Occupation of japan. With amanda williams, the manager at the mcarthur memorial in norfolk, virginia. This lecture was rescheduled due to hurricane idas impact on Southeast Louisiana and was designed to commemorate the end of the war in the pacific. So, now, without further ado, ill now turn this over to a mandate to share about general mcarthurs unique approach to the occupation of japan. Thank you, maggie. Thank you to the World War Ii Museum for having me. Today, im going to give you an overview of the occupation of japan and tried to explain why it could be considered one of the most effective occupations and history. I think, as history demonstrates, great battlefield victories can often unravel in the occupations that follow them. Occupations are less formal fields of battle where you can lose the luster of a great battlefield victory. And although dismissed as the end of a conflict, and occupation has basically just a reconfiguration of the battlefield. And is there for a very vital arena where peace can be won or lost. I think, when you think about the bitter fighting that took place in the pacific during world war ii, in september of 1945, the occupation of japan was a very daunting prospect. And i think it had the potential to really end in a very negative way. In may of 1945, when the word breaks of not see germanys decision to surrender, the war in the pacific was still raging. And news of the surrender was really something that meant a lot to the men fighting in the pacific. The pacific was a very, very difficult place to be terms of environment, in terms of the enemy that youre facing and just in terms of the vastness of the theater. Americans i think understood europe, they could comprehend. Asia, i thank not so much. If you compare the oral histories of veterans and you have put those in the pacific, i think you would see this. It was a very difficult war and a very different war, perhaps, than the one that was fought in europe. Now, for our purposes today, the story of the occupation of japan begins in mid august 1945, when japan announces its intention to cease fighting. Thats in may of 1945, this news was met with a elation all around the world because it means that world war ii is over and allies have wanted both of these major theaters. I think for some people, victory would have seen very complete at this point. Few people were probably thinking about what happens next, in terms of japan. Looking at japan, same time, august, 1945. Japan has been at war at this point since the 1930s. Its economy is pretty much shattered at this point. And they use the term yucky knowhow, burned plane, to describe the country. 68 japanese cities have been wiped off the plant, 66 of those two to conventional bombing, to do to the atomic bombs. Schools, hospitals, transportation infrastructure, communications, a lot of farms. Theyve largely been destroyed or terribly damaged in this war. You have 2 million dead and this is almost an entire generation of young japanese man. We also have about 15 Million People in the country that are homeless. And, as People Struggle to supply survive, order is going to break down. There will be gangsterism, lawlessness, the japanese are also going to be confronted by disease, by famine. At most understandably, a sense of fear. It is basically a country on its knees, looking for some sign of hope. And into this drama steps general of the army, douglas mcarthur. On august 14th, he is informed that he will be the Supreme Commander of the allied powers and run the occupation of japan. Its a job that i think he had been laying the groundwork for since probably late 1942. Its a job that he sees as his destiny. He believes that he was a and who believes this to be as great destiny and sees japan as part of. That say we will of his flaws, we can do the tire session on those, but there is a day serious caller today who thinks that he was the wrong choice for the job. But why was he such an inspired choice . He had a lot of experience in asia. He served four tours of duty there from the time he gets his commission in 1903 to the 1930s. His Second Period of service and asia starts at about 1905. When he serves as an aide to his father, an army officer, a general, who was sent to asia to do some fact finding. His father believed that asia was the future and that it was going to be intertwined with the United States in the years forward. He travels with his father from japan to the caper pass, across india, china and back again through what is basically most of Southeast Asia today. The troop leads him to gain an appreciation of the huge economic potential of asia, will also forming a very nuanced understanding of the billions of people there. As nuanced human beings. He sees that People Living in asia as not dissimilar from himself and his fellow american citizens. He sees them as people with aspirations, as people who have families and who want, in some cases, to be free of colonial oppressors. By the end of the trip, he has developed a very deep distrust of the colonial system. And he develops the belief that such system succeeds for future conflicts. He leaves the region with a strong belief that race has no bearing on anybodys capabilities. This is going to be really important because he is deciding this in about 1906, hes going to carry with him for the rest of his life. As a young officer, hes going to start meeting and befriending a lot of the future political and intellectual and military leaders of Southeast Asia. So, hes forming these connections as a very young man. And a lot of the people he is meeting are going to see him as somebody who is not racist, someone who is anti colonial. Theyre going to have to deal with an american, they want to deal with him. Also, Flash Forward a little bit in his life, world war i. We have mcarthur, a young officer fighting in that war. Hes one of the most popular battlefield leaders of the atf. And he, when the war ends, its absolutely devastated by the versailles treaty. Hes deeply troubled by what he experienced on the battlefields of world war i and he feels that the treaty, in 1919, basically the traces sacrifices of the troops that fought in that war. Of the versailles treaty, he writes that its more like a treaty of perpetual war from a war of perpetual piece he believes that world war i failed off the battlefield. From 1941 to 1945, hes determined that world war ii will not fail in a similar way. From the very start of world war ii, i think as soon