Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More - The US Occupation of Japan

Starting point is 00:00:00 In the aftermath of World War II, the United States occupied Japan from 1945 to 1952. During the occupation, the United States aimed to achieve three main goals, demilitarization, democratization, and social and economic reform. Under U.S. control, Japan was transformed from a militaristic empire into a peaceful economic powerhouse, and it was unlike any turnaround in history. Learn more about the U.S. occupation. of Japan and its impact on Japanese society on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Welcome to the I Can't Sleep Podcast with Benjamin Boster.

Starting point is 00:00:58 If you're tired of sleepless nights, you'll love the I Can't Sleep podcast. I help quiet your mind by reading random articles from across the web to bore you to sleep with my soothing voice. Each episode provides enough interesting content to hold your attention. and then your mind lets you drift off. Find it wherever you get your podcasts. That's I Can't Sleep with Benjamin Boster. Fear is the virus is trending on TikTok.

Starting point is 00:01:45 Vaccines are poison. Then your yoga teacher says that sex traffic children are being sacrificed by satanic liberals, but it's all okay. The Great Awakening is coming. What is happening? Every week on Conspiratuality Podcast, we explore the fever dreams that suck friends, family, and wellness gurus down the right-wing cult spiral in a search for salvation. Japan formally surrendered to the Allies on September 2, 1945.

Starting point is 00:02:21 However, its occupation actually began a bit earlier. The occupation technically started on August 28th, when the first Allied troops arrived in the country. The United States government. had been planning for a post-war occupation of Japan as early as 1942, when the president at the time, Franklin Roosevelt, created an advisory committee on post-war foreign policy. The committee's goal was to advise the president on how to handle policy towards members of the Axis Powers after the war.

Starting point is 00:02:51 In the case of Japan, the committee was later divided into a smaller group known as the Inter-Departmental Area Committee of the Far East, or IDAFE. The IDAFE met over 230 times between 1942 and 1945, and often met with FDR and President Harry Truman, who assumed the presidency after FDR's death. Although the war was still ongoing, the Allied countries had initially planned to divide Japan amongst themselves, similar to what happened in Germany. However, in the final plan, the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers, or S-CAP, was going to be given direct control over Germany. Japan and the surrounding islands. At the same time, the outlying territories controlled by Japan, such as the Korean Peninsula, Taiwan, and others were divided amongst the rest of the allies. With the end of the war in the Eastern Theater becoming increasingly imminent, President Truman

Starting point is 00:03:46 recommended that General Douglas MacArthur be named S-CAP, thereby overseeing Japan's surrender and occupation. While countries such as the Soviet Union, the Republic of China, and Great Britain would have an advisory role in the Allied Council, General MacArthur would have the final authority over all decisions. MacArthur's reputation was polarizing. He was widely regarded as a brilliant general and a strong leader, but he was also seen as narcissistic and obsessed with public image. He also received criticism for making strategic errors and for being insubordinate at times.

Starting point is 00:04:21 With surrender imminent, MacArthur and his staff, located in Manila, began to make preparations to occupy Japan. As they did this, the Soviet Union, Union began to move into their promised territories. The Soviet Union faced resistance from Japanese forces who put up a fight even after Japan formally surrendered. The Soviet Union likely wanted control over parts of the Japanese home islands, despite entering the war against Japan only days before it ended. However, after receiving U.S. pushback, as well as recognizing their power as

Starting point is 00:04:54 the world's only nuclear state, the Soviets did not press the issue. However, unlike the other allies, Stalin did not supply Soviet troops. Instead, the Soviet Union focused its efforts on influencing Europe. However, Soviet involvement in the war against Japan, combined with the dropping of two atomic bombs, did lead the Japanese Emperor Hirohito to announce that the Japanese would unconditionally surrender. Japanese officials traveled to Manila where MacArthur was waiting to discuss the terms of surrender. As part of the terms, Japan had to promise complete unconditional surrender, the immediate cessation of combat, the return of prisoners of war, and to stop the destruction of military and civilian property. Japan also agreed to occupation by the Allies

Starting point is 00:05:40 under the leadership of MacArthur who would run the Japanese government. They also had to demilitarize completely and limit their territory to the Japanese home islands. MacArthur landed in Tokyo on August 30th and immediately went to work. He issued several important decrees, including orders that allied personnel were not allowed to assault Japanese people or eat their food supply. He also prohibited the flying of the Hino-Moru flag, the national flag of Japan. Japan officially surrendered on September 2, 1945, by signing the aptly named Japanese Instrument of Surrender on the deck of the battleship USS Missouri. Just four days later on September 6th, President Truman released a document titled,

Starting point is 00:06:24 the U.S. initial post-surrender policy for Japan, which laid out the main objectives of the occupation, eliminating Japan's warfighting potential and turning the country into a democratic nation. The occupation of Japan can be divided into three phases. The first was the initial steps towards reforming the country, the second was to revitalize the Japanese economy, and the third was a formal alliance and peace treaty. The first phase lasted from 1945 to 1947. During that period, Japan faced its most fundamental challenges across its government and society. However, before implementing any changes, MacArthur's priority was feeding the starving Japanese populace.

Starting point is 00:07:09 The war had destroyed many Japanese cities, resulting in millions of starving and homeless. MacArthur and other leaders were under the opinion that the Japanese could not be taught democracy while they were starving. Therefore, the United States government provided emergency food relief. Another step MacArthur needed to complete was winning the support of the Japanese emperor. MacArthur and the emperor met on September 27th when a famous photograph of the two were taken. The image is one of the most famous in Japanese history. MacArthur is shown wearing a standard duty uniform, not anything ceremonial. And this was shocking, as many expected him to be in a dress uniform to show more respect.

