>>7519158Prince Higashikuni (uncle of the Emperor and post-war Prime Minister), showed his interest in becoming a servant to Freemasonry by becoming the first Japanese in post-war Japan to present an application to the Fraternity. Prince Eun Lee (whose wife is a cousin of the Empress), Naotake Sato (President of the House of Councillors), Ryutaro Takahashi (Minister of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry), Prime Minister Ichiro Hatoyama, Yahachi Kawai (President of the House of Councillors), Viscount Michiharu Mishima (a former member of the House of Peers who resigned to become Chief Scout of the Boy Scouts of Japan), and many other leaders were among the first Japanese to petition the Masonic Order in early 1950.[18]
Freemasonry received extremely favorable endorsements from Japanese leaders such as Count Tsuneo Matsudairu (President of the House of Councillors and father of Princess Chichibu), who commented: "I know Freemasonry very well. I admire the principle of the fraternity that advocates and practices universal brotherhood. I am sure that Freemasonry alone can save this world from destruction. I am sorry to say that I was never able to be raised to the Sublime Degree of Master Mason. Japanese misunderstanding and prejudice toward Freemasonry was one of the main causes of the last war. I am grateful Gen. MacArthur's special consideration to open the door of Freemasonry to Japanese. It will undoubtedly be a social revolution in Japan. It is wonderful to welcome liberty, equality and fraternity." Baron Kijuro Shidehara (Speaker of the House of Representatives, Prime Minister, and Foreign Minister in pre-war Japan), also said: "I became acquainted with Freemasonry many decades ago in London. Then the Japanese Ambassador, Count Tadasu Hayashi, attired proudly in Masonic costume, told me that he had found friends in true spirit everywhere he traveled-because he was a Mason. I even studied Masonic principles through him.
