SURRENDER AND OCCUPATION OF JAPAN

[Music] SP [Music] for 4 years from 1941 to 1945 the United States concentrated its energies on the conduct of a demanding global war the American people turned their full attention to the job of winning that war in the Pacific Asiatic theater us fighting men pushed the enemy back to the shores of Japan Itself by the summer of 1945 in early August the US brought the enemy finally to the point of surrender after some 44 months of the most grueling Warfare a number of Japan's largest cities lay in ruins the course of aggression on which the Japanese Nation had embarked some 14 years earlier had led to a tragic end on a day most Americans will never forget August 15th 1945 the third fleet was in waters near Japan its Commander Admiral bull Hy was impatiently waiting for the news which all the world was anxious to hear I have received this afternoon a message from the Japanese government in reply to the message forwarded to that government by the Secretary of State on August 11th I deem this reply a full acceptance of the Potsdam declaration which specifies the unconditional surrender of Japan in the reply there is no qualification finally the all important message came through by wiress the enemy had surrendered the war was over every man in the fleet from Admiral to able-bodied seaman felt an immense surge of relief after nearly 4 years us fighting forces had won the [Applause] victory on August 30th American troops of the sixth Marine Division landed on Japanese soil at yosa Naval Base South of Tokyo us officers quickly assumed control of the installation and issued orders on procedure to the Japanese officers who had been in charge with us command firmly established the Stars and Stripes was raised over the Japanese Homeland later that same day a silver c54 bearing an important passenger came into atsugi Airfield near Tokyo the commander of US forces in the Southwest Pacific Theater general Douglas MacArthur had completed the last leg of the long drive to the Japanese Homeland the general was greeted by one of his most faithful field officers Lieutenant General Robert Eichelberger e8th Army Commander Commander General MacArthur was ready and eager to Take Over Control of the conquered country on the US Battleship Missouri in Tokyo bay a Japanese delegation arrived early on the morning of September 2nd 1945 to make the unconditional surrender official the Japanese contingent faced an impressive array of Allied officers the ceremonies were directed by the new supreme commander of the Allied Forces in Japan General MacArthur who took a firm attitude toward the conquered people we are gathered here representatives of the major Waring powers to conclude a solemn agreement whereby peace may be restored is my Earnest hope and indeed the hope of all mankind that from this solemn occasion a better world shall emerge out of the blood and Carnage of the past a world founded upon faith and understanding a world dedicated to the Dignity of man and the Fulfillment of his most cherished Wish For Freedom tolerance and Justice I now invite the representatives of the emperor of Japan and the Japanese government and the Japanese these Imperial General headquarters to sign the instrument of surrender at the places indicated representing the emperor at the proceedings which concluded the costliest war in world history was Japanese foreign minister mamaru shiketsu who formerly surrendered for his country thus committing Japan to accept the poam Declaration calling for the complete disarmament and surrender of all military forces a few hundred US servicemen witnessed the climax of four years of war in the Pacific that war ended officially at 8 minutes 9:00 a.m. on September 2nd 1945 let us pray that peace be now restored to the world and that God will preserve it always these proceedings are closed the formal surrender of the Japanese Nation on the deck of the Missouri was followed by other dramatic surrender ceremonies on Rota Island and the Marianas one of the many groups of Japanese troops on bypassed Islands gave themselves up to the Victorious Americans great quantities of Japanese weapons and equipment were taken over by the gis and the enemy soldiers taken into custody Preparatory to being returned to Japan the last man off Wake Island Colonel Walter Baylor was the first man back the Japanese Garrison surrendered the island to US forces on September 4th 45 3 years and 8 months after other Japanese troops had seized the island in a battle which will live long in the memory of all Americans in Malaya and throughout the southeast Asia command British Commonwealth forces accepted the surrender of the Japanese troops although they conformed to the surrender protocol many of the Japanese in this theater did not feel they had been defeated Singapore was the setting for the principal ritual in Lord Mont batton's command the Union Jack flew proudly over this British colonial city which had been beaten into submission in early 1942 in the Philippines General Jonathan way arrived after a quick flight from Japan to accept the surrender of the Japanese forces in those islands forces commanded by General tomoyuki Yamashita the ceremony at the Philippine summer Capital at bagio in Northern lison took just 11 minutes the once feared tiger of Mala surrendered the remnants of his army in the Philippines