The Constitution The Economy Religion
A new constitution was made by MacArthur and his staff using the United States constitution as a model. The new constitution went into effect in 1947. As a result the emperor lost all military and political power, and was made the symbol of the state. Some of the elements in the new Japanese constitution are: a Bill of rights, equal rights, freedom of religion, political parties, end war, end feudalism, governmental power depends in the people, not the emperor, end discrimination of women, religion, races, free enterprise, freedom of speech, right of minimum standard of living
This is a picture that was put out by the government to explain to the Japanese people the changes in the constitution. The pictures on the left are before the new Constitution and the right is after. For example on the top it is showing that the government officials are regular people not gods. The second one is showing that everyone is equal under the law. The third one is show that everyone helps in decision making. The fourth one is showing that woman equal. The left side shows the before and the right side shows the after. Click to see the picture in a larger size.
Picture used with permission
from Embracing DefeatMacArthur rid the country of monopolies (a company that has total control over a product), instituted land reforms which stopped the practice of the government owning the land and giving it out to just some rich people, and supported the growth of labor unions. Japan was forbidden to ever lead a war. To adopt a democracy it was important that the Japanese believed all humans, including the emperor, had equal status under the law. Therefore Emperor Hirohito renounced his semi-divinity.
The rehabilitation of the Japanese economy was more difficult than the reorganization of the government. Food had to be imported from Allied powers and from the United States in particular, since the severe bombings during the war had almost destroyed Japan’s industry. By the beginning of 1949 aid to Japan was costing the United States more than $1 million a day.
Even with all of his accomplishments MacArthur’s greatest disappointment was his failure to convert the Japanese to Christianity. He believed that a true democracy could only exist on a spiritual foundation and would endure when it rests firmly on the Christian concept of the individual and society. I feel that by trying to do this he was giving two different messages; though he put freedom of religion into the constitution he was saying that he wanted to convert the Japanese to the Christian religion. With the peace treaty that went into effect in 1952, the occupation of Japan ended.
In present times Japan still uses the same constitution that MacArthur created for them many years ago. Although war is illegal Japan has a self-defense force. They are not allowed to use it for offensive purposes.
In conclusion the reconstruction of Japan went better than any other occupation in history. MacArthur did very well not using violence. MacArthur’s stern decision to protect Emperor Hirohito was- "through him it will be possible to maintain a completely orderly government". Although this decision seemed to have worked well many historians argue that once the occupation had begun to run smoothly, MacArthur should have made the Emperor abdicate (give up) the throne, thereby acknowledging his and the country's responsibility for the war. I think that this was the most important decision in the occupation. It allowed things to run very smoothly.
Hirohito
(on right) standing next to MacArthur (on left). This picture caused some
controversy when it was published because it made Hirohito look so small
compared to MacArthur.
Picture used with permission
from Embracing Defeat
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