H199 Kingston Chs. 1 and 2

Ch. I Intro

Kingston points out that 1945-2020 was a tumultuous period of transformation that changed the way the Japanese viewed their world and how they acted in it.  During this period, Japan was reinventing itself while trying to overcome the horrors of war that it suffered while doing little to acknowledge or address the devastation that it inflicted on neighboring counties across Asia.

What was the "Driving Force" during this Period?

For much of the period, GNP-ism was a driving force nurturing a collective identity based on economic growth. 

What was the perception that it could do for the Japanese People?

Overcoming the devastation of war provided a singularity of purpose and shared goal as Japan sought to regain a place in the community of nations. This was something desperately needed in order for Japanese to recover a sense of self-worth!

Their strategy was to seek security by rebuilding its economy and embracing peaceful means in order to attain desired ends. In other words, to achieve something similar to what the prewar Imperialists had wanted to achieve, but failed to secure because thier methods sometimes reckless and violated international law.

How did Japan Get there?

Make no mistake, Japan has been ushered into this new international order by force and the threat of force going as far back as the 1850s. They looked hard at what made the western powers strong militarily and decided a policy of enriching the country and strengthening their military forces or fukoku-kyôhei (lit. "rich country-strong army") was the order of the day.

What the Japanese understood early on was that Japan would need to have an Industrial Revolution in order to create a modern, effective fighting force, and in order to have an Industrial Revolution they realized they would need a modern educational system founded on Math and Science which is why they opened their doors (and their schools) to make this happen. In the 1870s and 1880s the Japanese built new schools, new factories, new banks, a new governmental bureaucracy, a modern army and navy, and forged their own version of a military-industrial complex. They studied how the strongest western powers came to control colonial outposts and they assumed Japan would have to do this as well if they wanted to compete with these powers--which they felt they would have to do just in order to survive, to avoid being colonized by these same western powers.

Japan's prewar "success story" was truly remarkable: they became the first Asian nation to adopt a western style constitution, to establish a parliament, and hold elections, after which they were victorious in two internationa; wars: one, against China (1894-95) and the second against Russia (1904-05). Japan became an Empire but that came with costs and setbacks and ultimately Japan plunged itself into a War in China with consequences that were ultimately disastrous.

What helped things to go smoothly in Postwar Japan?

So, in the Postwar Era, the push to rebuild the country and the economy had resulted in the creation of a collective identity based on economic growth. This is how Japan goes about (re-)earning some of the gobal respect they had lost by invading China and other countries and wreaking havoc.

Their aim was regains some of their status as a world power that they had lost by resorting to violence...and failing. The relatively egalitarian distribution of fruits of growth strengthened social cohesion in a society where collective values remain resilient. Stable employment has meant security while loyalty to the company is nurtured and the basis for a work-centered identity is established.

Historians want to get a handle what happened and what did not. In this endeavor, they face a challenge: “to attempt to give an account with incomplete knowledge of actions themselves taken with incomplete knowledge.” (Graham Swift)

Why is studying Japan's past important?

We need to understand more about Japanese history because Japan is a leading nation economically, technologically, strategically and cultural-influence wise (soft power). Quoting Cicero (106-43 BCE) , the early Roman statesman, "Not to know what happened before you were born is always to remain a child." History is what allows us to observe and understand the world we live in.

What are an some Obstacles to getting a clearer picture of Modern Japan?

But there is still a tendency to view Japan as mysterious, surreal or just odd.  Even today, images of geisha, samurai, sumo wrestlers, Mt. Fuji, etc. are used to signify Japan.  Unfortunately, these obscure and ignore how much change has occurred in modern Japan. People write in tired tropes about traditionalism and how Japanese are so polite and always so deferential to those in authority that it misleads and distorts what is actually happening in Japan. In fact, Japanese people are actually standing up and challenging both the government and the press. 