as maybe not the start but by the time he gets to australia 1942, he has an endgame in mind. He knows that this war must win the peace. And he knows what a successful peace should look like. And victory on the battlefield is step one. But theres other steps that must be followed, and hes going to try to put those into practice in the occupation that he will run. Im not really sure that any of the other generals or admirals out in the pacific in 1945 had this farreaching vision that he did, or had this experience in asia. To kind of make them a very good fit for this job. Lastly, another reason why he is a very inspired choice, theater. He is the greatest actor of the 20th century, i dont think there is many arguments against that. Hes very ridiculed for this, particularly in the United States and particularly by a lot of westerners. But hes basically a master of information operations, a master of propaganda and self promotion. This pays huge dividends in the occupation of japan. There is many moments in history when optics add to your arsenal, and i think the pacific had a number of talented, excellent officers out there. But none of them have the ability or the desire to turn in an oscar where the performance. And mcarthurs talent as a showman is going to be a major part of the occupation, it is going to pay huge dividends for the United States and its policy there. So, say what you will about him being very theatrical, very dramatic. Its all true. There are circumstances, especially in the occupation, where that is a personality that is the level of drama thats needed. And, again it will pay huge dividends for his country. One final point, mcarthur was a great student of history. As he prepares to set up the operation, he lets staff know that the odds are against them. He knows that history proves that create battlefield victories unravel in occupations, and he knows that the great captains of history, alexander, napoleon, wellington, kitchener, he knows all of these men have seen great battlefield victories just kind of dry up in occupations. And unravel. Being mcarthur, he naturally sees these men as his pure group. That could be weird to a lot of people, but it masks the fact that he has studied the problem of occupations for decades. He has discovered what he sees as kind of a pattern, had to have a successful one versus an unsuccessful one. He has formulated a plan to achieve that, and he is determined to break the mold and be successful. He goes under the occupation with a very short list of musthaves to be successful. The japanese have to think that he is invincible. The japanese have to think that he is all powerful, and the japanese have to believe that his leadership of the occupation is absolutely legitimate. So, invincible, all powerful and legitimate. Now, he believes that this will ensure the cooperation and the agency of the japanese people, if he has these three advantages in his pocket. Once all this is achieved, he hopes to proceed with the occupation in a very pragmatic and culturally sensitive way. Now, lets talk about invincible. How does he pull off invincible . It is before the war officially ends on august 30th, 1945, mcarthur lands at two to the air base in japan, a center for kamikaze training. The war is not over at this point, he does this at purpose because he lands with minimal bodyguards. He then is driven 20 miles to yokohama, and i care that breaks down every so often along the road. Hes traveling a road that is lined with japanese soldiers, still armed. No one takes a shot at him. His arrival is quite publicized, hes a massive target. But he assures his staff at the japanese are very disciplined. The emperor has told them the war is over, they have been ordered not to shoot mcarthur during this trip. And he tells the staff japan is absolutely safe for me to visit and walk about in. This is basically the First Impression and image that the japanese have of him, as the conqueror. The impression, i think, as a very powerful one. On one hand, his fearlessness seem to make an idea of respect. Theres a sense that he understands and respects the concept of discipline that is so important and Japanese Culture. I think this is something that perhaps gives a lot of the japanese a little bit of hope, that this might be somebody who understands us just a little bit. I think at this point, had he been killed on this trip, i think the war would not have and it the way it did on september 2nd, 1945. When Winston Churchill hears about mcarthurs visit and his century to japan this early, he says its one of the bravest acts of the war. This is the way mcarthur presents himself as invincible, one of these pillars that will support his occupation. All powerful. Well, days later, on september 2nd, hes in charge of the surrendere marshall or president truman for the other allied leaders this gives the japanese the impression he has all power in a blip in a sense of. Is he on his own in japan . Does he have control or oversight . Of course hes under the authority of truman, the jcs in the far Eastern Commission produce also supposed to be under the control of something called the allied counsel for japan. He will wiggle free from that last commission i just mentioned. But, for all intensive purposes he is under the control of allies leaders president truman. He is not on his own in japan. But he does in terms of the japanese people try to position himself as the fonts of Sole Authority in japan. His personality and leadership style are pretty suited to reinforcing this concept and perception in japan. And legitimacy. How, when he started occupation with the occupy people know you are now in the ruler . Early in the occupation sent a message telling him he does not need to confirm himself of the status of the emperor. He is basically to understand he is the authority in japan. The emperor is irrelevant according to the state department and even the white house. They will figure out what to do with the emperor perhaps at a later date. Macarthur always believe the emperor would be a key part of legitimizing any occupation. And he said you have the religious, political and military leader of the nation and one person. He knows the japanese people are waiting anxiously for signs up at the occupation is going to be like in the future. Because hes a master of theater he knows a popular stage meeting with the emperor would begin the occupation of legitimacy he wants so bad it could help assure the cooperation of the