Under U.S. rule: the occupation of Japan; after World War II, American forces set out to rebuild a shattered, defeated nation. (times past).Not long after Japan surrendered to the U.S. and its allies, ending World War II, newspapers ran a photograph of U.S. General Douglas MacArthur and Emperor Hirohito standing together. To American eyes, it looked like a ho-hum snapshot. To the Japanese, it was more devastating dev·as·tate tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. than the surrender itself. In the Shinto religion, Japan's largest, the Emperor is regarded as a descendant of the sun goddess Amaterasu, and thus divine. None of Hirohito's 73 million subjects were permitted to stand above him or meet his gaze. Yet here was an "American devil," as wartime propaganda put it, casually towering above him. Seeing the picture, 17-year-old Tsutsumi Ayako felt numb, she later remembered: The Emperor [looked] so small ... I felt that I didn't want to look at it, and didn't want to talk about it. It was like something painful which is better not to touch. That pain began a revolution. Japan's proud military had been crushed, its cities lay flattened--two by atomic bombs--and the economy was shattered shat·ter v. shat·tered, shat·ter·ing, shat·ters v.tr. 1. To cause to break or burst suddenly into pieces, as with a violent blow. 2. a. . Nearly 3 million people were dead and 9 million homeless. Now the Emperor had been humbled. The U.S. and MacArthur, appointed the country's military governor, were about to help the shell-shocked Japanese. MacArthur had been given emperorlike powers to rebuild and reshape Japan's ancient civilization. The U.S. occupation, from 1945 to 1952, worked so well that Japan quickly re-emerged as a world economic power. MacArthur, a five-star general, had a famously large ego to match his new title--Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers Allied Powers or Allies Nations allied in opposition to the Central Powers in World War I or to the Axis Powers in World War II. The original Allies in World War I—the British Empire, France, and the Russian Empire—were later joined by many , or SCAP SCAP Security Content Automation Protocol SCAP SREBP Cleavage Activating Protein SCAP Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers (allied organization occupying Japan after WII) SCAP Slow Children At Play (band) . The acronym acronym: see abbreviation. A word typically made up of the first letters of two or more words; for example, BASIC stands for "Beginners All purpose Symbolic Instruction Code. stood for both MacArthur himself and his headquarters staff. They worked out of Tokyo's Dai Ichi, or "Big Number One" building. Like the photo with Hirohito, he used it to tell rank-conscious Japanese, "I'm in charge." FAMINE'S DOORSTEP MacArthur saw his first task as feeding millions of starving civilians. Japan's small rice crop had been hoarded by farmers for sale on the black market. The U.S. poured in $2 billion in economic aid over six years, Even so, city dwellers lived on famine's doorstep until 1948. Daikichi Irokawa, then a student at Tokyo University, recalled: [I] ate a lot of feed that was meant for cows, pigs, and chickens.... We dug up the university lawn and planted yams ... On Sundays we searched for grasshoppers. Prewar pre·war adj. Existing or occurring before a war. prewar Adjective relating to the period before a war, esp. before World War I or II Adj. 1. Japan was an oppressive place, strongly nationalistic and militaristic mil·i·ta·rism n. 1. Glorification of the ideals of a professional military class. 2. Predominance of the armed forces in the administration or policy of the state. 3. . The press was censored cen·sor n. 1. A person authorized to examine books, films, or other material and to remove or suppress what is considered morally, politically, or otherwise objectionable. 2. , and ruthless secret police snuffed out dissent. A few business groups controlled most jobs. Women were subservient sub·ser·vi·ent adj. 1. Subordinate in capacity or function. 2. Obsequious; servile. 