Political Scenarios in World War II - Essay Example

When the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the summer of 1945, a complete collapse of the empire and surrender ensued. A military occupation, chiefly by US forces, lasted from 1945 to 1952. In 1947, Japan adopted a new constitution under the US direction, renouncing war, granting basic human rights, and declaring Japan a democracy (O'Brien, 2000). US General Douglas MacArthur represented all the Allies in Japan after its defeat, but the occupation was nevertheless an almost exclusively US undertaking and to a very great extent MacArthur took his own decisions, without direct reference to Washington.

He rejected the view that the Japanese would be better off without the age-old institution of the monarchy. He felt that the Emperor was a stabilizing factor in a society shaken to its roots by the capitulation. Popular regard for the Emperor, however, no longer rested on the belief that he partook of divinity because of his descent from the sun goddess. When, at the beginning of 1946, the Emperor formally renounced his 'divinity', it created little interest among most Japanese (Lee, 1998, p. 107).In his administration of Japan, MacArthur acted through the Japanese Government, a procedure that worked smoothly in nearly every instance.

Between conquerors and conquered there was indeed a harmony that nobody could have foreseen during the years of warfare. The Japanese, however, can be intensely pragmatic. The events of 1945 seemed to demonstrate that their own way of conducting affairs was inefficient and harmful to themselves. So when the US occupying forces arrived, and once it was clear that their general behavior was by no means vengeful and oppressive, the Japanese were ready to be their pupils in all manner of activities.

The guiding theme of the occupation, in the early days especially, was disarmament and democratization (Storry, 2006). A new constitution, promulgated in 1946, reflected both these aims. One clause stated that the Japanese people renounced war; and it went on to say that 'land, sea, and air forces, as well as another war potential, will never be maintained'. A further clause laid down that the Prime Minister and his Cabinet colleagues must be civilians. The other articles of the Constitution reflected the authentic spirit of North American democracy, with full emphasis on the rights of the individual.

The sovereignty of the people was declared. The Emperor was made 'the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people', and it was affirmed that he derived his position 'from the will of the people' (Storry, 2006).. Soon after his basic reforms had been introduced, MacArthur had decided that the situation called for a treaty of peace. When he was dismissed by President Truman in 1951, the Japanese feared that progress towards a peace treaty would be checked. In a San Francisco treaty, Japan asked the USA to retain its forces in and around the Japanese islands as a defense against outside attack.

When all the signatories of the San Francisco Treaty had ratified the document, it came into force; on April 28, 1952. With that, Japan