Japan Post-War
Occupation to the “Economic
Miracle”
“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)
MacArthur as Shogun?
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
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!)
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
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
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
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
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”
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
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
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
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
Economic Success Led to…
• Advanced industries in science & technology
• Thriving consumer culture
• Spread of Japanese pop culture
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