After the surrender of Japan, the work to rebuild Japan and cement the country as one of the most important US allies in the Pacific began. Japan became strategically important after the fall of China to Communism. Japan being a democracy became of the utmost importance.
The man in charge of ensuring those things happened was General Douglas MacArthur. MacArthur was born in Arkansas in 1880. MacArthur’s father was in the military, he was a US Army Captain. He is also a distant relative of Commodore Matthew Perry interestingly enough. He was a graduate of West Point. In 1905, MacArthur was appointed to work alongside his father in Tokyo and went on to work at posts throughout the Pacific. During WWI he was made head of the Bureau of Information and worked for the office of the Secretary of War and was essentially the Army’s press officer. When the US became involved in WWI, he led the 42nd Division in France. In 1919, he became the Superintendent of West Point Military Academy. During WWII, he was made Commander of US Army Forces in the Far East. When Japanese forces took over the Philippines, MacArthur was ordered to relocate to Australia. In April of 1942 he was made Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in the Southwest Pacific. He helped to liberate the Philippines towards the end of the war. Mere days before Japan was set for formal surrender, President Harry Truman selected General MacArthur to oversee the occupation of Japan, along with entrusting him to help rebuild the country and set up a new government. Macarthur was in charge of post war Japan until 1951 when the Korean War would see him put in charge of UN Forces.
The US occupation of Japan lasted from Japan’s surrender on Sept. 2, 1945 until 1952 when the treaty of San Francisco went into effect in April of that year. It wasn’t just US soldiers occupying Japan, British soldiers also supported the effort. About 1 million allied soldiers served in Japan in this capacity. Soviet troops didn’t participate because Stalin didn’t want to have his troops under the direct command of General MacArthur.
When deciding what to do and how to do it with Japan, General Douglas MacArthur looked at the mistakes made after WWI. He was careful not to repeat the same mistakes made with Germany after the first world war. He didn’t want to embolden the former enemy and set the stage for another conflict. The post war policy for Japan was to have a government conform as closely as possible to democratic self government. In addition to that, there was a very real threat of famine, the economy was in shambles, Japan needed to be demilitarized and if all of that wasn’t enough, Japan would need to be rebuilt and those in charge of Japan’s horrific war crimes would need to be punished. The language barrier was one of the biggest issues. First Generation Japanese-Americans known as Nisei were of great importance. During WWII, many Nisei in the military served as linguists and interpreters. They helped to monitor communications, translate maps and helped to interrogate enemy prisoners. During the occupation of Japan, they helped to return Allied prisoners of war and political prisoners. Their understanding of not only the language but of the cultural and religious norms of Japanese society allowed them to gather needed information and track down individuals who would eventually be tried as war criminals. Their work also helped to stabilize the Japanese economy and broke up war related industries, black markets and even organized crime within Japan.
The US dealt with the most pressing issue first – the very real threat of famine in Japan after WWII ended. During the war, the Japanese military had instituted a strict rationing program for the civilians of Japan. Food was so scarce that some women and children were left with no option but to forage for whatever food they could find including things like insects. Some even volunteered to be test subjects for the Japanese biological warfare unit in exchange for better rations. Limited Resources for farmers, fire bombings of cities all led to the decrease of the food supply. When the war ended and many of Japan’s colonies that were now free and had been a source of food production like rice – this meant Japan was on its own to feed its people. The US began to airlift food and needed supplies to the people of Japan. The US Occupation forces also began school lunch programs in Japan to help feed children.
To complete his task, General MacArthur lived in Tokyo for 5 and a half years. His home and office overlooked the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. He established headquarters in the Daiichi Insurance building which was across from the Imperial palace. A new Constitution was going to be needed for Japan in order to replace the one that had been created and in use since 1889. Japanese officials drafted a new document but it was rejected for being too conservative. MacArthur and his staff created a new Constitution that preserved the role of the emperor but it stripped him of much of his power. From now on, the emperor would no longer be considered divine. He would be seen as a political and cultural figurehead. After the new Constitution took effect, the Emperor would receive the credentials of foreign ambassadors, send Japanese ambassadors abroad and he opened each session of The Diet which is the legislative body of Japan. MacArthur used three main principles to help guide the planning for the new Constitution. The Emperor would be accountable to the Japanese people, create a parliamentary system and abolish the inherited power of the Japanese aristocracy and lastly prevent Japan from being able to wage future wars. A number of important issues were included in the document. Women’s rights, freedoms of speech, assembly and religion, land reforms to remove the feudal system of land tenure and Japan’s industrial and financial conglomerates were broken up. The election of 1946 was the first time women were able to vote in Japan. The new constitution included elements to help bring equality between men and women in Japan. Emperor Hirohito announced the new Constitution in order to make it legitimate in the eyes of the Japanese people. The Constitution was written mostly by American officials and civilians in less than a week. Many propositions were suggested by Japanese officials and civilians alike and some made it into the document. At its adoption, the Constitution was referred to as an ill-fitting suit by a Japanese politician but it has never been amended and remains in effect to this day.
Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution dealt with the issue of the military. Members of the military were banned from the highest positions of government. Strict limits were placed on Japan’s ability to use force. Even today, the Diet often debates on how and when the military can use weapons. The military had been dismantled after the war and in 1954, a new military was created known as Self Defense Forces (SDF). Article 9 also outlawed war and prevented Japan from being able to remilitarize. They renounced the use of war as a means to settle disputes and maintain security.
The new Constitution allowed for a Legislative and a Judicial body. The Legislative body is known as The Diet and is made up of two houses. The Lower House is known as The House of Representatives and the Upper House is known as The House of Councilors. The Judicial body has four tiers of courts, its highest is The Supreme Court.
The Next issue they had to deal with was to punish those responsible for war crimes.
The US and its Allies also looked to punish war criminals in Japan.
There were 11 countries that made up the tribunal for the International Military Tribunal for the Far East. The countries of Australia, Canada, China, France, India, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines, Soviet Union, Great Britain and the United States. On April 29, 1946, the group met for the first time to begin the process to try the leaders of Japan for war crimes. Many of the suspects had been arrested as early as a week after the surrender of Japan. In all, 28 defendants were charged. Most of them were imperial military officers & government officials such as Prime Ministers, members of the war cabinet and military generals. The emperor who had been involved with meetings and even given the go ahead for many decisions was not prosecuted in any way. Some individuals in the bacteriological and chemical warfare units were also given immunity in exchange for information. Individuals giving testimonies and those charged with class A crimes agreed to protect the emperor and not to give information that could implicate him or the imperial family. This trial lasted two and a half years and set precedents for International Law more than the more widely known Nuremberg Trials which only lasted a year. Judges were appointed from the participating countries by General MacArthur. Defendants could be charged with crimes against peace – things like the planning of war, violations of international treaties. War crimes– events like the Rape of Nanking, the attack on Pearl Harbor and the Bhutan Death March were all cited within this category. Crimes against humanity – ill treatment of prisoners, slave labor, murder, destruction of cities, towns and property, crimes against humanity – extermination, enslavement, deportation, political and religious persecution. The tribunal included crimes from 1931 which marked the invasion of Manchuria all the way up to the surrender of Japan in 1945. The trial was held in the War Ministry office in Tokyo. There were 419 witnesses who gave testimony and more than 4300 pieces of evidence from an additional 779 other witnesses. Any evidence that could implicate the emperor or the imperial family was removed. The emperor remaining in power was deemed as being essential to the success of the post war goals for the United States. British and Soviet representatives wanted the emperor punished. MacArthur felt that the Japanese people would fight the Allied occupation if that had been the case and it would have led to additional casualties and the rebuilding of Japan would have taken much longer. By keeping the Emperor, Macarthur was able to legitimize his position and the Allied occupation of Japan. Many of the judges gave statements on the record that Emperor Hirohito bore some of the blame – stating that there is no difference in the person who commits the act than the person who directs that act to be done. For example, Dr. Shiro Ishii, who led a gruesome medical experimentation team during the war that was just as horrific as that of Germany's Josef Mengele. He was given a military decoration from the emperor.