Starting point is 00:07:51 He was also significantly taller than the emperor, so the release of the image was intended to show the Japanese who exactly was in charge. This feeling, combined with the Emperor's cooperation, gave MacArthur the power to push for real political change during the occupation. And political change did happen. For starters, the Allies punished Japan for its actions during the war by holding war crimes trials in Tokyo. While the trials of the main perpetrators occurred, the Allies dismantled the Japanese army and prevented former military officials from taking any role in the new government.

Starting point is 00:08:29 Economically, MacArthur introduced land reform policies. These policies were designed to reduce the power of wealthy landowners and benefit tenant farmers. And the attack on the landowners was because many of them had supported Japanese expansionism and advocated for the war. As part of his economic policy, Arthur also attempted to break up large Japanese businesses. The goal was to transform the country into a more competitive free market economy. Another change was the passage of the Labor Standards Act, which improved workers' rights in Japan. The goal was to meet workers' needs by improving working conditions and pay. And interestingly, the Japanese government passed this with almost no influence from the occupation government. Education was also reformed. Before and during World War II,

Starting point is 00:09:16 the Japanese based their system on the German system, in which grammar schools and universities trained students after completing primary education. The new system reformed secondary education, creating junior and senior high schools, similar to those in the United States. While senior high school was optional at the time, junior high school was compulsory.

Starting point is 00:09:37 They also reorganized the Japanese writing system and reform the Japanese script. These reforms did not replace Japanese writing with the Roman alphabet, as some American occupation officials initially wanted. Instead, they reduced and simplified the use of kanji and made written Japanese more closely reflect the way people actually spoke. By 1947, the Allies forced Japanese leaders to adopt a new constitution. As part of the constitution, the emperor's powers were stripped away, reducing the position to a figurehead

Starting point is 00:10:10 with no political control, rendering Japan a constitutional monarchy. By limiting the emperor's power, the new government shifted towards a parliamentary system. Laws were passed promoting women's rights, removing the country's ability to wage war, and eliminating any non-defensive military force. However, by the end of 1947 and the beginning of 1948, Japan experienced a period of instability. Concerns about communism spreading into the country, as well as an economic crisis, led the occupation government to shift its focus. Between this period in 1950, the attention shifted to reviving the Japanese economy. The occupation leadership feared that if the Japanese economy remained weak, more people would turn to communism. These concerns were highlighted by the Chinese civil war.

Starting point is 00:10:57 As a communist victory in China appeared increasingly likely, MacArthur grew anxious that communism might sweep across all of East Asia. In an effort to combat inflation, the occupation government introduced tax reforms. Despite providing some relief, Japan's main problem was its lack of raw materials, the primary reason it went to war in the first place. Relief in this area came, just not as anyone expected. In 1950, the Korean War broke out. This conflict provided the conditions necessary to revitalize Japan. When the United Nations entered the war, it made Japan the principal supply depot for its forces. The war also placed Japan under firm United States protection. This helped assure Japanese leadership that they didn't.

Starting point is 00:11:44 need a military, as the United States would prevent any real threat to the country. With fear of communism in an all-time high, the Japanese government and business leaders, with the support of MacArthur, purged thousands of leftists, communists, and accused communists from positions in government teaching and the private sector. The third and final stage of occupation began in 1950. The occupation government had increased the power of Japan's political elite, and they were confident that Japan's political and economic future were secure. Between 1945 and 1950, however, the international order had fundamentally shifted.

Starting point is 00:12:23 Even if Japan remilitarized and rearmed, it was no longer perceived as a threat. The new focus was the Cold War and the Soviet Union. With confidence in their changes and the geopolitical focus shifting to new threats, the United States began to work on securing a formal peace treaty and formally ending their occupation. In 1951, the Treaty of San Francisco had been concluded. In this treaty, the state of war between Japan and the Allies officially ended. Full sovereignty would be restored, Japan would renounce its territorial claims, and the country would accept the judgment of war crimes trials. Additionally, the United States was allowed to maintain its military bases in

Starting point is 00:13:06 Okinawa, and the two countries formed a formal security pact. When the treaty was signed on September 8, 1951, 52 countries went to San Francisco to discuss its terms. 49 countries agreed and signed the treaty, while the loan holdouts, the Soviet Union, Poland, and Czechoslovakia, did not sign in support of the People's Republic of China. The Soviet Union didn't formally end its state of war with Japan until October 19, 1956, when the two countries signed the Soviet-Japanese Joint Declaration of 1956 in Moscow. The reaction to the end of the occupation was mixed. The Japanese government was happy to have restored sovereignty and to be readmitted into the international community.

Starting point is 00:13:51 With this freedom, they continued to prioritize economic growth, relying on the promise protection of the United States. However, many people were frustrated about American bases on their soil. There was also criticism of the Soviet Union for failing to approve the treaty, leaving territorial and diplomatic issues unresolved, in particular, their occupation of the Kyrhil Islands, which Russia continues to occupy to this day. The American occupation of Japan was one of the most consequential occupations in modern history. In just seven years, Japan went from a defeated militarist empire to a constitutional democracy closely aligned with the United States. The occupation dismantled the armed forces, reformed the political and education systems, expanded civil,

Starting point is 00:14:40 liberties, redistributed land, altered the economy, and helped establish a new constitution that remains in force today. Not every reform unfolded exactly as occupation planners intended, and many changes built upon trends already underway within Japan. Even so, the transformation was remarkable. Rather than being a permanently weakened, defeated state, Japan emerged from the occupation as the foundation of a new American-led order in East Asia and within a generation one of the world's leading economic powers. The executive producer of Everything Everywhere Daily is Charles Daniel. The associate producers are Austin Otkin and Cameron Kiefer.

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Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More - The US Occupation of Japan

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