japanese people. But he also knows he cannot appear desperate for the meeting. When they cannot yield the high ground in terms of the optics of the relationship. Zoe plays a waiting game. He does nothing about the emperor. He does not ask to meet him, he does not try to go see him, and eventually sent macarthur a message requesting a meeting and offering to come seat macarthur. Macarthur has the message leaked so that everyone knows the emperor is making the first overture and is thinking about taking that unprecedented step of visiting someone else. The emperor does not go see people people to see the emperor. This is an unprecedented offer. Penny has his own response to back and basically tells the emperor do not come to my military headquarters. Theres tons of press around there. He basically says come to my private residence away from the press, away from the idea of a photo ops with you having to march through my 6foot honor guard. I do not want to humiliate you in that way come to my private residence and we will talk. This is going to be just incredible. Macarthur will have the emperor come to his residence though, take the famous photograph they will talk you will have this photograph sent throughout japan. If a photograph can do anything credible this does that. And basically shanks sanctions and legitimizes the occupation of japan. It is a brilliant piece of theater establishing the emperor is an essential part of the operation and secures what we would call today soft occupation. The occupation of japan is not going to be Hard Military occupation. But this meeting, this photograph this really sets up a way for that to happen. Again, macarthur believes the emperor is very important. The emperor has helped him secure legitimacy in terms of occupation. Also going to protect the emperor from war crime trials he received a lot of criticism because of this. He doesnt because he basically believes that is the best way to run this occupation. I thinking of very easily argue today is the architect of the myth was not involved in the military decisions made during the war. He was pushed into rubberstamping what really bad militants were doing. He was just a harmless biologist looking at stuff under his microscope for the majority of the war. As scholar and a gentleman but not a war maker, not a war criminal. Obviously theres a lot of pushback against that today. Macarthur just believes the emperor is essential to this occupation success. He is willing to make those concessions in terms of protecting the emperor from war crime trials by doing this. Throughout the occupation macarthurs going to be very remote. Being in japan is very remote as well but respected and obeyed. Try to play a very, very similar role. Overall the time is in japan he will work very hard to not overexpose himself to the japanese people. Lived in tokyo may be able see him drive by every now and then. He would kind of come and go from his office, his house several times a day. But is not going to go to baseball games he saw, throw out first pitches hes not going to go to social events. As one of the most beautiful countries in the world and he never goes anywhere. He is very remote, he works seven days a week but he is an ever present unseen power throughout the country. I think being very removed by not humiliate in the japanese by fitting into a mode of power thats very recognizable by the japanese people gives spiritual and psychological space to accept the occupation and comes to terms with an defeat in this war. There is no quest for vengeance and daily life. Japanese people do not feel that from the occupying forces. That is going to be saved for war criminals will talk about that in a little while. So how does this go from the start . Well, the japanese journalist writes an autobiography of macarthur at the start of the occupation. He describes macarthur as a reincarnation of the first japanese emperors comeback to restore japan to the community of nations. Seven months into the occupation the book has sold about 800,000 copies. You have some during the occupation macarthurs headquarters is running the censorship. Now there hardly any accurate passages in this biography of macarthur. But the occupation people dont censor it. It is allowed to go to press. Its allowed to be distributed throughout the country. We can laugh and think this is foolish but something very important, the japanese are very hungry for information. They are willing to see him in a heroic positive light. I dont think he was a big fan of this book itself. I dont think he actually believed it was written in it. But i think he felt that this is what people need to buy into this occupation, he was willing to try to play that character so again the role of theater. This is also kind of a level very popular home grown propaganda you cannot buy his Occupation Forces could not generate this level of positive information about him. You have japanese journalist doing the work for the occupation, so again good to start to the occupation for him. Theres also a famine in japan. Especially in the first year of the occupation. The japanese are facing terrible medical shortages that are very difficult. The u. S. And the allies at the start are determined no money will go to japan to rebuild. Theres not going to be a Marshall Plan for japan. And mick arthurs in japan receive this huge humanitarian crisis developing and he acts even though technically this is not something u. S. And the other countries want to see happening. Theres food stores and medical supplies into the country this saves millions of lives. He understands some things pretty understands the idea that when you are in charge have a responsibility to those people in your charge pretty understands between hungry desperate people on the disk prints between hungry angry people. He believes you can win the hearts and minds of the former if you end up with hungry angry people you end up with revolution, insurgency or other problems. He plays a very direct role to try to stop the famine and make sure the basic food and medical needs of the japanese are met early in this occupation. We also need to recognize there is significant Japanese Agency and cooperation throughout the occupation. Scholars tend to refer to this as the bamboo strategy. The idea the japanese decide to bend but not break in the occupation to wait out the occupation were there bend with it where they must. Macarthur does not want the japanese to break. He sees nothing