In reality, Japan is a dynamic society capable of change. Issues like the working poor are real. Subjects such as increasing income inequality, domestic violence, political and corporate scandals and cover-ups, divorce, cancer, abortion, shotgun marriages, racial discimination, unseemly relations between politicians, finanacial institutions and the yakuza are constant, systemic corruption, increasing drug use, high suicide rates, school withdrawals, bullying, mental depression and dissent within the Imperial family are no longer taboo subjects.

If we want to learn about Japan we have to look beyond first impressions and avoid cultural stereotypes. Sweeping generalizations are the lazy way out. Japan is a diverse and changing nation of 126 million people! Like any other country, they experience tensions between what is needed and what is actually happening.

What was the Deal with the Economic Miracle?

If nothing else, Postwar Japan has been a time of miraculous economic success and most people's lives have improved vastly. When you think of the state things were in immediately after the war, and how far they had come by the 1960s and 1970s...it is mind-boggling! Almost unimaginable. But the costs of this rapid economic growth have taken a toll on the environment, the family and the community.

How have things changed for Japan since the 1960s

Gradual movements to address these challenges are underway but the once radical approach that we saw in the 1960s--street protests like those against the US Japan Security Treaty--has given way to a more moderate approach to changing things without trying to topple the status quo. Working through the system and within it, a kind of centrist, pragmatic approach to change has replaced the radical activism of the 1960s. Movements towards greater accountability, transparency and other reforms are underway if you look hard enough. The once monolithic sense of Japan, Inc. has given way to to a more complex version of society where tensions exist between the forces of transformations and the appeal and the benefits of the status quo.

After such an impressive run during the era of high-speed growth, Japan has faced severe Economic dislocations. The once cherished ideal of "lifetime employment" has lost ground to one in which there is more mobility but less stability. There is now a distinctive "working poor" strata in Japan and future prospects for many Japanese are far less certain than they once were. We will read about the formation of the "1955 System" that held Japanese politics and society together for almost half a century, but that system may be in the rearview mirror now....but then the old LDP coalition has come roaring back too, so who knows? Scary times ahead, but if the Japanese people have displayed one consistent characteristic over time, it is their resilence.

Ch. 2 US Occupation of Japan 1945-52

Bitter enemies were able to be transformed into close allies even though wartime propaganda on both sides had demonized the other.

We saw the images of September 1945 Japan in the"Reinventing Japan" Video: total destruction was everywhere! 66 of Japan's cities had been bombed out with recurring firebombings.

Plus, there were the atomic bombings of Hiroshima (140,000 killed instantly) and Nagasaki, another 80,000 fatalities. How does a country recover from that?

What were the Key Aims or Objectives of the Occupation

The Key aims of the Occupation were – Demilitarization and Democratization. This included an effort to eliminate the concentrations of power exercised by small groups of elites prior to and during the war. High level bueaucrats--both civilian and military were key players. To that we might add, Economic Deconcentration as well though that effort was halted and reversed partway through! During the first 2 years, tough, thousands of officers, bureaucrats and industrialists were blamed for the war and were purged.

For Democratization, we saw

--Expanded voting rights to women, and

--support for a robust press and strong labor unions. 

--SCAP seemed to be intent on innoculating Japan against the scourge of Militarism. These actions and policies had to be based on some analysis or understanding of what went wrong during the Prewar years.  What caused militarism, aggression and the curbing or silencing of opposition at home?  It's a complicated question!

What are some ideas about Went Wrong in the 1920s-1930s?

--The whole Meiji Constitutional Order from 1889 was partly at fault.  Japan was governed by "Plural Elites" but among then, the Military occupied unique position with it "Right of Direct Access" to the Throne which gave them the ability to bring down a cabinet. 

--The Great Depression also wrenched the social fabric.  Rural communities were hit hard and since the second and third sons of farmers made up the young officer class, frustration and bitterness infected the military as well. The Young Officers were suspicious of the politcal parties and financial elites, seeing them as selfish and they did not believe government could be effective in bringing relief. 

