Term Paper on "Japan 1950-1960"

Term Paper 14 pages (3816 words) Sources: 8 Style: APA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Japan During the 1950's

An examination of the post occupation years through economic, military and other elements.

This paper presents a detailed examination of life in Japan between 1950 and 1960. The writer explores the occupation period as well as the post occupation period and how that occupation impacted the following years. The writer examines cultural, military and other aspects of Japanese life during that time frame. There were eight sources used to complete this paper.

Japan During the Post Occupation Years

When Japan made the decision to bomb Pearl Harbor it probably had no indication what the magnitude of the response from America would be, however, it was large, it was strong and it was devastating. Not only did America respond with violence and devastation, it also made the decision to invade and occupy Japan until it could get the nation restructured in a way that moved it toward success through technology and education and away from military strength and power. The occupation of Japan lasted until 1952 and set the stage for the following few years leaving 1950-1960 as a time in Japan's history to restructure, regroup and re-invent the way it was going to present itself to the world.

Leading to the 1950's

Before one can begin to understand the impact that the occupation had on Japan during the 1950's one must have an overall picture about what Japan was like shortly before that decade.

At the end of World War II Japan was under occupation by the Allied Powers, however, the decision making was left to the United States. The occupation itself only lasted two years but in that two years, Japan was changed in ways that would completely restructure the direction it was headed and make it on target to become a world leader in the field of technology.

Japan surrendered to the Allies on August 15, 1945, when Emperor Hirohito accepted the terms of the Potsdam Declaration. On the following day, Hirohito announced Japan's surrender on the radio. It was V-J Day, the end of World War II, and the beginning of a long road to recovery for a shattered Japan. The Soviet Union was responsible for North Korea, Sakhalin, and the Kuril Islands, while the United States and British Commonwealth forces were responsible for Japan, South Korea, and Japan's remaining possessions in Oceania (Occupied Japan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupied_Japan)."

It was on V-Day that American President Harry S. Truman chose American General Douglas MacArthur to lead the charge in the changes that Japan would insititute over the next few years (Occupied Japan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupied_Japan).

Japanese officials left for Manila on August 19 to meet MacArthur and to be briefed on his plans for the occupation. On August 28, 150 U.S. personnel flew to Atsugi, Kanagawa Prefecture. They were followed by USS Missouri, whose accompanying vessels landed the 4th Marine Division on the southern coast of Kanagawa (Occupied Japan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupied_Japan)."

One of the first things that the general did when he arrived in Japan was instill two immediate laws to protect those under the occupation. The first rule was that no allied personnel could assault or harm the Japanese people in any manner. This set up an almost immediate sense of security for those who were under occupation. The second rule he wrote was that no allied personnel could eat Japanese food.

Following the war the food in Japan was extremely scarce and MacArthur wanted the Japanese people to understand they were not going to have to go hungry while invaders and occupiers ate their meager supplies (Occupied Japan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupied_Japan).

This set the stage for the decisions and events that would take place during the next decade.

1950's

The first half of the 1950's was consumed with becoming occupied, dealing with the changes the occupation placed on the nation and its residents and then following the occupation which occupation elements the nation was going to keep and which ones were going to be dismantled.

The 1950's saw significant changes in the SCAP power structure. These changes provided an increased power to the native rulers of Japan and began to remove the power from the allied forces that had been running things for several years (Occupied Japan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupied_Japan).

One of the most significant elements of the 1950's in Japan was that the people, for the most part began to believe in democracy. When the occupation began in 1946 it was forced upon them along with the other changes that were made, however, by the time the 1950's got underway they had been recipients of the positive impact a democracy can have on a nation economically, politically and societal (Occupied Japan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupied_Japan).

The Japanese now believed in democracy, and had less respect for the proponents of a hierarchical society. Japanese democracy, freedom of the press, rejection of militarism and nationalism are all legacies of MacArthur's post-war policies (Occupied Japan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupied_Japan)."

Demographically Speaking

When the decade of 1950 began Japan's gross nation product figures were less than half of Germany's GNP and less than a third of Britain's GNP. When compared to the United States GNP, Japan came in at 4% of the U.S. numbers (Japan's postwar economic miracle (1950-1990) (http://www.jref.com/society/japan_postwar_economic_miracle.shtml).

The GNP of Japan in 1950 was $14.2 billion.

By 1960 however, Japan had managed to pull itself out of the nosedive it had been experiencing and become a leading contender. By 1970 it had taken over all European nations (Japan's postwar economic miracle (1950-1990) (http://www.jref.com/society/japan_postwar_economic_miracle.shtml).

There were several components that had to come together for this success to occur.

First of all, Japan benefited from the American military protection, which spared the government from high defense spending (Japan's postwar economic miracle (1950-1990) (http://www.jref.com/society/japan_postwar_economic_miracle.shtml).The same happened in West Germany, and both nations experienced the most formidable economic growth in the postwar era. But whereas West Germany's GNP increased 28,5x between 1951 and 1960 - compared to 18,7x for France, 12,7x for Britain and only 8x for the U.S.A., Japan's increased 73x (Japan's postwar economic miracle (1950-1990) (http://www.jref.com/society/japan_postwar_economic_miracle.shtml)."

During the 1950's the nation's primary goal was to rebuild itself in the business world. To that end the government provided low interest loans to thousands of would be business owners to help get businesses started and get the economy moving again.

These efforts were successful as Japanese business began to grow and gather strength.

The annual average growth from 1955 to 1960 was in the double digits at 11%.

Military

Another important event that came from the war and carried into the 1950's years was the development and adoption of a new constitution. The new constitution provided a blueprint for how the country would conduct itself in the 1950's and beyond after the occupation was over (American Occupation and the Military Bases (http://www.uchinanchu.org/uchinanchu/history_american.htm).

Article 9 of that work states:

Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes.

In order to accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph, land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained. The right of belligerency of the state will not be recognized (American Occupation and the Military Bases (http://www.uchinanchu.org/uchinanchu/history_american.htm)."

During the middle of the 1950' s, the United States began to keep a watchful eye on the U.S.S.R. Okinawa became a prime location for U.S. military base operations as it provided a strategic vantage point from which the U.S.S.R. could be watched.

Initially the U.S. military offered land owners a lump sum for the use of their property as a military site; however, loud angry protests from those land holders made the U.S. rethink its offer and come back with an offer to pay recurring rent (American Occupation and the Military Bases (http://www.uchinanchu.org/uchinanchu/history_american.htm).

There were 39 military bases built in the area that drew more than 100,000 United States military troops to the area (American Occupation and the Military Bases (http://www.uchinanchu.org/uchinanchu/history_american.htm).While many of the service personnel chose to leave their families stateside during their tour of duty in Japan several thousand American families made the decision to join their loved one in Japan which created a need for American schools, shops and other amenities for the families to use while there.

Of all the U.S. military forces stationed in Japan, 75% of these forces were located in the islands of Okinawa. From 1945 to the present, not one piece of land has ever been returned to their landowners (American Occupation and the Military Bases (http://www.uchinanchu.org/uchinanchu/history_american.htm)."

Detachment 45 (http://po8.com/det45/index.htm)

Even though the military was occupying and using much of the land in the area during the 1950's the farmers still managed to cultivate rice crops. On either side of the road going into or coming out of the base one would see rice fields for miles (American Occupation and the Military Bases (http://www.uchinanchu.org/uchinanchu/history_american.htm).

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