fundamentally wrong or evil about japan or the japanese. He just has a problem with militarism. And that is going to have to go that is where he believed japan went wrong. He has to be very clear about this, things are going to have to change in japan. That change will be swift in some areas but japan is not going to be left a blank slate. Japanese culture is to be something to be celebrated he believes just minus militarism. Japanese will respond to this in a very pragmatic way. They will weather the purges of militarists. They will weather the changes brought by the new constitution that he will help put into place but they will remain a people within ancient heritage and be very proud of that heritage. That is something macarthur definitely supported. I think their defeat in world war ii the early success of the occupation allowed for this. Most of the policy of the occupation will be pretty benevolent and reasonable. There is really not going to be a lot of reason for everyday japanese citizen to resist the occupation. Want to talk a little bit about the soviets in the occupation. So, the soviets and the occupation of japan . Arthur is not a fan of how germany are split up into occupation zones. Also prevent that from happening in japan. He understands that he is in charge of essentially allied occupation. And has troops under his authority but he is absolute against having any soviet troops in japan. The soviet representative to macarthurs headquarters to bear the brunt of this rejection. He might show up but for appointments with macarthur and macarthur will essentially goad him. Hell be told hes got the wrong day, wrong time, the general is not available for him to mate with. At one point he is arrested for reckless driving in tokyo by Japanese Police. And he demands an apology from the Japanese Police force he storms into macarthurs office and tells him you need to make this go away for me. He rebukes him and said you better follow the laws police have a right to deal with you this way. He just tells him again we have to respect the japanese laws. Yes they lost the war but this is a civil occupation. Later on will tell macarthur theyre going to try to put a division or so. Macarthur says as soon as they do that he will arrest him and throw him in jail. This is one area where truman and macarthur argue in terms of the treatment of sylvies going to come into japan. Macarthur also convinces washington that by keeping and protecting them from war crime trials the u. S. Will avoid parading a cultural vacuum in japan. And as the cold war is ramping up, japan is the place were soviets can most easily be countered. It is eventually recalled to the soviet union because hes not really having much occupation much success with macarthur. But he will return and macarthur will tell him i am so happy to see you i was pretty sure when stalin brought you back his own to chop your head off. They have a friendly relationship but the soviets are not really able to exercise any authority in this occupation of japan like they would like to do. So the bottom line is basically there is no Political Tension in japan like you see in germany, in berlin, japan will be one unified country. Macarthurs perfectly happy if japanese want to be home grown kindness. He suppose to them being influenced by the soviets in any way. So the occupation begins with these four goals there to be carried out again with more aid to japan with no Marshall Plan to rebuild. Today at some scholars will cite racism for the grievance for this. Perhaps that is how some american politicians felt. But really this is something even macarthur thought would be best. Aside from his early intervention, to macarthurs always anxious americans allies be strong and independent. He sees japan as a future ally and believes japan really has to play a bigger role in reinventing and rebuilding itself. And in doing so someday they will be an ally that is not have to be propped up or constantly bought in the have the pride of restored their own nation. These are the four goals he has. Now, first goal is going to be to demilitarized japan it is the number one most pressing goal. It starts immediately with the collection and destruction of military equipment throughout the country. 1. 3million rifles are seized very early on in the occupation. 190,000 artillery pieces and the naval fleet whatever survives of it by this point in september 1945 is pretty much destroyed as a way to kind of make sure japan is fully demilitarized. And then theres repatriation of all of these japanese troops that are all over the pacific. Over nine months starting in october of 1945, 4 million Japanese Servicemen are repatriated to japan. The soviet union has about a million of these men. They refuse initially to send them back. Fn should they will send about 700,000 back. But about 300,000 will never, never returned. This is going to present the Occupation Administration an incredible task of how do you integrate these young men back into society . Especially when the economy is not where it needs to be paired or infrastructure throughout japan is so destroyed. When he got the issue of famine, what you do with the millions of young men who dont have work and who were soldiers. Now they are military servicemen. Education reform will play a major role in solving the social problems of reintegrating these men. Massive education reform is going to take place very early on in the occupation. Students of any ages, japanese citizen workers are all going to be encouraged to believe japan is not racially superior to any other country. And japan has no right to war. There are going to be purges of militarists who work in education and who work in government. There be purges of a military tube politicians or military leaders. Anyone who helped shape japans militaristic identity, they are purged from their positions and replace with other people. Dissenters had been arrested by the japanese during this war perhaps against military criticizing the war effort, they are run out of prison and invited to play in what macarthur calls a subdued role in japanese life. The goal is to let these people out, the goal is not to antagonize the former militarists with them but create more of a marketplace of ideas, of competing ideas of alternatives. These are led out and encourage in a very subdued way to kind of talk with their fellow citizens about alternatives to militarism. Then it comes to war crimes trials. The allies really, really