Japan 1945 to 1990

1. Surrender of Japan
2. US Occupation
   • What did SCAP do?
   • Political Impact of the US occupation
3. The Economic Miracles
   • What caused the Japanese Economic Miracle?
4. Social and Cultural Impact of the US occupation
5. Social and Cultural Impact of Globalisation
6. Political Impact
7. Historiography
   • Tetsuji Okazaki 
   • Edward C. Prescott and Fumio Hayashi

Surrender of Japan

“To Bear the Unbearable”: Japan’s Surrender, Part II

• The Big Six (the Japanese Supreme War Council) was divided in the decision to end the war and accept the Potsdam Declaration or continue with it, possibly to be able to negotiate on better terms.

• Potsdam Declaration – unconditional surrender of Japanese forces. It also promised that Japan would not “be enslaved as a race or destroyed as a nation.” The declaration ended by warning of “prompt and utter destruction” if Japan failed to unconditionally surrender.

• Three of the Big Six wanted the following instead:

1. Japan would disarm her own forces; 
2. Japan would conduct any “so-called” war crimes trials of her own nationals
3. there would be no occupation of Japan.

• Emperor Hirohito decided to accept the first term (accept Potsdam) because of the following reasons:
  • He had lost faith in the military government
  • Nuclear bombing, he was very concerned that the US would continue with their nuclear bombing campaign.
  • Domestic situation, see below…

• As the title of the article states, Japan would now ‘Bear the Unbearable‘.

US Occupation

• In 1945, the US ordered Japan to disarm and soldiers disperse back to their homes. US forces were now occupying the country, the first time in Japan’s history. As a result of this and the wartime propaganda against the foreigners, people tended to stay indoors. However, there was also relief that the war was over, although also a sense of disillusion – what would happen next?
• The defeat in the war can be seen as the start of something rather than the end of a story. “It also opened the way for radical changes in social and political institutions imposed by the victors.” (Beasley, p. 214)
• The purpose of the US occupation (there was a small British and Australian presence too) was to prevent Japan from future aggression and to readmit it to peaceful global trade and diplomacy in the future. To do this, Japan had to:
  • Abolish militarism and ultra-nationalism.
  • Disarm the country.
  • Strengthen democracy.
  • Support liberal values.
  • Strengthen the economic institutions.

1. What happened to Japan after she surrendered in August 1945? 3.30
2. How was Japan destroyed during the Second World War? What were the consequences? 3.58 – 5.50
3. How many Japanese soldiers returned to the country after the war ended? 6.08 – 6.24 Discussion – what would you do with them?
4. Who was Douglas MacArthur? 6.39
5. What were the challenges he faced? 7.08 – 7.50

What did SCAP do?

• General MacArthur was appointed Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP) in Japan and took his orders from the US government. He had a staff almost as big as that of Japan to help him carry out any instructions. However, fee had experience or knowledge of the country they were ‘ruling’. As a consequence, they tended to implement ideas and policies that knew, i.e. those from the US.
• The first objective for SCAP was to disarm the Japanese war machine, this involved demobilising two million men and repatriating three million people from abroad – ending the empire as a result. War criminals were put on trial, (up to 5600) and this included the former prime minister, General Tojo. He was sentenced to death by hanging with a further 700 receiving the same sentence.
• Secondly, the ‘old order’ was purged, these were the officials and civil servants who had worked under the previous government and some of those who had helped contribute to the war effort. Over 200 000 people were affected in this purge. However, those who had opposed the government and its militarism (socialists, liberals and communists), and were jailed as a result, were released.
• Thirdly, the zaibatsu, the huge financial institutions, were dissolved. They had profited from the war as well as limiting free trade.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/zaibatsu

• Fourthly, decisions had to be made on the role of the emperor. The argument was put forward that he only made a decision if there was a deadlock in the cabinet, such as the surrender in 1945; this absolved him from much of the responsibility of the war. The US could easily argue that this was an exaggeration, designed to keep him in his post. But to make the emperor responsible for the war, and possibly charge him as a war criminal, could make him a martyr and destabilise the US occupation. Consequently, they opted to work with him.

