Reverse Course was a change in US government and Allied Occupation policy toward Japan during the post-World War II reconstruction. Beginning roughly between 1947 and 1948, it lasted until the end of the occupation in 1952. [1]
The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States or America, is a country comprising 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 3.8 million square miles, the United States is the world's third or fourth largest country by total area and is slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe's 3.9 million square miles. With a population of over 327 million people, the U.S. is the third most populous country. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the largest city by population is New York City. Forty-eight states and the capital's federal district are contiguous in North America between Canada and Mexico. The State of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east and across the Bering Strait from Russia to the west. The State of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U.S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, stretching across nine official time zones. The extremely diverse geography, climate, and wildlife of the United States make it one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries.
The Allied occupation of Japan at the end of World War II was led by General Douglas MacArthur, the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers, with support from the British Commonwealth. Unlike in the occupation of Germany, the Soviet Union was allowed little to no influence over Japan. This foreign presence marks the only time in Japan's history that it has been occupied by a foreign power. The country became a parliamentary democracy that recalled "New Deal" priorities of the 1930s by Roosevelt. The occupation, codenamed Operation Blacklist, was ended by the San Francisco Peace Treaty, signed on September 8, 1951, and effective from April 28, 1952, after which Japan's sovereignty – with the exception, until 1972, of the Ryukyu Islands – was fully restored.
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies off the eastern coast of the Asian continent and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and the Philippine Sea in the south.
The impetus for the Reverse Course divides between global events and developments within Japan. On the one hand, it is linked to the escalation of the Cold War, the Chinese Communist Revolution and the looming Korean War. On the other hand, due to domestic inflation, the growth of poverty, and the expansion of leftist parties, Japan seemed ripe for communism to both the Japanese government and the leaders of the occupation—especially to the leader of the occupation, Douglas MacArthur. The Reverse Course resembled Europe’s Marshall Plan.
The Cold War was a period of geopolitical tension between the Soviet Union with its satellite states, and the United States with its allies after World War II. A common historiography of the conflict begins between 1946, the year U.S. diplomat George F. Kennan's "Long Telegram" from Moscow cemented a U.S. foreign policy of containment of Soviet expansionism threatening strategically vital regions, and the Truman Doctrine of 1947, and ending between the Revolutions of 1989, which ended communism in Eastern Europe, and the 1991 collapse of the USSR, when nations of the Soviet Union abolished communism and restored their independence. The term "cold" is used because there was no large-scale fighting directly between the two sides, but they each supported major regional conflicts known as proxy wars. The conflict split the temporary wartime alliance against Nazi Germany and its allies, leaving the USSR and the US as two superpowers with profound economic and political differences.
The Chinese Communist Revolution or the Chinese revolution of 1949 was a revolution in China that was led by the Communist Party of China and Mao Zedong which resulted in the proclamation of the People's Republic of China on 1 October 1949. It started in 1946, after the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War, and was the second part of the Chinese Civil War. In the Chinese media, this period is known as the War of Liberation.
The Korean War was a war between North Korea and South Korea. The war began on 25 June 1950 when North Korea invaded South Korea following a series of clashes along the border.
The occupation had begun with various moves toward democratization, including land reform, the purge of officials responsible for Japan's ultra-nationalism, and the suppression of both the zaibatsu and the yakuza. This extended to Japan's new constitution, which included an article that barred the government from maintaining a standing army. This constitution and related policies had been written by Rooseveltian New-Dealers. The Reverse Course changed such policies in favor of the containment policy.
Japanese nationalism is the nationalism that asserts that the Japanese are a monolithic nation with a single immutable culture, and promotes the cultural unity of the Japanese. It encompasses a broad range of ideas and sentiments harbored by the Japanese people over the last two centuries regarding their native country, its cultural nature, political form and historical destiny. It is useful to distinguish Japanese cultural nationalism from political or state-directed nationalism, since many forms of cultural nationalism, such as those associated with folkloric studies, have been hostile to state-fostered nationalism.
Zaibatsu is a Japanese term referring to industrial and financial business conglomerates in the Empire of Japan, whose influence and size allowed control over significant parts of the Japanese economy from the Meiji period until the end of World War II. They were succeeded by the Keiretsu in the second half of the 20th century.
Yakuza, also known as gokudō are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan, while the Yakuza call themselves ninkyō dantai. The Western equivalent for the term Yakuza is gangster, meaning an individual involved in a Mafia-like criminal organization. The Yakuza are notorious for their strict codes of conduct, their organized fiefdom nature, and several unconventional ritual practices such as "Yubitsume". Yakuza members are often described as males with heavily tattooed bodies and slicked hair, yet this group is still regarded as being among "the most sophisticated and wealthiest criminal organizations."
As a result of the Reverse Course, public-sector workers lost the right to strike, private-sector unions lost a great deal of bargaining power. Furthermore, severe blows were dealt to ideological freedom, to the zaibatsu-busting process, and to the suppression of the yakuza. It also allowed for the creation of the postwar Japanese armed forces, such as the establishment of the National Police Reserve (NPR) in 1950 and the Coastal Safety Force (CSF) in 1952. They later became the ground and maritime branches of the Japan Self Defense Forces (JSDF) in 1954, respectively. [2] It put conservative politicians back in power, who went on to spearhead the development of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party. [3] Opposition to the Reverse Course contributed to the protest against the 1960 Anpo treaty.
The National Police Reserve, or NPR, was a lightly armed national police force established in August 1950 during the Allied occupation of Japan.. In October 1952 it was expanded to 110,000 men and renamed as the National Safety Force. On July 1, 1954 it was reorganized as the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF).
The Liberal Democratic Party of Japan, frequently abbreviated to LDP or Jimintō (自民党), is a conservative political party in Japan.