want japan to pay for world war ii. It was an absolutely brutal war, lots of war crimes. They want to see people punished. Macarthur sees this as part of the reeducation of the japanese people as well. He sees no need to visit inventions but he does believe some examples have to be made. War crimes trials will be held all over the pacific thousands of Japanese Servicemen will be accused of war crimes and atrocities i will be executed for these crimes. The most controversial trials were probably in manila the trials, these are the generals that dealt macarthurs biggest personal setbacks during the war. Many felt had his hand on the scale of the trial and these men probably did not receive fair trials. Aspects of the trial will go to the American Supreme Court it is a very liberal court at that time. But it sides with macarthur in truman is in agreement with all of this. They, a lot of legal scholars probably figures there is an obstruction of justice during this particular tribe theres also the idea someone had to be punished. Everybody perhaps look the other way. The biggest trial though will be in tokyo. That will be before the International Military tribunal of the far east. Thats very high ranking people will be charged with crimes and with waging an aggressive war. Several of them will be executed in 1948. Another way the occupation things to reeducate japanese citizens is through museums and the arts. Youve probably heard of the monuments in europe, they were in japan too. But in japan they were different the role wasnt one about censorship than going around protecting cultural objects from war. They are going to go to museums and religious sites throughout the country and make sure the content does not glorify militarism. There is a home in Japanese Institution that gives grandsons day afloat and share Japanese Culture with the rest of the world for this is going to be very, very successful in this mission. I think even today have very powerful voices. Macarthur realizes always happy to exercise what he called soft power in this arena. Whats interesting that his wife, mrs. Macarthur will become a great patron of arts and culture in japan and there will be a lot of cultural interchange between the United States and japan while they are there in country. Another goal macarthur has is to re democratize japan. In 1845 individual average rate in japan are somewhat limited. Only landowners and the very, very wealthy can vote. Ownership of industry and own tracts of land was pretty much controlled by a few dozen families who controlled access to Production Industry banking and labor. This puts control of the country in the hands of a very few elite. Women had few rights, minorities had few rights there was no freedom of the press or freedom of speech. In the same regard the mission was to democratize. Thats basically because japan had experimented earlier in its history. The 1868 constitution of japan had come out of a. That created a system in japan that was a mix of oppression and british governing system half constitutional half absolute monarchy. By 1845 this a lot more structural problems and japan. Youve got the problem of how do you deal the militarists . We have to do something more dramatic to assure the new course in the future for japan. and the new constitution would be drafted, and this will be mainly written by macarthurs occupation Headquarters Staff based off of a list of things he wants to see in it. His inspiration, he says, comes from the bill of rights, the american constitution, the British Parliament and constitutional law, the gettysburg address, the kellogg brand pact, the league of nations and, what i find most interesting, the new deal. He rage ared against the new deal raged against the new deal in america. He thought it was absolute socialism and it was going to destroy america, but hes very happy to use a lot of the policies and concepts in the remaking of japan and the japanese constitution. New constitution is about 5,000 words long. It goes into effect may 3rd, 1947, and it guarantees a parliamentary system of government and certain fundamental rights for all in japan. It features the end of feudalism, universal suffrage and many, many other almost kind of revolutionary concepts. The most important part of the constitution though for macarthur is article ix. And this is a part of the japanese constitution in which are announced as a right of the japanese state. And macarthur sees this as his greatest achievement and the biggest victory, the biggest steppingstone in terms of winning a Permanent Peace between the United States and japan. Women s suffrage is also going to be enshrined in the constitution. Macarthur is most proud of this, aside from article ix. He informs the japanese government early on this lebanon negotiable. This will be nonnegotiable. And i think as a 19th century vick e torian, he also thinks women are just better than men. He thinks that they are more decent and will bring better judgment to politics. Now, today we reject kind of blanket characterizations like that, but whatever his personal thoughts about this, hes absolutely committed to giving women the right to vote in japan. And hes also interested in marriage rights. And under the occupation government, Mutual Consent to marriage becomes a law. Essentially, women cannot be forced into a marriage. They have to say, yes, i want to be married to you. Now, this is all about taking apart the power of the elites. And i think macarthur believes that the mill tarrists, a lot of men, you know, its a very chauvinist system, and i think he thought by putting women into this equation and kind of raising their political profile and their value as citizens in this new japan that there would be a way to kind of combat that militarism from ever coming back. First elections are held about 1946, 1947. Japanese women turn up to vote, and macarthur is thrilled by this. There had been a big Propaganda Campaign to get out the word to get women to vote. Political scientists and anthropologists said it couldnt be done in such a traditional society. The turnout is high, and women are even elected to office for the first time. And it was a huge step for japan. Macarthur doesnt leave are it there though. After the election he meets with the women who have been elected which shows, i think, his support for them. And he wants to show the japanese people that, you know, these women are not going to be token members of this legislature. He plans to