The first governments

• There were several governments during the first few years of the US occupation. New political parties were encouraged, there were 300 by 1946!
• Liberals, conservatives, socialists and communists all vied for power. By 1949, “Japanese politics began to take on its characteristic postwar pattern, that is, a conservative majority, facing a fragmented left-wing opposition.” (Beasley, p. 218)

1951 Treaty of San Francisco

Political Impact of the US occupation

• According to John Dower, Emperor Hirohito shared some of the blame for the Second World War in Asia. However, the US decided, even before ended, to keep him in power. He was seen as too important.

Emperor Hirohito and General MacArthur meeting for the first time, 1945

• How do you think the conservatives in Japan will view this photograph of the two rulers of the country?
  • Think about how Japanese people should act when meeting the emperor?
  • Is the different dress relevant?
  • Who looks the more powerful?

• John Dower explains how the Japanese people saw the influx of US servicemen in 1945 (400 000) and realised how strong and healthy they were in comparison to themselves. Importantly, despite the sheer terror of these soldiers (the Japanese government had used intense propaganda to label them as racist murderers who would rape women and kill children) there were very few crimes committed by them.

• One of the reforms the US made was to allow women to vote.

The Economic Miracles

Source: The Japanese Economic Miracle

• Japan was catching up to, for example, Britain and the US, before the Second World War. The table below shows the percentage of the Japanese economy compare to the US and Britain. For example, in 1870 Japan’s GDP per capita was on 30% of the US economy but grew to 85% by 1991.

	USA	Britain
1870	30%	23%
1941	41%	42%
1973	69%	95%
1991	85%	120%

Source: https://www.nippon.com/en/in-depth/a04003/

• Much of the following has been taken from Andrew Gordon’s A Modern History of Japan: From Tokugawa Times to the Present (2019). I have cited the pages where required.

What caused the Japanese Economic Miracle?

• Korean War, 1950-53
  • Exports grew. The US could get Japanese built goods much quicker than those made in the US (supply lines were much shorter). As a result, during these three years the economy grew 70% and there was a huge increase in foreign capital (the dollar!) in the country. This allowed Japan to buy more imports and this helped stimulate the economy further.
• The Zaibatsu companies, which had built up their business expertise before and during the Second World War, had huge influence over the direction of the economy.
• The global economy grew in this period, helping Japan’s international trade.
• The General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT) was introduced in 1947, this reduced some of the restrictions on international trade…such as limiting protectionism.
• The US occupation and subsequent garrisoning of troops in the country meant that Japan did not have to spend money on their own defence.
• A new generation of entrepreneurs emerged after the war (some previous business leaders had retired, especially because of the purges!), these people were prepared to take risks and even go against the warnings of the government. For example:

(Gordon, A. p. 248)

• These companies took huge loans to finance their investments and, because of their business success, were able to pay them off without major problems.
• …and private banks could lend large amounts of money because Japanese people saved money, by 1970 people were saving up 20% of their income, one of the highest rates in the world. (Gordon, A. p. 249)
• The Japanese compulsory education system had produced a large number of people who had at least had been to middle school and a growing number passing through both high school and university. In addition to a strong work ethic, this helped the productivity of workers.
• The Japanese government kept some of its wartime powers, meaning that it could focus on economic growth and use the law and its power to make sure goals were met. For example, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) was set up in 1949 (arguably 1945 under a different name) and helped guide the economy. It helped create an atmosphere of confidence and helped guide companies to acquire foreign exchange, raw materials or technology licences. (Gordon, A. p. 250)
• MITI also bent a few rules to help businesses, as Andrew Gordon explains here:

• Furthermore, macro economic strategy was key to success too:

(Gordon, A. p. 272)

• There was also a political consensus, especially in the 1960s. Unions and political parties, employers and employees, attempted to reach agreement rather than create division. This resulted in the following:

(Gordon, A., p. 279)

Pros of the economic miracle	Cons of the economic miracle
A new middle class emerged	Long hours and strict discipline
New technologies improved the quality of life	Environmental damage
	Social divisions persisted
	The textile industry fell
	It made Japan sensitive to international events, e.g. the 1973 oil crisis.

