Model states - SCAP and Japan
- Created by: Alasdair
- Created on: 17-05-17 13:54
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- SCAP and Japan
- MacArthur's title was Supreme Commander of Allied Powers (SCAP)
- Totally US organisation for 3000 US military and civilian personnel were working by 1948
- In October 1945, State-War-Navy coordinating committee sent MacArthur planning document SWNCC-288
- Tasked SCAP with producing constitution that would set up democratic government for Japan with Emperor Hirohito as constitutional monarch
- Also tasked with promoting:
- Emancipation of women
- Encouragement of unionization of labour
- Opening of schools to more liberal education
- Abolishment of systems which through secret inquisition and abuse have held people in constant fear
- Democratization of Japanese economic institutions to end monopolistic industrial control he revised
- Constitution and Policies
- Designed by American government
- Came into force in May 1947
- Japan was to be democracy with constitutional monarch as head of state and cabinet consisting of two chambers
- Human rights was emphasised, including:
- Free speech
- Freedom of religion
- 'the right to maintain the minimum standard of wholesome and cultural living'
- Right to collective bargaining
- Gender equality
- 'Discrimination in political, economic or social relations because of race, creed, sex, social status or family origin' was forbidden (Article 14)
- Marriage required 'the mutual consent of both sexes' and there should be 'essential equality of the sexes' in all areas (Article 24)
- War and armed forces were renounced
- Most of these provisions constituted revolutionary political and social change for Japanese society
- Most revolutionary political provision
- Demotion of Japanese Emperor from his previous god-like status to that of constitutional monarch
- Most revolutionary social proposal
- Gender equality, for Japanese women were traditionally subordinate to men
- SCAP also worked to reshape Japanese society through several policies
- Nearly 250,000 former military officers and men highly placed in government and business were purged
- 25 tried for war crimes
- 7 executed
- Others received long jail sentences
- Power of Japanese landowning elite was radically decreased through massive land redistribution progamme
- Helped increase agricultural productivity (enthusiastic new landowners worked harder than ever before
- New American-style education system - less elitist than old Jp system (7% of Jps attended high school in 1940 but 15% by 1955), played vital role in producing highly educated work fore behind subsequent Japanese 'economic miracle'
- SCAP tried to break up 83 zaibatsu companies such as Mitsubishi that had dominated pre-war Japanese economy and were felt to have been important supporters of militaristic and nationalistic expansionism (and some said, constituted rivals to American companies)
- Nearly 250,000 former military officers and men highly placed in government and business were purged
- Many of the reforms (e.g. introduction of constitutional monarchy, renunciation of war and reform of education system), were highly successful but others met determined local resistance
- E.g. while greater power (as in feudal system), Japanese unaccustomed to such devolution (transfer or delegation of power to a lower level, especially by central government to local or regional administration) and quickly ensured this proved unworkable by 1950s
- Constitution's emphasis on women's rights could not overcome centuries of discrimination against women, even though many women exercised vote for first time in 1946 and nearly 40 women were elected to Japanese parliament
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