back them. He plans to see them, you know, to have more women elected even in the future. But he does something very interesting. He also warns these women to avoid coming together and just becoming a womens bloc interested in womens issues. He tells them that they need to meet the men on the floor in complete equality and that they need to represent all of japan going forward. Moving on reform is something hes interested in. In prewar japan, twothirds of all Agricultural Land was rented and not owned by the farmers who farmedded it, and farmer farmed it, and farmers at this point make up about 50 of the work force. And they tended to pay about 50 of their crops in rent. The average farm size was about one acre, and thats not a lot, you know . If you are farming to support your family and you also have to pay this kind of 50 of your crops in rent, it makes for kind of subsistence living. And farmers generally are going to be living in poverty. Occupation era land reform is essentially going to take land away from major landlords and redistribute it to farmers who own very little or no land. This, to a lot of people, sounds line socialism and a redistribution of wealth, things that macarthur was very, very much against but, yes, this is exactly what hes doing in japan. Hes very flexible in terms of his ideologies there because he feels that japan is different than the United States and what works here might not work there and vice versa. Mac arthur believes if the macarthur believes if the farmers rise to someday form a middle class, they will participate more freely in the democracy. He feels if theres a path to some sort of generational wealth, that that new middle class can be a bulwark to those elites, those mill tarrists who turned japan in the wrong direction in the 1930s. Hi believes this is really important in japan, and hes faced with the problem of what to do with those millions of Japanese Service members being repatriated back into the country. They dont have anything, they dont have a way to make a living. Hes some land now, you can be a farmer. Its a way to dole with soldiers returning deal with soldiers returning and putting them to to work or letting them own something. These are the giant kind of Family Business corporations in japan. They controlled japans industry and pretty much japans economy. Macarthur and eisenhower are talking about the military industrial complex, and this is that to the nth degree. Initial occupation policy is to turn japan into an agrarian powerhouse and to break up the giant corporations that help lead japan to war. In the summer of 1945, macarthur is moving forward very quickly with this, seizing the holdings of these companies, breaking up monopolies, stuff like that. And then, suddenly, revoter course comes into play reverse course comes into play. Cold war tensions are rising. The cost of the occupations in europe and japan are enormous, and this is leading to a reassessment of occupation policies. And the u. S. Government comes to an idea that japan can be a better bulwark to communism in asia if its not some, you know, agrarian back water, but is instead an economic powerhouse, if its kind of a great capitalist country. And so macarthur will be told its time for you to switch course. Youve been kind of breaking up these monopolies. Okay, never mind with that, we need japan to have a Strong Industrial base. Reverse course. And so he reversed his course, and he embarks on a policy with a lot of japanese cooperation to make sure that, you know, japanese corporations are in a better place than they were during the can early stages of the occupation. And this is a reason today that we have many of these companies you see on the screen around today. Japan is to be an economic powerhouse, and macarthurs running of the occupation, that becomes his new goal. In the end, japans postwar economic recovery is ultimately assured by the korean war. Not maybe so much by reversed course, although that does in part, but its mostly the fact that from 19501953 japan will become the Industrial Supply depot and an important base of operations for american troops in the korean war. And, again, later in vietnam japan will be the same thing. So in the case of the korean war, japan at this point is only five years removed from that devastation of world war ii, and i think this just gives you an idea of what an incredible transformation happens in that country in about five years of this occupation. Macarthur will serve as commander of United Nations forces in korea while hes still in charge of the occupation of japan. Hes in his 70s at this point. Technically he had retired from the United States army before world war ii started and was recalled to active duty. Hes got two major jobs at this point in his career, and when hes fired by president truman in 1951, hes remove from the occupation of japan and from his leadership of the korean war. Hell return to the United States after this where hell be returning for the first time in over a decade. Thats how long hell be out of country serving in the pacific. The announcement to his removal in japan not what a lot of people might assume. The japanese are pretty worried about this. They really dont want to see him go. This is a traumatic moment for many of them, and there is great concern over what will replace him. And he has more support for his president ial ambitions from japanese than there will be in terms of american support for his president ial ambitions. The japanese people the fierce are pretty unnecessary. Fears are pretty unnecessary. By the time hes fired, the occupation has pretty much accomplished its goals, and its almost over. The formal peace treaty is signed in december 1951, about five months after macarthurs firing. And hes not part of the ceremony that takes place in san francisco, but its something that he had been a major architect of. This is a glaring sight. The japanese think its very rude that macarthur is not part of this since hes had such a big role to play in it, after hes fired its not appropriate according to the americans to have him there at point. His presence is just not appropriate. A year after his removal the occupation itself ends, but the framework for u. S. japan bilateral or relations is firmly established, and it obviously continues today. And i think this makes the occupation of japan one of the most successful in all of history. As we look at asia in the postworld war ii period, we see most of the allies were