this was a long awaited moment for General Wright who had surrendered the Philippines 40 months earlier and for Britain's General persal who had surrendered Singapore immediately following the brief ceremony the Japanese commander and his party were taken away as prisoners of war Japan wore the face of a conquered Nation the country's traditional way of life which had prevailed for centuries was altered overnight general of the army Douglas MacArthur became the new ruler of a people who were accustomed to swearing allegiance to one person whom they considered Supreme the general was well suited to his role supreme commander of an occupation charged with exacting complete obedience from 80 million subjects of a nation which had until recently been a fanatical enemy technically the Supreme Commander was to be advised by a council of Representatives of the four Allied Powers which had waged war against Japan but actually this body was impotent from the start the delegates were constantly at odds and any recommendations they made were given scant attention the deposed ruler of the Japanese people Emperor Hirohito and the empress nagako were stripped of their Divinity by the occupation but it was decided not to try the Emperor as a war criminal with the Royal Authority curtailed the emperor had more time for his study of marine biology the sparing of the emperor still revered by his people proved a good political move by the occupation but Japan's top war leaders received far different treatment the the men charged with the responsibility for guiding Japan onto the road of aggression were taken in hand promptly by the occupation the number one war criminal was General hiiki Tojo wartime premere on November 12th 1948 after hearings which lasted 2 and 1/2 years the international Military Tribunal convened to pass sentence on some of the top Japanese war leaders Premier Tojo was charged with the planning preparation initiation and waging of aggressive war and with violations of the laws and customs of war and crimes against humanity but by assuming full responsibility for the war as charged Tojo reestablished his reputation for loyalty and courage in finally after the great mass of evidence had been sifted the court pronounced sentence on the accused accused Tojo hii on the counts of the indictment on which you have been convicted the international Military Tribunal for the Far East sentences you to death by anger the occupation's job of controlling 80 million people who had until recently hated America and Americans went smoothly the once despised GIS were assisted by Japanese police who had been judged trustworthy the Japanese people seemed to reconcile themselves quickly to the fact that the war was over and they had lost the country's most immediate post-war problem was one of sustaining life a problem Japan had in common with with a number of other Asiatic lands neon's 80 million people simply could not produce enough food to keep themselves alive in the Years following the end of the war the Japanese were able to supply only about 34 of the food necessary for the population of the home Islands existing on a meager diet one possible source of food expansion lay in the removal of restrictions on the permitted fishing area the yield from the Seas could conceivably be boosted above pre-war levels agriculturally the situation was less flexible the occupation had initiated a program of land reforms which seemed a hopeful experiment but the basic problem remained not enough arable land and the farmers small income was drained by increased food and tax collections Most Japanese like Hiroshi akabani took a philosophical view of the situation we Japanese have always been frugal people but after the end of the war many of our men women and children went hungry many stabbed during the first half year considering that we are conquered Nation most of our people felt they are lucky to be still alive of course our people all hope to live better at some future time and now that the war is over and out of the people's minds and hearts we can work toward making our life better than it is today on our Islands which we once called mizui land of plentyful rice the American soldiers became very popular in Japan most of my people found them friendly and kind there were no unhappiness in our association with them Japan was greatly helped by their presence the important officers of the occupation were very kind to our Japanese diplomats and businessmen who were given much advice by those officers with their help Japan struggled to build a new Democratic Nation the Japanese diet convin on September 4th 1945 for the first time since the surrender the diet voted in favor of bills calling for an end to many long-standing Japanese laws and customs always following directives from the US Supreme Commander office the new Japan's leading political figure Premier Shigeru Yoshida had opposed the militarist click and was thus in high favor with the occupation while the operation of the Japanese diet and cabinet gave all appearances of actively guiding the country in actual fact they were simply rubber stamps endorsing policies originating with the occupation Japan's political leaders were dependent completely on occupation approval the course of Japan's political progress was not entirely smooth a small but active communist group operated