Japan Post-War

1. Japan Post-War Occupation to the “Economic Miracle”

2. “Endure the unendurable” • Small pockets of protest among junior officers, some committed suicide • Surrender officially signed on battleship Missouri in Tokyo Harbor 9/2/45 • General Douglas MacArthur made Supreme Commander for Allied Powers (SCAP) ruled Japan until ’51 (occupation ended ’52)

3. MacArthur as Shogun?

4. Japanese Reaction • First fear, then appreciation/admiration (1945-48), then boredom (1948-50), then resentment (1950-1952) • Japanese shared goals of peace and democracy with Allied occupation to root out causes of war and authoritarianism

5. Reforms in Japan Created by SCAP:New Constitution • Political equality for women • Civil rights including freedom of speech, press, assembly, religion, academic freedom, and collective bargaining • Emperor only ceremonial power • Article 9: disarmament (meaning NO armed forces!)

6. Government Reform • House of Peers replaced by elected House of Councilors – 6 yr term • Lower House remained the same – 4 yr term • Diet (two houses) holds political control • Cabinet members have to be Diet members • Prime Minister is head of majority party • Military banned from running for office

7. Other Reforms • Educational: co-ed system based on US model • Break-up of zaibatsu until ’48 b/c of growing fear of USSR caused SCAP to abandon policy • Land Reform

8. War Crimes Trials • Tokyo War Crimes Trials: • 7 leaders sentenced to death, 18 were imprisoned • 200,000 fired from jobs in gov’t (based on type of work, not personal accountability • Emperor Hirohito not held accountable • Other trials took place all over Asia • 5000 Japanese convicted of inhumane treatment of prisoners/civilians • Over 900 executed

9. The Cold War And Occupation • Fall of China (1949) to communists and the Korean War (1950) turned Japan from enemy to needed ally • Japan rearmed by SCAP (it’s not an army, it’s a police force!) • Development of Self-Defense Force • Resisted by Japanese • Defense and rapid economic recovery replaced demilitarization and democratization as primary goals

10. End of Occupation • 1951 San Francisco Treaty & Security Pact • War officially ends w/ occupation • Japan lost all territory outside Japan, but granted self-determination • USA to protect Japan but encouraged Japan to “increasingly assume responsibility for its defense”

11. Economic Recovery & Growth • US Aid averaged $400m a year during occupation, invested in rebuilding industry • Economy expanded based on exports in 50s and 60s • Exports prioritized over domestic consumption • 1951 Japan resumed pre-war GNP • Growth rate averaged 10% 1950-1965 "Japan should be allowed to export is way out of trouble, and given the tools to do so.” – US Sec. of State George Marshall

12. Japan’s Second Economic Miracle: Japan Inc. • Rebuilding of Japan’s economy in the hands of the elites • Run by bureaucrats and industrialists who worked to build the wartime economy

13. Fundamentals for Success • Lifetime Employment • Symbiotic work relationships: loyal workers & paternalistic management • Advancement based on seniority • Birth of “salariman” (1950: 30% to 1995: 70% of workforce) • All employees benefited in success of the company • Labor Unions: ensured shared hardships, shared rewards

14. Fundamentals for Success • High rate of personal savings(1973: 17% of GNP in JP vs.6% in USA) • Banks (not stock market) channeled investments to companies, backed by the gov’t • National cooperation (ie “iron triangle”) of politicians, big business, and bureaucracy • Careful gov’t planning, aggressive expansion in foreign markets, protection of the domestic economy

15. Economic Success Led to… • Advanced industries in science & technology • Thriving consumer culture • Spread of Japanese pop culture

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