We wouldn't be looking like we trumped up the reasons for invading another country. We would have more respect for reasons of leadership rather than reasons of having the biggest stick on the block.

The Japanese had several things going for them: They had, and have, a culture adept at selecting and adapting bits from other cultures that fit into the Japanese world. They had, even in the chaos after the war, a cohesive national identity. And last but not least, they had a leader in Emperor Hirohito who was willing to take responsibility, to transfer power to the conquering army and show his people the way of coexistence.

Additionally, the world knew all about Pearl Harbor, and that it was perpetrated by Japanese planes from Japanese ships under the command of Japanese officials in Japan. The justification of the Americans to act under those conditions was understood completely by world opinion. Japanese war criminals were not held incommunicado, but were tried in open courts martial. Ordinary Japanese were not kept confined for months and months with substandard care, and forced into humiliating acts by their captors.

Let's define "win" in terms in which we, the Americans, act like the Americans we admire. We can't "win" democracy for Iraq; only the Iraqis can do that. We can lose it for ourselves, though. It's easier than we think.