TERMS AND GUIDE QUESTIONS FOR FILM

REINVENTING JAPAN

 

Douglas MacArthur (1880-1964): US Army general and Occupation Commander as SCAP (Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers) in Japan from 1945 to 1951.

Emperor Hirohito (1901-1989): Japanese emperor who ruled during the Showa Era: 1927-1989.

Tojo Hideki (1884-1948): Japanese general and extreme right-wing politician. Became Prime Minister in 1941, at which time he advocated war with the US and Great Britain. Tojo approved the attack on Pearl Harbor and the Japanese advance into Southeast Asia.

 

Yoshida Shigeru (1878-1967): Japanese statesman. Arrested in Japan for advocating peaceful resolution of Pacific Conflict, but returned to power as head of the Liberal Party in 1945. During the US Occupation he served as a leading figure in constitutional and policy debates at the Diet.

Zaibatsu (Japanese: "wealthy clique"): large pre-WWII capitalist cartels in

Japan, organized around a single family. Mitsubishi, formed in 1873 by Iwasaki Yataro, as such an enterprise.

 

#1. What were the early goals of the US occupation of postwar Japan? How did these goals change over time?

 

#2. What did General MacArthur see as his role in Japan’s re-building? What were his own political ambitions? How did occupation officials beneath MacArthur influence the general’s thinking?

 

#3. Why did MacArthur not require that Hirohito be tried as a war criminal? What role did the general foresee for the emperor?

 

#4. Describe the socio-economic environment of early postwar Japan. Who were the power brokers? What economic reforms did the US occupation administration attempt to enforce? Consider both heavy industry and the agricultural sector. How successful were these reforms?

 

#5. Describe the constitutional crisis that emerged in 1947. How did MacArthur’s administration react? What new principles did the Japanese government adopt in the revised constitution? What problems were left unresolved?

 

#6. How did the early years of the Cold War affect US policy toward Japan? What new global position did Washington desire for Japan? What were the main elements of the "Reverse Course"? Describe the events that led to Japan’s rapid economic growth.