Asked by jy

Why would this part of Japan’s constitution have been important to MacArthur’s goals for Japan?

It gave the Japanese people the right to vote on war.

It prohibited Japan from having an army

It prevented Japan from forming alliances with other nations
Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as a means of settling international disputes.

—Japanese Constitution,
Article 9

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
The best answer is: It prohibited Japan from having an army.

Why: As Supreme Commander, MacArthur’s main goals were to demilitarize Japan and eliminate the political power of the militarists who had led it into WWII, and to transform Japan into a peaceful, democratic state. Article 9 constitutionally renounced war and forbade maintaining armed forces, directly preventing Japan from rebuilding the military capability that had enabled aggression. (It did not give citizens a “right to vote on war,” and it does not explicitly forbid forming alliances.)