After the Treaty of San Francisco, Japan had its sovereignty restored at the cost of accepting the verdicts of the Tokyo trials in an attempt to form an alliance with the United States. Japan used popular sentiment against the trials and the principle of the priority of domestic law to actively bring about the return of class-A war criminals to society. This policy gave rise to the Japanese public’s feelings of sympathy towards war criminals, and became the foundation of, and a tool for conservative political rule before Japan had time to fully reflect on its role in the war.