, Nimitz, MacArthur.
Supposing the above people in general followed basic OTL patterns, then Marshall is out for his Europe-first view, Arnold is too busy with the Air Force, and MacArthur was the OTL result. The remaining three are Old Navy professionals, distinct from the political animal like MacArthur (in the sense that they do not have the same kind of ambition or backings). I'm inclined to believe that they would be more open to the New Dealers than the conservative Republicans, or at least they wouldn't start the reverse turn which formed SCAP-2.
Of course, if you have anyone in your mind, just give a list and I'll see if I can find their backgrounds and stuff.
PS: My opinion about "The Yamato dynasty: the secret history of Japan's Imperial family" is that it's too sensationalist. It does open up some info to the English reading people, but still it reads like some tabloid than a real work on history. You have to tone down the thing by at least 75% to get a clearer picture. Still, it did a pretty good job of portraying 2.26, and explains why even know there are plenty of anti-nationalists still being ambivalent about the revolt.
|