3. Useful as a means or an instrument; serving to promote an end. to their husbands and their sons as well. In 1946, using the U.S. Constitution as a blueprint, MacArthur and his aides wrote a new constitution for Japan. It outlawed war, abolished the secret police, liberalized education, and gave women the right to vote. Japan's voters approved the constitution in 1947 (and it is still in use today). Hirohito renounced his divinity and encouraged democracy, but was allowed to keep his throne. "With him as figurehead figurehead, carved decoration usually representing a head or figure placed under the bowsprit of a ship. The art is of extreme antiquity. Ancient galleys and triremes carried rostrums, or beaks, on the bow to ram enemy vessels. ," MacArthur said, our job is so much more easy." Most Japanese seemed delighted with the changes, a fact that surprised the 450,000 U.S. occupation troops. Most had fought the "Japs"--as wartime Americans called them--and had witnessed suicidal "banzai ban·zai n. A Japanese battle cry or patriotic cheer. [Japanese, (may you live) ten thousand years : ban, ten thousand (from Middle Chinese muanh, uan) + zai, " charges and kamikaze kamikaze (kä'məkä`zē) [Jap.,=divine wind], the typhoon that destroyed Kublai Khan's fleet, foiling his invasion of Japan in 1281. attacks, in which pilots deliberately flew their planes into ships and other targets. After the war, 900 Japanese were executed for war crimes. Japan's outrages included the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor, land-locked harbor, on the southern coast of Oahu island, Hawaii, W of Honolulu; one of the largest and best natural harbors in the E Pacific Ocean. In the vicinity are many U.S. military installations, including the chief U.S. , Hawaii; medical experiments that killed thousands; and forcing women into prostitution. They also mistreated prisoners of war prisoners of war, in international law, persons captured by a belligerent while fighting in the military. International law includes rules on the treatment of prisoners of war but extends protection only to combatants. ; 27 percent of Allied prisoners died in Japanese hands, compared with 4 percent in Germany's. ESCAPING PUNISHMENT However, thousands of war criminals escaped justice, perhaps including the Emperor. Hirohito's role in the war is still debated. MacArthur believed he was a hostage to Japan's military. Others disagreed. But MacArthur knew that removing the beloved Emperor would provoke riots, or worse. As the 1940s wore on, Cold War tensions between the U.S., the Soviet Union, and China distracted the Americans and slowed down reforms. Then in 1950, the Korean War Korean War, conflict between Communist and non-Communist forces in Korea from June 25, 1950, to July 27, 1953. At the end of World War II, Korea was divided at the 38th parallel into Soviet (North Korean) and U.S. (South Korean) zones of occupation. between Communist North Korea and U.S.-backed South Korea erupted. The U.S., needing reliable allies in the Far East, formally ended the occupation two years later. The war also provided a spike in U.S. military spending that helped the sluggish Japanese economy to finally take off. The reformed Japanese government played a key role in the recovery, by identifying industries that could be developed domestically and investing heavily in them. The U.S. became a central market for sleek Japanese goods, such as automobiles and electronics. Today, Japan is a strong democracy with the second-richest economy in the world after the U.S. Japan's financial clout makes it Asia's leader, which ironically is the job it tried to take by force in World War II. Now it maintains only a token military, but allows the U.S. to station 53,000 troops in the country to aid its defense and promote stability in East Asia East Asia A region of Asia coextensive with the Far East. East Asian adj. & n. . lesson plans DISCUSSION QUESTIONS * Some Americans remember the savagery Savagery Apache Indians once fierce fighting tribe of American West. [Am. Hist.: NCE, 123] bandersnatch imaginary wild animal of great ferocity. [Br. Lit. of the Japanese military and refuse to forgive or forget Forgive or Forget was a talk show which aired in national syndication across the United States from June 1998 to May 2000. The premise of the show involved people talking about past incidents in which the guests had wronged, or had been wronged by, a friend or a loved one, . Is it time to leave these memories in the past, or should Americans never forget? * Is the occupation of Japan a model for the possible occupation of Iraq? TEACHING OBJECTIVES To help students understand America's post-World War II occupation of Japan, specifically the benign nature of the