Friday, June 29, 2012

Dai-ichi Life Insurance Co. will provide a special limited viewing next month of Gen. Douglas MacArthur's office, preserved within the company's headquarters in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo.

The Dai Ichi Life Insurance Building facing the Imperial Palace was taken over in 1945 for use by the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, or SCAP, MacArthur's title during the Allied Occupation.

Starting July 17 and lasting six days, 200 people will be allowed into the sixth-floor office between 10:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. on a first-come, first-served basis.

The viewing is part of the insurer's celebration of its 110th anniversary.

MacArthur's office, which had been the office of the company's president, has been preserved as it was, including its desk and chairs.

It has been closed to the public for security reasons since the Sept. 11, 2011, terrorist attacks in the United States.

The office witnessed historic moments in the postwar era, including the drafting of the Constitution. The building was returned to the company in 1952.

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