Over 100 attorneys represented the defendants. Before the end of the trial, two defendants had died of natural causes and one was deemed as unfit to stand trial and the charges against him were dropped. All others were found guilty. Six of the defendants were sentenced to death and were hanged. General of the Japanese Imperial Army, Hideki Tojo was sentenced to death and bore the brunt of the blame in order to protect the Emperor. Sixteen were sentenced to life in prison. Thirteen served prison sentences and were paroled between 1952 – 1958. Allied countries also held war crimes for individuals captured in their zones of occupation. More than 5,000 individuals were tried for war crimes that didn’t require an international tribunal. The charges covered a wide range of crimes including prisoner abuse, rape, sexual slavery, torture, ill-treatment of laborers, execution without trial, and inhumane medical experiments. Crimes against Japanese nationals were not prosecuted either. The major allied countries were also Colonial powers. Stories of Japan’s treatment of its colonies of Korea and Taiwan could cause an issue for the colonial holdings over the allied powers. They too had done terrible things to gain and maintain power. Where Nuremberg was widely publicized and there are images and videos of the trial, the media coverage of the Tokyo War Crimes Trial was limited. Censorship coupled with the history of Western Imperialism in Asia made the trial controversial.
The US and its Allies also had to demilitarize Japan. Under US direction, Japanese forces destroyed thousands of aircraft, millions of rifles and ammunition, hundreds of thousands of artillery pieces, and naval vessels were sent to Allied nations for their use. Shinto was no longer the state sponsored religion. Some of the teachings and rites of religion that were deemed to be militaristic and too nationalistic were prohibited. The Japanese military was disbanded and former military officials were banned from holding political office.
CCD Civil Censorship Detachment created
The Civil Censorship Detachment (CCD) was established in order to carry out the censorship of books, newspapers, radio, film, plays, magazines, and personal letters and phone calls. An extensive list of censored subjects was created. This list included topics like, the criticism of SCAP, Nationalistic Propaganda, and the mention of censorship itself. Under this level of nationwide censorship, news about Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the bombings, and the stories of its inhabitants, were also suppressed. The censorship of the bombings was not one of the initial topics for censorship, but became perceived as a taboo topic
The term Hibakusha means survivor of the bomb. The government of Japan has recognized over 650,000 people as being Hibakusha and they are entitled to government support. Those with radiation exposure related illnesses receive a special monthly stipend for medical expenses. Many Hibakusha suffered social isolation and even discrimination. Little known knowledge of the effects of the radiation exposure, some people thought illnesses could be hereditary or contagious. In the days and weeks that followed the bombings, survivors began to experience a variety of symptoms. Some had bleeding gums, purple spots, hair loss, fevers and low energy. Limited understanding of radiation exposure and how to treat illnesses from exposure led the stories of these illnesses to be labeled as Japanese Propaganda. Hibakusha were turned away from places to stay and medical facilities. General Douglas MacArthur enforced an occupation press code and prevented the Japanese press from reporting news related to the bombings or about radiation related illnesses. This was in place until the end of the occupation in 1952. The illnesses also caused shame among survivors. Foreign journalists who visited Hiroshima and Nagasaki did report on atomic bomb survivors and radiation related illnesses in their home countries. In 1952, after the US occupation ended, images of the aftermath of the bombings and detailed information and images of radiation related illness began to be published in Japan.
Misinformation spread – diseases caused by radiation exposure were communicable. Witness accounts and medical information about the impact of the bombs were being either suppressed or censored. In many instances, medical care was not provided to the Hibakusha on the grounds that if the US government did pay or provide for medical care it would equate to war guilt or cause the US Government to be held responsible for all others hurt or injured during the war. Autopsies of Hibasusha were done to study the effects of the bombing. Second generation Hibakusha were also studied to get information on how children who were in utero during the bombings had been affected.
Reports of sicknesses and continued death among the Japanese bomb survivors were dismissed by many that felt it was Japan attempting to gain sympathy on the world stage.
Hibakusha receive support from the Japanese government, including a medical allowance. However, in Japan there continues to be discrimination against both the hibakusha and their children, and even grandchildren, based on the common belief that they may be physically or psychologically weakened and that radiation effects are hereditary or contagious. Many hibakusha do not want their status to be known, as it can impact them regarding employment or marriage.
The success of the occupation of Japan was of the utmost importance. Japan went from being our enemy during the war to one of our most important allies after the war. Its location in the Pacific and proximity to a now Communist China made Japan’s new democratic government even more important. After 1952, the occupation was over and all control was handed over to the Japanese. Emperor Hirohito ruled Japan until his death in 1989. Japan remains one of our most important Allies in the Pacific.
