>>7519132http://www.skirret.com/papers/freemasonry_and_modern_japanese_history.htmlJohn Diesem (a Mason from Wisconsin, who served as the first State Senior Councilor of DeMolay in Japan during the mid-1950's) relayed a story that was being passed around during the 1950's in Masonic circles in Japan, in which an old man had lived in the Yokohama Temple throughout the war and waited for the American Masons to return. Shortly after the war they returned, he had them dig up the original charter and all the regalia from the Lodge which he buried in the backyard.[15] The research indicates that the old man was most likely Miyakawa.
Masonic lodges were once again formed in Japan by American soldiers during the occupation. At the time these Lodges came under the [Masonic] jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of the Philippines. All the lodges had the blessings of General Douglas MacArthur (a Mason himself).[16]
Boy Scouts (whose founder, Daniel Carter Beard, was a Mason) played a large role in bringing Freemasonry back to Japan after the war. In 1947, General MacArthur authorized the reactivation of the Boy Scouts in Japan. The Imperial HouseHold Agency and other top leaders in Japan were briefed by Tamotsu Murayama (then not a Mason) on the fundamental principles of Freemasonry, which are to build character and future citizenship. American Masons promised to get behind a project to realize "Building For A Better Tomorrow". They also promised Japanese leaders they would support Scouting, which was considered to be a very important post-war project to reconstruct Japan with the spirit of humanity and democracy in the minds of young people.[17]
