Total Defeat Explaining “stabilization”

Total War: the front lines euphoria Early victory

Total War: the front lines euphoria Early victory atrocity

Total War comes home

Landscapes of Total Defeat

Total Defeat: Kyodatsu

Total Defeat

Problem: Explaining Stability Fears of revolution Hopes for revolution

Problem: Explaining Stability

Occupation Reforms 1. Dismantle the old order [blamed for the war] purge wartime leaders (military, party, business) break up zaibatsu expropriate landlords

Land Reform Constituencies for and against change Land reform: tenants and bureaucratic reforms v. landlords

Labor reform unions and social policy bureaucrats v. business elite and economic bureaucrats

Constitutional Reform: adapting old form

Reverse course Context of deepening “cold war” Fear of left in Japan From about 1947: Crackdown on labor Retreat from zaibatsu dissolution Purge of communists, 1950 De-purge of some of “old guard”

Recap: Explaining “stabilization” Stability ≠ stagnation or lack of change Hybrid result: mix of promoting, managing, resisting, change  SCAP mobilizes existing constituencies, shifts balance among them  Effectively: land, labor cases  Less effect: zaibatsu dissolution, education, policing  Economic recovery also critical

Transwar trends in political economy and society Industrial policy  Three iterations: “self-control” circa early 1930s  State control: 1940 Control Associations  Postwar MITI: gets the state-private mix right? Labor Organization  Wartime controls codify seniority wages  Patriotic Associations feed into inclusive employee unions Agrarian Reform  Further weaken landlords, strengthen tenants