1970s/80s

• The two ‘oil shocks’.
• Relationship with the US and Europe. There were problems because of the amount of help the government gave to Japanese industry. The US and Europe felt that this was not ‘free trade’.

Social and Cultural Impact of the US occupation

This is the Shinto ‘Torii Gate’ from outside a temple in Nagasaki, 1945. What does it show about Japan’s culture?

There are many other photographs from the war too, use the US Atomic Archives to see some from Nagasaki.

Bittersweet memories for Japanese war orphans after ‘last Chinese foster mother’ dies

Social and Cultural Impact of Globalisation

What does this clip show you about Japan in the 1960s?

Why do Japanese people work so hard?

• The mass media had a very important role in shaping the lives of the Japanese people from the 1920s onwards. For example, by 1960, there were new publications such as magazines for young women, young men, housewives and adult men. By 1960, the circulation for these magazines averaged 11.5 million copies per week. In addition, Japan’s newspapers published a total of 24 million issues per day and in the same year, they also had sold 125 million books. 

•  The Japan Broadcast Association began broadcasting in 1953. This became very popular and by 1960 most homes had a television, on average people watched 2.5 hours of television each day. Coverage of exceptional events such as the 1959 marriage of crown prince Akihito, the 1962 Winter Olympics in Sapporo and the 1964 Olympic Games, especially by the women’s volleyball team who won the gold medal, were instrumental in promoting this shared experience and the perceived recovery of the country after the Second World War.
• Advertising by the mass media also had a huge impact on how people lived their lives:

(Gordon, A. P. 267)

• The government in the 1950s helped small businesses by taxing them at low rates and making it difficult for large retailers or companies to local near them. This helped maintain the community of both towns and cities…and helped the ruling party stay in power!

• As with any country, even the affluent, there was political division. Among the issues which were key to the period 1952 to 1990 were:
  • The continued presence of US soldiers on Japanese soil. In 1960, there were 46 000 stationed in the country with a further 37 000 on Okinawa. “Local residents detested the noise of these bases and the chronic instances of violence or perpetrated by the soldiers.” (Gordon, A. p. 274) Furthermore, crimes committed by these soldiers were under the jurisdiction of the US military.
  • The ongoing security treaty between the two countries. This demonstrations against its renewed signing in 1960 actually led to the cancellation of visit of President Eisenhower to the country and ultimately led to fall of the prime minister, Hayato Ikeda.
  • The power of the labour (or trade) unions fluctuated during this time. The workers sometimes went on strike and demonstrated for better pay or improved working conditions. A useful example is the miners at Miike, Japan, who went on strike for nearly eleven months because oil was beginning to replace coal in the country (it was cheaper) and thousands of jobs were said to be lost.

1960- Japan’s Coal Miners Strike

• This was also true of women in the workforce:

(Gordon, A. p. 275)

• BUT

Historiography

The Economic Miracle

a. Use of foreign technology. As Japan was so far behind the leading industrial powers after the Second World War, any new technology (this includes economic and social systems) would lead to this gap being narrowed significantly.

b. The reallocation of labour. The Labour Mobilisation Plan (1938) allowed the government to allocate workers to specific war industries. This included placing graduates in specialised jobs and allowing rural workers to travel to the city en masse. The importance of this was that it laid the foundation for the post-war economy of Japan.

c. Reallocation of capital. Okazaki argues that the government opted more for indirect rather than direct capital. This meant that the government takes less money from the people to finance its spending and allows them to invest more of their own resources. There is also less government spending, allowing the private sector (which is arguably more efficient and more prone to risk-taking) to grow the economy. Crowding out is another way of describing this situation.