Evaluating the Success of the U.s. Occupation of Japan 1945-1952
Open Access
- Author:
- Rose, Hannah Marie
- Area of Honors:
- Political Science
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Arts
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Keywords:
- occupation; United States; Japan
- Abstract:
- The U.S. occupation of Japan has been celebrated as a success since its termination in 1952. The success is generally viewed as a direct result of efficient and effective U.S. occupational policies, allowing for a theoretical replication of the results. With recent rifts in international relations, and the current occupations of both Iraq and Afghanistan, policymakers have frequently turned to the strategies used in Japan in an attempt to reproduce success. The purpose of this paper, however, is to investigate the uniqueness of the Japanese situation, ultimately concluding that replicating success through similar policies is impossible. While many U.S. policies undoubtedly contributed to the ultimate success of the Japanese occupation, there were a large number of already existing or uncontrollable factors that also had a large impact on the occupation’s ability to succeed. This paper consists of three primary sections. In the first section, Initial Conditions, I will analyze the various influential factors that existed prior to the occupation’s initiation, focusing primarily on the level of destruction of Japanese infrastructure post WWII, the large U.S. commitment in terms of resources, the liberal nature of the Japanese populace, the threat posed by the Soviet Union, and the effects of the Korean War (1950-1953). While the Korean War began after the Occupation, it still serves as an example of an influential factor that laid beyond the scope of U.S. control. In the second section, Early Stages, I will discuss the methods through which the U.S. laid the foundation for the occupation. This section includes investigations into how the U.S. defined the occupations’ goals, established legitimacy within the region, and gained the support of the Japanese populace. The majority of factors discussed in this section were under the complete control of the U.S., and should therefore be the focus of any current day occupational policy makers. The third section, Reforms, investigates changes that were made in terms of Japanese governmental and social policies. This section is broken down into U.S. initiated reforms and jointly initiated reforms, the latter of which is essential to understanding the importance of preexisting factors. Special attention is paid to reforms for which support already existed among the Japanese populace, and how this support allowed for the efficiency and ultimate success of many of the changes. After thorough investigation of the numerous contributing variables, I will conclude that preexisting factors which the U.S. had no control over were just as important if not more important than U.S. policies in terms of the occupation’s ability to succeed. I will close by suggesting how to use these findings in current and future occupational situations. Because of the uniqueness of this case, simply mimicking policies used in Japan in current-day occupations is not enough to ensure future successes.