Japan

"I mean, it was not soft power that freed Europe. It was hard power. And what followed immediately after hard power? Did the United States ask for dominion over a single nation in Europe? No. Soft power came in the Marshall Plan. Soft power came with American GIs who put their weapons down once the war was over and helped all those nations rebuild. We did the same thing in Japan."

After the surrender of Japanese on on August 14,1945 and the formal signing of surrender on September 2, on the deck of the battleship U.S.S. Missouri, the United States occupied Japan from then to to 1953. 

U.S.S. Missiouri, http://www.usswisconsin.org/Pictures/1940%20Pic/266%20USS%20Missouri%20May%201946.jpg

They demilitarized Japan, made major adjustments to their governing style, the lifestyle of the people, agricultural and business adjustments, and educational revisions. The United States sought to rebuild Japan into a working, peaceful, self-sustaining democracy. The United States occupied Japan from 1945 to 1952 after a peace treaty was signed between the United States, Japan, and many of Japan's former enemies. Japan drafted a constitution that included new freedoms for the people and women's rights to vote. Also, their agricultural pratices, where landlords rented land to farmers and as payment took half of the crop yield, were revised allowing farmers to own their land. Schools were no longer taught the old traditions were their loyalty to their leaders was absolute and to question them was like questioning God himself. 

Strawberry Pickers, http://bcics.uvic.ca/galleria/images/stories/s8_strawberry-workers.jpg

Instead they were taught democratic ideals abd free speech. In addition, every person was taught that they were equal to every other person. these were thought, by the Americans, important concepts for the japanese to learn as soon as poosible. These concepts spilled over into family life which was also revised because the Allies felt that the traditional way, where head of the entire household made every important decision for every other member, countermanded their democratic teaching of authority to leaders. American thought this way, because this tradition taught absolute obediance to the head of the household, while everyone else was under him politically, economically, and in equality. So the Allies removed ths instituion to allow every family member greater freedom to choose their own course in life, thereby teaching democracy in the home, government, and country as a whole. 

To read more about Japan's history visit "Japanese Militarism During World War II" and "Japan"

Below is a map of World War II Japan at its territorial height and post World War II Japan in dark red. 

 Japan at the height of their military power and imperial strength, http://www.student.britannica.com/eb/art-54621/The-Japanese-military-forces-quickly-took-advantage-of-their-success

Return to Post World War II home page or continue on and read about Cold War