POST WAR HISTORY

HISTORY POLITICS RELIGION History Overview Early Japan Nara, Heian Periods Kamakura Period Muromachi Period Azuchi, Momoyama Edo Period Meiji Period Militarism, WW2 Government Laws, Constitution Self Defense Force

After World War II had ended, Japan was completely devastated. All the big cities (with the exception of Kyoto), the industries, and the transportation and communication networks were severely damaged. The occupation of Japan by the Allied Powers started in August 1945 and ended in April 1952. General MacArthur was its Supreme Commander. The whole operation was mainly carried out by the United States. Japan's territory after the war was basically the same as in 1868, however, without the Kurile islands that were occupied by the Soviet Union and the Ryukyu Islands, including Okinawa, which were controlled by the USA. The remainings of Japan's war machine were destroyed. War criminal trials were held in 1948. Over 500 military officials committed suicide right after Japan surrendered, and many hundreds more were executed after the trials. The emperor Hirohito was not declared a war criminal. The aim of MacArthur was the establishment of a stabile democracy. A new constitution went in effect in 1947: The emperor lost all political and military power, and was solely made the symbol of the state. Universal suffrage was introduced and human rights were guaranteed. MacArthur decentralized the economy by dissolving the zaibatsu and other large companies, the education system, and the police. In a land reform, concentrations in land ownership were removed. Furthermore, Shinto and the state were clearly separated. Japan was also forbidden to ever lead a war again or to maintain an army. The cooperation between the Japanese and the Allied powers worked very well. Critics started to grow when the United States increasingly acted according to her self-interests in the Cold War, reintroduced the persecution of communism, stationed more troops in Japan, and wanted Japan to establish an own self defense force despite the anti-war article in the constitution. Many conservative Japanese, on the other hand, were in favour of a revision of the constitution. With the peace treaty that went in effect in 1952, the occupation ended. The ruling conservatives under prime minister Yoshida soon passed the Subversive Activities Prevention Law that caused ten thousands of persons that were considered sympathetic to Communism to being kicked out of the government, the industry, and the press. Japan's Self Defense Force was established in 1954 accompanied by huge public demonstrations. After the Korean War, and accelerated by it, the recovery of Japan's economy flourished. Foreign trade increased hugely and developing inbalances in trade with its partners, especially the USA, later led to conflicts. The economic growth also resulted in the stabilization of the ruling position of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) for the next few decades, a rise of the standard of living, but also in severe pollution. Japan's relations to the Soviet Union were normalized in 1956, the ones to China in 1972. In the same year, Okinawa was returned to Japan. 1973 the oil crisis shocked the Japanese economy which was very heavily oil-dependent. The Japanese reaction was a shift to high technology industries.

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