Political ecnomony of japan - Essay Example

Political Economy of Japan Do you think that the US Occupation of Iraq is significantly different from the US Occupation of Japan? If so, how and why?There are several important differences between the American occupation of Japan after the Second World War and the American occupation of Iraq that is currently going strong. While the primary differences concerning the time as well as the manner of occupation are easy to note, there are also subtle differences like support from other nations in the region as well as the players who are involved in the drama.

It is these differences which make the two stand worlds apart in literal and figurative terms. In terms of time, the occupation of Japan came after the Second World War where Japan not only needed rebuilding but the people in Japan were so completely defeated that there was essentially no resistance to the occupation. The American army was certainly not welcomed as a heroic force but was largely seen with a sense of resignation. The Japanese were weary of the war and were more than willing to start over again under the guidance of the American political agenda which supported democratic ideals.

The civilian casualties suffered by Japan had put them at such a low point that they might have accepted anything to end the war and return to normalcy. On the other hand, after a short war which was thought to have ended the whole drama, the Iraqi people fought against the occupation as well as against each other (Al-Khabbaz, 2009).Most importantly, the American occupation of Japan after the Second World War came with support. Support from the American public, support from the regional countries and even support for the person leading the occupation who had an excellent understanding of the culture and the people.

In Iraq, America has none of these things mentioned above. The American public may have supported the occupation initially but as the death toll rose and sentiments of the public changed, the American public largely does not seem to support the Iraq occupation. The region is becoming increasingly anti-American as the radical elements continue to use Iraq as a symbol of American dominance and cruelty while the American leaders in Iraq appear to have little understanding of what is actually going on in the country (Schwartz, 2004).

All these factors show that the Japanese and the Iraqi occupations are considerably different from each other. Works CitedAl-Khabbaz, Y. 2009, ‘Lessons from Japan for the US occupation of Iraq’, [Online] Available at: http://usa.mediamonitors.net/content/view/full/9342/Schwartz, F. 2004, ‘Forced to be Free: Democratizing Occupations in Japan, Germany, and Iraq’, [Online] Available at: http://www.wcfia.harvard.edu/misc/publications/centerpieceSpring2004/feature_2.html