According to George F. Kennan's theory, Japan would serve as an industrial engine of East Asia; by extension, a strong Japanese economy would prevent communism from spreading in Asia. A remilitarized and strengthened Japan made Japan the cornerstone of US security policy in East Asia. [4] As the US Dept. of State official history puts it "In this 'Reverse Course,' Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers, General Douglas MacArthur, focused on strengthening, not punishing, what would become a key cold war ally". [5]
George Frost Kennan was an American diplomat and historian. He was best known as an advocate of a policy of containment of Soviet expansion during the Cold War. He lectured widely and wrote scholarly histories of the relations between the USSR and the United States. He was also one of the group of foreign policy elders known as "The Wise Men".
The politics of Japan are conducted in a framework of a multi-party bicameral parliamentary representative democratic constitutional monarchy whereby the Emperor is the ceremonial head of state and the Prime Minister is the head of government and the head of the Cabinet, which directs the executive branch.
A keiretsu is a set of companies with interlocking business relationships and shareholdings. It is a type of informal business group. The keiretsu maintained dominance over the Japanese economy for the second half of the 20th century, and to a lesser extent, the early 21st century.
The Constitution of Japan is the fundamental law of Japan. It was enacted on 3 May 1947, as a new constitution for a post-war Japan.
Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution is a clause in the national Constitution of Japan outlawing war as a means to settle international disputes involving the state. The Constitution came into effect on May 3, 1947, following World War II. In its text, the state formally renounces the sovereign right of belligerency and aims at an international peace based on justice and order. The article also states that, to accomplish these aims, armed forces with war potential will not be maintained. This clause was written and imposed by the United States.
The Truman Doctrine was an American foreign policy whose stated purpose was to counter Soviet geopolitical expansion during the Cold War. It was announced to Congress by President Harry S. Truman on March 12, 1947, and further developed on July 12, 1948, when he pledged to contain threats in Greece and Turkey. Direct American military force was usually not involved, but Congress appropriated financial aid to support the economies and militaries of Greece and Turkey. More generally, the Truman Doctrine implied American support for other nations allegedly threatened by Soviet communism. The Truman Doctrine became the foundation of American foreign policy, and led, in 1949, to the formation of NATO, a military alliance that is still in effect. Historians often use Truman's speech to date the start of the Cold War.
Nobusuke Kishi was a Japanese politician and the 37th Prime Minister of Japan from 25 February 1957 to 12 June 1958, and from then to 19 July 1960. He is the maternal grandfather of Shinzō Abe, twice prime minister in 2006–2007 and 2012–present.
Baron Kijūrō Shidehara was a prominent pre–World War II Japanese diplomat and the 44th Prime Minister of Japan from 9 October 1945 to 22 May 1946. He was a leading proponent of pacifism in Japan before and after World War II, and was also the last Japanese prime minister who was a member of the kazoku. His wife, Masako, was the fourth daughter of Iwasaki Yatarō, founder of the Mitsubishi zaibatsu.
The Empire of Japan was the historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 to the enactment of the 1947 constitution of modern Japan.
Taishō era is a period in the history of Japan dating from 30 July 1912 to 25 December 1926, coinciding with the reign of the Emperor Taishō. The new emperor was a sickly man, which prompted the shift in political power from the old oligarchic group of elder statesmen to the Imperial Diet of Japan and the democratic parties. Thus, the era is considered the time of the liberal movement known as the "Taishō democracy" in Japan; it is usually distinguished from the preceding chaotic Meiji period and the following militaristic-driven first part of the Shōwa period.
A Communist state is a state that is administered and governed by a single party, guided by Marxist–Leninist philosophy.
The Shōwa era refers to the period of Japanese history corresponding to the reign of Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito) from December 25, 1926 until his death on January 7, 1989.
Post-occupation Japan is the period in Japanese history which started after the Allied occupation of Japan and ended in 1952. Japan has established itself as a global economic and political power. Even though after the war, Japan was led by an American written Constitution, they were still able to exert a stance that showed powerful influence. The Constitution was enacted on November 3, 1946 and became effective May 3, 1947. It included Article 9 clause, which restricted Japan from having a military force and engaging in war. Over the years, the meaning of article 9 has been interpreted differently, because the United States now encourages Japan to control its own security. The Liberal Democratic Party would like to see the Constitution and Article 9 amended.(LOC,2018)
Uyoku dantai are Japanese ultranationalist far-right groups. In 1996 and 2013, the National Police Agency estimated that there are over 1,000 right-wing groups in Japan with about 100,000 members in total.
The diplomatic history of Australia covers the events of Australian foreign relations.
Japanese competition law consists of the Antimonopoly Act, officially the Act on Prohibition of Private Monopolization and Maintenance of Fair Trade, and several other statutory laws.
General elections were held in Japan on 10 April 1946, the first after World War II. Voters had one, two or three votes, depending on how many MPs were elected from their constituency. The result was a victory for the Liberal Party, which won 148 of the 464 seats. Voter turnout was 72.1 percent.
Thomas Arthur Bisson, who wrote as T. A. Bisson was an American political writer, journalist, and government official who specialized in East Asian politics and economics.
The Empire of Japan entered World War II by launching a surprise offensive which opened with the attack on Pearl Harbor at 7:48 a.m. Hawaiian Time on December 7, 1941. Over the course of seven hours there were coordinated Japanese attacks on the U.S.-held Philippines, Guam and Wake Island and on the British Empire in Malaysia, Singapore, and Hong Kong. The strategic goals of the offensive were to cripple the U.S. Pacific fleet, capture oil fields in the Dutch East Indies, and expand the outer reaches of the Japanese Empire to create a formidable defensive perimeter around newly acquired territory.