--Taishô Democracy in the 1920s was a current supporting Internationalism and Democracy but while it looked good on the surface, there were limits to how democratic Japanese society was actually becoming. A limited electorate, parties without roots in the masses, and who lacked a legacy of political theories that reinforced the value of deciding important issues by means of debates and elections, made the commitment to Democracy weak. Moreover, powerful forces used against the left to suppress, silence, imprison, ultimately torture and kill them, also weakened all meaningful attempts at political opposition.

--For example, the very same Diet (National Assembly) session (1925) that expanded the suffrage (but still only to male voters over 25 years old), also approved the Peace Preservation Law which made it illegal to advocate for any change in the Kokutai--or the "National Polity"--which included the whole state structure consisting of the Emperor, the Military and the National Bureacracy. The word Kokutai was based on the tautology that Japan was unique because of its Emperor's descent from the Sun Goddess; no one else can claim this so this is what defines Japan's essence. It was a Shinto-Confucian idealization of the Japanese nation-state in which Japanese society was compared to a large family, with the emperor at the head as the benevolent guiding hand and patriarch. 

In effect, the Peace Preservation Law made it impossible to openly advocate for any ideology like Socialism or Marxism because they were committed to altering the structure of the state and ending the Status Quo.

The Labor Union movement was legit, but only 5-6% of population worked in the industrial sector in prewar Japan, so it was not huge. But labor conflicts and strikes were not uncommon during the teens and twenties. 

--On the other side, the state exercised Strong police powers: the Ministry of Interior was in charge of the Police, and they even created a Censorship Bureau and a Thought Police section. Education wound up being part of a large-scale Ideological Indoctrination system, as well. The Impreial Rescript on Education (1890) made Loyalty and Sacrifice for the Emperor a central feature of Japanese life.

For More on the Prewar Era see "Antecedents" from Gary Allinson Ch. 1 (Link is also on Syllabus)

What did Democratization and the New Constitution seek to Achieve?

Somehow, the Occupation's Democratization Policy was aimed at dismantling that prewar structure, what Japanese called the tennosei or "the Emperor System." In other words, they set out to remake the political, social, cultural and economic fabric of their defeated enemy--something no previous occupation had attempted.

--That is why the New Postwar Constitution made a point of locating sovereignty clearly in the people, not the emperor--and this ws a good thing! In the 1889 Meiji Constitution, the Emperor was identified as the Locus of Sovereignty. Meanwhile, the Emperor had publicly renounced his divinity.

--The Prewar aristocracy was stripped of privileges, women got the vote, and Article 9 renounced war and the right of belligerency and the right to have a standing army.  But the Self Defense Forces came into being by the early 1950s so...plus ca change..... Since then, with USA pushing for it, conservatives have tried to expand the size and role of military while more than 7,000 Article 9 Associations come into being in order to counter this pressure.

--Land Reform to reduce tenancy and a Strong Union Movement were encouraged in the early days of teh Occupation. MacArthur favored dismantling the zaibatsu but it never went that far before the "Reverse Course" set in and the Conglomerates basically held onto their shape minus the role of individual wealthy families owning banks and holding companies which controlled the zaibatsu.

Educational Reforms - create an informed citizenry

What Changed in 1947?

The Reverse Course

Onset of the Cold War.  Feb. 1947 cancellation of General Strike demoralized labor unionists.  All punitive measures that might inhibit Japan’s economic recovery were curtailed so Japan could become a bulwark and US ally in Asia after Mao’s triumph. In the end, the Zaibatsu re-emerge in modified form as keiretsu = bank-centered conglomerates. Obviously, new priorities stemming from the Cold War shifted the direction of the Occupation.

What were the Legacies of the Occupation?