not willing to give up their colonial possessions in that part of the world. The trish, the dutch, the french the british, the dutch, the french, all of these groups want to keep track they want to keep hold of their colonial possessions, and you see a lot of civil unrest and violence in these areas as the people that live there want to kind of have independence. In contrast, i think after world war ii the United States goes through some very interesting kind of revolutions. You have independence in 1946, and then you have the occupation of japan led by an anticolonialist douglas macarthur. And so i think this is very significant. There are missteps coming in terms of american policy in the future, but i think initial american policy in asia is set up very well initially in the postwar period. And i think macarthur is a big part of that in terms of the philippines and japan. Now, the japanese perspective of this occupation. After the tsunami that devastated japan in 2011, japanese media agencies reached out to get the rights to this particular image. Macarthur arriving right before the end of the war, right before the main occupation starts. They printed this in japanese newspapers in the wake of that disaster, and the message was have hope, endure, we can rebuild again. And i think whats interesting is that, you know, almost 70 years later macarthurs arrival in japan in 1945 is seen as a reminder that prosperity will return. Japan is never defeated, never destroyed. And so i think this is but ten years ago this was kind of per spent weve of that in japan. Perspective of that in japan. Now, macarthurs often referred to as an american seize car, and this is caesar, and this is why. Julius caesar, hes not lovable, right . No one will argue with you about that. Caesar could be a great battlefield commander in times of war. He was a master or propagandist, and its easy to kind of despise the drama and ego that he groom, but at some point in his career it made him look very foolish, but at other times his mastery paid huge dividends for the United States and for the mission. And finally, like caesar, he could be a great civil administrator. And that is a legacy of japan and u. S. Relations today. The occupation in japan brings the peace, and its a peace that honors the sacrifice of the Service Members who gave their lives in the pacific theater. I would argue that japan u. S. Relationship today continues to honor these sacrifices. So thank you very much. That was kind of a, an overview of the war, but if theres any questions, good to go. Awesome. Well, thank you, amanda. That was an incredible presentation. For our audience members who are watching us on zoom, make sure to place any questions that you have within the q a feature located at the bottom of your screen. If you are watching on facebook, please post your questions as a comment, and we will go ahead and jump in because, iowa mane da amanda, we have a ton of questions already. So the first question that i have for you is from robert. He asks, how long after macarthur arrived in japan did he have that meeting with your here toe . Your here toe . It happened in september, september 1945. Its very, very early in the occupation. So building on that, jim asks well, explains this question, first of all. I understand the cultural reasons for keeping in place, but what was the arguments for not keeping him in place everyone the ones advocates for justice for his alleged war crimes, and who made these arguments and did they matter. There are a lot of politicians, democrats and republicans, in congress who just dont want to see him over there. They see this as very kind of outdated. You know, you cannot have kind of ad modern, new japan a modern, new japan with this kind of constitutional monarch, and so they are very much in favor of, you know, we have got to getly of him. The war crimes dont hurt because theyve got a lot of constituents who might have been p. O. W. S or people whose family members died because of atrocities. But, you know, youve got a lot of politicians basically saying get rid of him. You also have a lot of new dealers and later on, obviously, in trumans administration who just think, well, thats we dont want him over there. And, again, atrocities are always going to play a part of it, war crimes will always be a part of that argument a. But just this idea that how can you have something new and modern with this ancient or this kind of not democratic model. But, you know, macarthur is just insistent from the beginning, he believes the emperor is the linchpin to all of this. He believes the emperor are kind of prevent a cultural vacuum that will not allow us to win the peace there. And so he pushes back against all of these arguments, and he eventually wins. Hes also got a lot of guys on his staff that are, you know, know quite a lot about japan, know a lot about Japanese Culture, and theyre helping back him up, make these arguments in favor of keeping the emperor. Absolutely. So looking at occupation, becky on zoom asks what, was there a soviet occupation of japan really discussed in a similar way to what the allies were doing in europe . Right. So yes and no. I think the fact that japan proper is not occupied when technically they surrender, you know, theyve been fire bombed, theyve had a ton of bombs drop on them. The idea is basically, you know, no troops had a foothold there already, and the americans already had been Island Hopping through the pacific, and theyre ready to get there. Their the first ones that theyre the first ones that get there. The road to tokyo went true the pacific through the pacific, not through man cure or ya in the final hours of the war, and i think the russian, they end up getting [inaudible] occupation of korea because theyve got boots on the ground when the war ends. They dont have boots on the ground in japan, and theyre never able to get them there because macarthur and truman had just, they dont want that. So they did a good job of keeping them out and kind of i think it was definitely good for the occupation that thats the way that that shapes out. Definitely. So switching gears just a little bit, we had multiple questions one from zoom, one from facebook about what role, if any, did macarthur have in the rebuilding of the philippines. Not much at all. You know, he goes there. Todays the anniversary of him landing there in 1944. Theyll liberate some camps. Once he stood kind of looking toward japan and ends up there, he does