The occupation of Japan was, from start to finish, Essay Example For Students

The occupation of Japan was, from start to finish, Essay an Americanoperation. General Douglans MacArthur, sole supreme commander of theAllied Power was in charge. The Americans had insufficient men to makea military government of Japan possible; so they decided to actthrough the existing Japanese gobernment. General MacArthur became,except in name, dictator of Japan. He imposed his will on Japan. Demilitarization was speedily carried out, demobilization of theformer imperial forces was completed by early 1946. Japan was extensively fire bomded during the second world war. The stench of sewer gas, rotting garbage, and the acrid smell of ashesand scorched debris pervaded the air. The Japanese people had to livein the damp, and cold of the concrete buildings, because they were theonly ones left. Little remained of the vulnerable wooden frame, tileroof dwelling lived in by most Japanese. When the first signs ofwinter set in, the occupation forces immediately took over all thesteam-heated buildings. The Japanese were out in the cold in the firstpost war winter fuel was very hard to find, a family was consideredlucky if they had a small barely glowing charcoal brazier to huddlearound. That next summer in random spots new ho uses were built, eachhouse was standardized at 216 square feet, and required 2400 boardfeet of material in order to be built. A master plan for a modernisticcity had been drafted, but it was cast aside because of the lack oftime before the next winter. The thousands of people who lived inrailroad stations and public parks needed housing. All the Japanese heard was democracy from the Americans. Allthey cared about was food. General MacArthur asked the government tosend food, when they refus ed he sent another telegram that said,Send me food, or send me bullets. American troops were forbidden toeat local food, as to keep from cutting from cutting into the sparselocal supply. No food was was brought in expressly for the Japanese durningthe first six months after the American presence there. HerbertHoover, serving as chairman of a special presidential advisorycommittee, recommended minimum imports to Japan of 870,000 tons offood to be distributed in different urban areas. Fish, the source ofso much of the protein in the Japanese diet, were no longer availablein adequate quantities because the fishing fleet, particularly thelarge vessels, had been badly decimated by the war and because theU.S.S.R. closed off the fishing grounds in the north. The most important aspect of the democratization policy was theadoption of a new constitution and its supporting legislation. Whenthe Japanese government proved too confused or too reluctant to comeup with a constitutional reform that satisfied MacArthur, he had hisown staff draft a new constitution in February 1946. This, with onlyminor changes, was then adopted by the Japanese government in the formof an imperial amendment to the 1889 constitution and went into effecton May 3, 1947. The new Constitution was a perfection of the Britishparliamentary form of government that the Japanese had been movingtoward in the 1920s. Supreme political power was assigned to the Diet. Cabinets were made responsible to the Diet by having the primeminister elected by the lower house. The House of Peers was replacedby an elected House of Councillors. The judicial system was made asindependent of executive interference as possible, and a newly createdsupreme court was given the power to review the constitutionality oflaws. Local governments were given greatly increased powers. I Went To The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra Concert At Eastman Thea EssayFriends of the old Zaibatsu bought the stock. In the long run theZaibatsu were not exactly destroyed, but a few were weakened andothers underwent a considerable shuffle. The initial period of the occupation from 1945 to 1948 wasmarked by reform, the second phase was one of stabilization. Greaterattention was given to improvement of the economy. Japan was a heavyexpense to the United States. The ordered breakup of the Zaibatsu wasslowed down. The union movement continued to grow, to the ult imatebenefit of the worker. Unremitting pressure on employers broughtswelling wages, which meant the steady expansion of Japan domesticconsumer market. This market was a major reason for Japans subsequenteconomic boom. Another boom to the economy was the Korean War whichproved to be a blessing in disguise. Japan became the main stagingarea for military action in Korea and went on a war boom economy without having to fight in or pay for a war. The treaty of peace with Japan was signed at San Francisco inSeptember 1951 by Japan, the United States, and forty-seven othernations. The Soviet Union refused to sign it. The treaty went intoeffect in April 1952, officially terminating the United Statesmilitary occupation and restoring full independence. What is extraordinary in the Occupation and its aftermath wasthe insignificance of the unpleasant. For the Japanese, the nobilityof American ideals and the essential benignity of the Americanpresence assuaged much of the bitterness and anguish of defeat. Forthe Americans, the joys of promoting peace and democracy triumphedover the attendant fustrations and grievances. Consequently, theOccupation served to lay down a substantial capital of good will onwhich both America and Japan would draw in the years ahead. BIBLIOGRAPHYChristopher, Robert C. /The Japanese Mind/. New York: FawcettColumbine, 1983La Cerda, John. /The Conqueror Comes to Tea/. New Brunswick: R utgersUniversity Press, 1946Manchester, William. /American Caesar/. New York: Dell PublishingCompany, Inc., 1978Perry, John Curtis. /Beneath the Eagles Wings/. New York: Dodd, MeadAnd Company, 1980Reischauer, Edwin O. / The Japanese/. London: Belknap Press, 1977Seth, Ronald. /Milestones in Japanese History/. Philadelphia: ChiltonBook Company, 1969Sheldon, Walt. /The Honorable Conquerors/. New York: The MacmillanCompany., 1965