Karuizawa, Nagano
As soon as the war ended, Sirota went to Japan in search of her parents, who survived the war as internees in Karuizawa, Nagano. On Christmas Eve, 1945, she was the first civilian woman to arrive in post-war Japan. Assigned to the Political Affairs staff, she worked for Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP) Douglas MacArthur's occupation army as a translator. In addition to Japanese, she was fluent in English, German, French, and Russian.