not have a role in terms of whats going to happen there politically or what the rebuilding is going to look like. I mean, he kind of goes to japan, and thats it. Hell go back to the philippines towards the end of his life, in the 60s. You know, hell always be connected with people there. He loves the philippines, but hes not going to have any kind of official role in rebuilding or anything. Hes kind of done with the film peens after he moves in with the philippines after 1945. So switching back to japanese occupation, jim asks what major mistakes did General Macarthur make during the occupation. I would say that, you know, some of the the most criticism that he would see was having to do with the war crimes trials and maybe putting his finger on the scales. That is, obviously, kind of problematic. I think there are also other people that would say him protecting the imperial family is a mistake and should not have been made. And then i think one that a lot of people dont know about is theres a lot of censorship. And the American People dont know much about the atom you can bomb and what atomic bomb and what it has actually done in these japanese cities and the longterm effects that, you know, they begin to realize in 45 and 46 that radiation was not a good thing for the human body. And initially, the government says, okay, we need to, like, not let reporters tell the American People about this because, you know, we have these war crimes trials to go through, and we dont want people to be overly sympathetic to the japanese. Were going to be entering this cold war period, and we need this weapon, and we need more of them. So hes going to play a role in that censorship that tries to keep most journalists out. Now, there will be a journalist who will publish something in the new yorker that will get this information out, and its going to horrify people. To macarthurs credit, once its out, he doesnt tamp down on the story. But he was someone who hated these bombs. He hated anything that targeted civilians, noncombatants. And, you know, he helped hide the story for a while until its out. And i think that may be something that he regretted later on. Taking a look at the constitution, we actually have quite a few questions related to japanese constitution. So the first one is from john. Was japanese japans new constitution made effective and issued by General Macarthur as executive order since japan didnt have a legislature or government at that time . They technically do. It was a soft occupation, not a Hard Military occupation, and so essentially macarthur after that first draft of the constitution, hes talking to a committee of japanese leaders to draft this. When they dont do it the way he wants to, his headquarters kind of takes the lead. But then its approved by the emperor, and its kind of i dont know if ratifieds the right word for it, but its basically accepted by the japanese government and by the emperor who gives it his seal of approval. So its not something that was an executive order from the occupation. It is something that the japanese participate in, they accept, and they basically kind of ratify their new constitution. Jim asks, did article ix in the constitution effectively obligate the United States to defend japan . Not within the japanese constitution. Article ix doesnt say, hey, were never going to go to war, but if something happens, the u. S. Will help us. But, you know, technically by kind of demilitarizing japan and very much limiting their ability to defend themselves, the United States does take on that responsibility. Especially once the treaty is signed and, you know, the relations between the two countries are normal. So, yeah, very interesting time for that too, because if youre watching the news right now, japan is possibly going to be changing its kind of military or its stance on the military and ability to defend itself. Interestingly enough, it seems that the United States is very, very supportive of that because, with china, you want a strong japan. Not just an economically strong, but perhaps a militarycapable japan. Is so itll be interesting to see what happens. But, no, article ix doesnt say the u. S. Will help us if we need it, but that will be kind of the default mode that will happen in the future. Absolutely. So we do have a ton of questions. I do want to thank everyone for submitting them, and, amanda, theres a lot of people who have said this is an excellent presentation. But the final question i would like to ask you is from lisa. She says that her view of macarthur has been greatly overhauled after reading embracing defeat japan in the wake of world war ii, by john w. Call dahler. Do you have any other resources, books, etc. , that you would recommend on this topic . I havent [inaudible] so i cant really comment on too much on it. But what ive been reading lately is a bunch of books about mac arthur and his macarthur and his relationship with the different japanese political leaders. And, of course, the names escape me right now. But theyre books that have been written in the last 10, 15 years, but they deal with the Japanese Agency and occupation in macarthurs just kind of how he figured out the constitution, how he pushed through reforms that the japanese politicians werent really fans of but did not break and how he understood the kind of bamboo psychology of japan. I always recommend that people just read a good biography of macarthur because a major part of his story is the occupation. Whether you read the manchester one, a threevolume set, i think you will be surprised by the man. He is very complicated. Again, hes not likable, but i think you see somebody who served his country to the best of his abilities and someone that, while americans cant see it, he was really the best foot forward for many of these countries in asia. We may be kind of 5050 on him, but when you think about his the perception that people had of him in japan, south korea, the philippines, particularly that world war ii generation, they thought he was the greatest american that ever lived. We dont feel that way all the time, but i think if you read a good biography of him, i think you will get a sense of that particularly as it comes through the occupation. Well, amanda, thank you for taking the time to share with us about macarthurs role in the occupation activist w. E. B. Dubo. So thank you. Today we will discuss the works of w. E. B. Dubois. As you know, we just ended africanamerican history month. The