OUGD603 - Research led brief - Research

A good start for research is to look at post war Japan in general. To understand the scope of the aftermath of the war and from this I'll be able to gain an understanding of Japan's position at this point. From 1945 to 1952 Japan was occupied by USA, under the command of General MacArthur and the co-operation between the Japanese and the Allied powers worked relatively smooth. Unlike in the occupation of Germany, the Soviet Union was allowed little to no influence over Japan. The objectives for the occupation were to eliminate Japan's war potential and turn Japan into a democratic style nation with pro-united Nations orientation.

However, the aftermath of the war left Japan devastated with all the large cities with the exception of Kyoto destroyed, the industries and the transportation networks were severely damaged. Furthermore, a severe shortage of food continued for several years after the war too. Japan basically lost all the territory acquired after 1894 and the remains of Japan's war machine were destroyed, and war crime trials were held. Emperor Showa was not declared a war criminal, and the issue of the emperor was probably the biggest devastation for Japan after the war. As in 1947, the emperor lost all political and military power, and was solely made the symbol of the state. Japan was also forbidden to ever lead a war again or to maintain an army.

From early research into the years after the war its clear a defeated Japan itself was in flux and most welcoming to radical change. I discovered the reason for this radical change is because many Japanese felt the key factor in losing the war had not been a difference between the capabilities of the individual Japanese and American soldiers, but rather the superior ability of the American economy to rapidly produce large quantities of war materials. So Japan was happy to use America’s free enterprise system as the model for rebuilding Japan. Japan sent some of her finest young people to America to study its economic, political, social, and educational systems. The knowledge gained from their studies in the United States was then used to restructure Japan’s major institutions while maintaining the essence of the Japanese culture. It took the Japanese people less than forty years to transform their country from nearly complete devastation into one of the world’s leading economic powers. The economic, social, political, and educational institutions it adopted were key factors in Japan’s success.