However, as the Cold War began to ramp up, US leaders began to see Japan as less of a threat to peace and more as a potential industrial and military bulwark against communism in Asia. Accordingly, beginning in 1947, Occupation authorities began attempting to roll back many of the changes they had just implemented, in what became known as the "Reverse Course." The Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal of Japanese war criminals was brought to a hasty conclusion, wartime leaders were depurged and encouraged to return to government, the Occupation began cracking down on labor unions, the police were allowed to re-centralize and militarize, and the U.S. government began pressuring the Japanese government to get rid of Article 9 and fully remilitarize.