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Rebuilding Japan After World War II

Rebuilding Japan After World War II. Reasons for Rebuilding Japan. Reasons for US Rebuilding Japan. Stop the spread of communism throughout Asia Promote democracy in the region by reforming Japan’s monarchy into a constitutional monarchy

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Rebuilding Japan After World War II

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  1. Rebuilding Japan After World War II

  2. Reasons for Rebuilding Japan

  3. Reasons for US Rebuilding Japan • Stop the spread of communism throughout Asia • Promote democracy in the region by reforming Japan’s monarchy into a constitutional monarchy • Improve Japan’s economy in order to trade with Japan and sell US products to Japan’s market • Devastation of dropping atomic bombs on Japan

  4. MacArthur • General Douglas MacArthur, the American commander of the occupied forces, was given the job of putting Japan back on its feet. • He was expected to create a Japan that would guarantee it would not pose a military threat to other countries in the future. • MacArthur wanted Japan to have a democratic government, but he also appreciated the important place the Japanese emperor occupied in the Japanese culture.

  5. The Occupation • 1945 - 1952 • Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers (SCAP) - General Douglas MacArthur • Two main tasks: • demilitarization • democratization

  6. Reforms Made to Japan

  7. JAPANESE CHANGES

  8. Demilitarization and War Criminal Reforms

  9. Demilitarization • Purged almost all wartime officers and politicians • Disbanded almost all militaristic associations and parties • Prosecuted almost all war criminals • The issue of Yasukuni Shrine • Dismantled almost all war industries

  10. Article 9 Controversy • Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes. • In order to accomplish the aim of the preceding paragraph, land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained. The right of belligerency of the state will not be recognized. • Renunciation of war • No possession of military forces • Denial of the state’s right of belligerency

  11. Political Reforms

  12. Government Choices • MacArthur decided to Japan would be a constitutional monarchy. • A constitutional monarchy is one where… • He wrote a constitution for the country, still referred to as The MacArthur Constitution, that created a two –house parliament called a Diet.

  13. Japan’s New Constitution • The constitution created a two-house parliament called The Diet. • Everyone over the age of 20 could vote for members of the Diet. • The constitution also included a Bill of Rights and guaranteed basic freedoms. • The emperor remained as a symbol of the country, but was stripped of his power.

  14. FREE ELECTIONSAND WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4152602444592357615

  15. US ENDS OCCUPATION OF JAPAN1952 US ends their occupation of Japan in 1952. Japan is granted membership into the United Nations in 1957.

  16. Economic Reforms

  17. US REBUILDS JAPAN’S ECONOMY1955 U. S. financial support, along with the Japanese values of hard work lead to a period of great economic growth for Japan.

  18. Growth of Japanese Car Industry • The Japanese automotive industry is one of the most prominent and largest industries in the world. Japan has been in the top three of the countries with most cars manufactured since the 1960s, surpassing Germany. • The automotive industry in Japan rapidly increased from the 1970s to the 1990s (when it was oriented both for domestic use and worldwide export) • In the 1980s and 1990s, overtook the U.S. as the production leader with up to 13 million cars per year manufactured and significant exports.

  19. Growth of Japanese Car Industry • The demand for domestic trucks was greatly increased by the Japanese military buildup before World War II, causing many Japanese manufacturers to break out of their shells and design their own vehicles. • In the 1970s Japan was the pioneer in robotics manufacturing of vehicles. • The country is home to a number of companies that produce cars, construction vehicles, motorcycles, ATVs, and engines. • Japanese automotive manufacturers include Toyota, Honda, Daihatsu, Nissan, Suzuki, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Isuzu, Kawasaki, Yamaha, and Mitsuoka.

  20. Growth of Japan’s Economy Known as the Japanese Miracle!

  21. Korean War (1950 - 1953) • Economic turning point for Japan: • war supplies to Korea • industrial resurgence • foreign currency • 1945 - 1950 growth rate: 9.4% • 1950 - 1955 growth rate: 10.9% • 1952 Japan’s GDP matched prewar high

  22. High Growth of 1955-62 • Large investment in heavy industry • Imports of energy and raw materials • Government’s economic goals: • achieve economic self-sufficiency • achieve full employment • improve export competitiveness • keep domestic demand high

  23. High Growth of 1963-1973 • Government’s “doubling income” plan • Large-scale infrastructure construction • Labor-intensive to capital-intensive • Technological improvement and facility modernization under government protection • Aggressive export strategy • Businesses compete with foreign counterparts under government protection

  24. High Growth of 1963-73 • Government’s plan to “double the national income in ten years” • scheduled 9% annual growth rate • large-scale infrastructure construction • Shinkansen (bullet train) • Olympic Games • port, road, and rails • human infrastructure

  25. High Growth of 1963-73 • labor-intensive in decline • agricultural subsidies • textile bankruptcies and “excess capacity” • coal industry in serious decline • capital-intensive on the rise • large firms had 10- and 20-fold growth • electronics and automobile

  26. Government Response • Government responded to some sectors’ decline with reorganization and subsidization • Technological improvement and facility modernization under government protection • Ministry of International Trade and Industry • constant and critical role in developing the computer industry

  27. High Growth of 1963-73 • Aggressive export strategy • businesses compete with foreign counterparts under government protection • domestic market sealed off from competition • Strict limitations on governmt expenditures • 1965 Japanese exports exceeded imports for the first time in two decades

  28. More Shocks in 1990s • Large and rising government deficit and public debt (now more than 200% of GDP) • Aging population (median age now at 45) • Banking crises and non-performing loans • Asian financial crisis (1997-1998) • “Hollowing out” of industry • Natural disasters and terrorist attacks • Economic position now taken over by China and India

  29. 1941

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