Japan after 1945 March 26, 2015

Review How did Deng Xiaoping change the Chinese economy? What happened in Beijing in June, 1989? What are the major foreign policy issues facing China today? Is the PRC a communist country?

Japan after 1945 How did Japan change after 1945? How did Japan democratize? How did it’s economy grow rapidly, then stagnate? Social aspects of post-war Japan

Japan’s defeat and the US Occupation “Endure the unendurable” Emperor’s radio message (Aug, 1945) The Occupation, 1945-1952 (Ebrey, 462-464) SCAP and Douglas MacArthur

Changes Demilitarization War crimes trial: victor’s justice Purged officials involved in war (and re-purge) MacArthur Constitution (1947) Drafted in 6 days! Popular sovereignty Article 9 (war renunciation clause) The Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation…Land, sea, and air forces will never be maintained Was MacArthur a pacifist? Self-Defense Force later

What happened to the emperor?

MacArthur’s feats Land reform Breakup of landlord grips on rural society Barrington Moore’s fascist model vs democratic model Civil, social, and political rights New civil and criminal laws Equality of the sexes (women’s voting right) “Vote received from MacArthur” Freedom of assembly, speech, press, religion Parliamentary democracy State Shinto abolished “Democracy from above”, “Revolution from above” Was MacArthur Asia’s greatest revolutionary?

Governance after Occupation Dominance of the conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) since 1955 Party politics with oppositions Factions within the LDP (faction bosses) Strong bureaucracy Protest and political activism in 1960s Apathy toward politics, mistrust of politicians

Is Japan a democracy? A political system grounded in the recognition of the legitimacy of conflicts of interests. Democracy provides mechanisms such as elections for the peaceful resolution of such conflicts. There also must be a real possibility for citizens to influence policy and even to form opposition parties that can themselves someday run the government. Many scholars withhold the label “democracy” from a country that has not experienced two peaceful transfers of power in a row.

Economic growth Over 10% annual economic growth from 1950 to 1971 How did that happen? Korean war Defense pact with the US; Cold War Administrative aid (Bureaucratic guidance) Entrepreneurial spirit Domestic thirst for consumption and growth

“Growth and progress”, the spirit of the 60s and 70s Roaring 80s Decline after the 90s, and the “lost twenty years” Bubble burst Mediocre leaders, and political culture Competition in Asia

Society “Salaryman” and the corporate culture Office ladies, housewives

Social issues “All middle class” mentality to wealth inequality Gender role and pay gap Discriminated minorities Burakumin Koreans Okinawans Tensions with Korea, China Rocks and islands, War and history

Varieties of nationalism and visions Right-wing gangs Hawkish politicians, Revisionists historians “Net right wingers” Some radical religious groups (not necessarily nationalistic) More modest forms of nationalism Sports, “Samurai Japan” “Petit nationalism” Pacifism (Article 9) J-pop (Southern All Stars, “Peace and highlight”, 2013)