--The Red Purge that targeted leftists, union activists, writers, intellectuals and members of the JCP. The JCP's success in the 1949 elections, the continued Labor unrest, and Mao's military and political triumph in China combined to push SCAP toward this Red Purge. The Red Purge resulted in the rehabilitation of some of the politicians, bureaucrats and industrialists who had been purged right after the war.

--Censorship was an ironic component of the Occupation. Dower points out that SCAP embraced democracy but put itself above accountability. From his book Embracing Defeat, Kingston quotes Dower to the effect that "while the victors preached democracy the ruled by fiat; while they espoused equality, they themselves constituted an inviolate privileged privileged caste...almost every interaction between victor and vanquished was infused with intimations of white supremacicism" (Dower, 211; Kingston, 13). The enbrace of peace and democracy may be a positive legscy of the Occupation, gutting the union movement, supressing dissent and the ruthkess repression of "the Red Purge" left a bitter taste. More than that, by embracing the conservative elite during the Reverse Course, the enabled them to slow the pace of reforms and once the right had consolidated their power, and the Occupation was over, the conservatives were in a position to roll back or dilute many of the reforms. (13-14)

--Leaving Hirohito unaccountable was controversial. Japanese Conservatives and the Military liked to promote the idea that the Emperor was powerless, subject to manipulation by his Ministers, especially of War, Navy, Army, Defense, etc. Even Young Officers got into the mix in the 1930s. The research of Japanese scholars and Americans like Herbert Bix told a different story after Hirohito's death, suggesting that he was active and very cognizant of what was going on around him, and was in the thick of it! But he was untouchable and in the end, if he were not deemd responsible, how could others be? He was at the top, the apex of the pyramid. Everything was done in his name! When he expressed his will, his subjects had to follow it!!

--Kingston points out that Conservatives like to blame the Allied Occupation for many of Japan's ills today. The expansion of women's rights, the end of the prewar patriarchal "household" or ie system, the educational reforms, the new imperial style and instituions, Demilitarization, pacifying Japan...Conservatives are always calling for an end to "Masochistic Education": don't force Japanese children to face uncomfortable truths about their past, things like wartime atrocities, medical experiments on non-combatants, biological warfare, the use comfort women as sexual slaves, etc.

But we hear that sort of thing here, too, right? Let's teach good old fashioned (white) American values in our schools and overlook the horrors of 4 centuries of human slavery. We don't want our children to feel guilt or hatred for their own country (which I doubt they would feel!). Se have even heard the call from our Right Wing to initiate "Patriotic Education." Reminiscnt of Japan. Nationalists in Japan want to restore "pride" in their past; things like the Yasukuni Shrine (the Shinto memorial to the war dead) and the accompanying Yushukan Musuem, which tells the story of the war from the Japanese point of view, are always popular among a portion of the Japanese population.

Some Final Upshots of the Occupation

But the Occupation was an oddity--unexpectedly gentle and benign--one of the most non-punitive occupations in history. Prewar and Wartime propaganda on both side was hateful and dehumanizing. It is amazing that all of that could be cast aside and the two peoples could actually get along!

Still, today, Hiroshima and Pearl Harbor remain as Bookends– will it always be that way?

Hiroshima stands as a symbol of Japan's victimization at the hands of a cruel enemy. At the same time, not much is said about the Asian victims of Japanese imperialism and colonialism.

Remember the 1995 Smithsonian Exhibition in Washington on the atomic bombings and how it was attacked by conservatives and veterans?

Having read the John Dower article and watched the video on Hiroshima, we now know that much has been left out of the stories we tell ourselves about the choice to use two atomic bombs on Japanese cities at the end of WWII. We know, for example, that it would have been very easy to insert language into the Potsdam Declaration that would have provided the assurances about the Monarchy that the Japanese needed. Lives could have been spared. And we know now that beneath the cocky, gruff exterior of Harry Truman, there was a man who fretted and brooded over what he had done though he would never say so publicly.

That's why it is up to Historians to look into things and tell as much of the story as they can, especially the parts that need telling the most.