occupation and the growth of democracy and economic power in Japan. CLASSROOM STRATEGIES BACKGROUND: Japan blamed the U.S. for the need to go to war because the U.S. had cut off vital oil sales to Tokyo. The U.S. saw the cut as punishment for Japan's invasion of China. But the Japanese looked at British, French, Dutch, Portuguese, and U.S. colonies in the Pacific and demanded the same right to overseas territories. PHOTO ANALYSIS: Have students examine the photo of MacArthur and Hirohito on page 18. Then refer them to the comment of 17-year-old Tsutsumi Ayako, who is described as feeling "numb" at the sight of her humbled Emperor. Ask: Might the photo have been part of an American maneuver to demonstrate the extraordinary power of the U.S. and the utter failure of Japan? OCCUPATION STRATEGY: Many Americans questioned why the U.S., while forcing Emperor Hirohito to renounce TO RENOUNCE. To give up a right; for example, an executor may renounce the right of administering the estate of the testator; a widow the right to administer to her intestate husband's estate. 2. his divinity, allowed him to keep his throne. Ask students whether they think the American authorities were too generous to this fallen leader of a country that started war against the U.S. by bombing Pearl Harbor. Note MacArthur's concern that removing the Emperor from his throne would "provoke riots, or worse." How could Japan, with 3 million dead, 9 million homeless, and cities leveled by atomic bombs atomic bomb or A-bomb, weapon deriving its explosive force from the release of atomic energy through the fission (splitting) of heavy nuclei (see nuclear energy). The first atomic bomb was produced at the Los Alamos, N.Mex. , respond? (By some accounts, the U.S. did not have enough military personnel on hand to ensure complete control of the population.) Students should also know that even after the second atomic bombing, of the city of Nagasaki, there were those in the military who wanted to fight on. Would the removal of the Emperor, voted the most popular man in Japan in 1948, have given Japanese the psychological will to fight on, or at least provoke civil disturbances, causing American deaths? (Tell students that during the bombing of Tokyo, U.S. warplanes deliberately avoided hitting the Emperor's palace.) Upfront QUIZ 3 MULTIPLE CHOICE DIRECTIONS: Circle the letter next to the best answer. 1. As military governor of post-war Japan, U.S. General Douglas MacArthur saw his first task as a punishing Japan's government leaders. b establishing diplomatic relations with the government. c seizing military equipment for the U.S. d feeding Japanese civilians. 2. What is the best description of pre-war Japan? a a peaceful monarchy. b an oppressive, authoritarian society. c a thriving democracy. d basically peaceful and just, but with occasional uprisings and violent seizures of power. 3. The U.S. entered World War II after Japan launched a sneak bombing attack on Pearl Harbor, a California. b Philippines. c Hawaii. d Guam. 4. Why did MacArthur allow Hirohito remain Emperor? He a was ordered to do so by U.S. President Harry Truman. b said it made governing Japan easier. c didn't want to offend Japanese Americans The following is a list of famous Japanese Americans who have made significant contributions to the United States, or have appeared in the news numerous times: Arts and Entertainment
d feared removing the Emperor would cause other countries to condemn the U.S. 5. What evidence is there that Allied prisoners of Japan probably suffered more than other members of the military? a Death rates of Allies in Japanese prison camps were nearly seven times higher than those in German camps. b Prisoners were away from home the longest. c Prisoners were confined, while other troops were not. d Prisoners were denied freedom of expression. 6. What gave a boost to Japan's sluggish post-war economy? a tourism. b a rise in U.S. military spending. c sales of electronic consumer goods consumer goods Any tangible commodity purchased by households to satisfy their wants and needs. Consumer goods may be durable or nondurable. Durable goods (e.g., autos, furniture, and appliances) have a significant life span, often defined as three years or more, and , like CDs and TVs. d loans from the international community. ANSWER KEY 1. (d) 2. (b) 3. (c) 4. (b) 5. (a) 6. (b) |
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