openly the Japanese Communists were more interested in their own objective in Japan than in relations with Moscow some party leaders like szo nosaka were denounced by Russia the Japanese communist paper akahata was eventually suspended by occupation authorities but the party itself was never formally outlawed it was felt that it was far wiser to permit its members to demonstrate openly than to give their movement impetus by driving it underground but in time the activities of the party were rigidly checked none of the party leaders was permitted to hold political office the communist movement in Japan never became a matter of grave concern beginning in 1946 with the return from the USSR of Japanese prisoners of war the ranks of Japan's communist swelled temporarily these men had been forcibly indoctrinated during their stay in Russian territory but any enthusi I ASM for communism the soldiers may have had usually evaporated quickly in the stimulating climate of the New Japan one of the first jobs the occupation concentrated on was instructing the Japanese in the ways of democracy this introduction to an entirely New Concept of acceptable conduct was received within by the Japanese Japanese women walked alongside their husbands rather than a few Paces behind romance blossomed spontaneously Japanese girl often met Japanese boy informally without any pre-arranged plan on the part of the parents in the New Japan women LED active lives outside their homes in addition to caring for their families in the best American tradition Japanese politicians campaigned for election although the privilege of helping select a candidate for office was still not fully appreciated by many Japanese people they seemed to enjoy the procedure in the New Japan women were given the vote beginning in 1946 thousands of women who suddenly had political and legal rights by order of the government went to the polls some of the new voters cast their ballots for the same candidates their husbands backed some others voted exclusively for women candidates in the first general election women won 39 seats in the diet anything American even the square dance was seized on with great determination by Japanese of all ages in their effort to become really Democratic the Japanese solemnly aped all the outward manifestations of American Life concluding that co-educational schools were part of the democratic system the Japanese made many schools co-educational schools for students of one sex were quickly transformed to accom at both from the very beginning of the occupation the gis themselves were the best advertisement for democracy overnight the American soldiers changed in the eyes of the Japanese people no longer were they the despised enemy in this lightning transformation they became the heroes of the New Japan Japanese children grew especially found of American s years in Tokyo and other large cities there are reminder of America everywhere you looked American motion pictures again became popular with the people all over Japan there is no doubt that the Japanese were genuinely fascinated with the trappings of American civilization but this enthusiasm for things American in no way replaced the people's Devotion to their traditional culture [Music] Japan's age-old culture still exerted a powerful attraction whether democracy could be successfully superimposed over such a strong National tradition in a few short years was questionable but certainly the impression made by the American GIS on the Japanese people will be a lasting one for centuries Most Japanese have been Ardent Buddhists and today the majority of the population is Buddhist in addition many Japanese participate in Shinto the worship of innumerable Gods modern as well as ancient before and during the war the leaders of the government Ed this worship to their own purposes the furthering of the war effort and the building up of the militarists and their program in postwar Japan Shinto is as strong as ever but minus the elements of State Shintoism in Kyoto as in most large Japanese cities Shinto festivals are held at various times of the year in honor of specific Gods this gun Festival in Kyoto Japanese cultural center honored a god of prehistoric times the occupation was particularly concerned with getting Japanese industry back on its feet labor unions were formed with the approval of the occupation but when they showed signs of becoming too strong their powers such as the right to strike were severely curtailed but the life of the worker in postwar Japan is improving as Japan moves toward its economic recovery in the first years of the occupation monopolies were made illegal but gradually the influence of the zatsu the pre-war industrial magnates again became [Music] strong in the New Japan there was a decidedly conservative cast to the leadership of Japanese industry matching the situation in Japanese political life considering the circumstances which existed at the end of the war the accomplishments of the occupation in helping affect Japan's recovery have been notable most Americans in Japan find it hard to be sure what the Japanese people really think about democracy and the Democratic institutions and habits they have acquired it is still too early to determine whether democracy will really take root in Japan whatever the occupation's achievements prove ultimately to be the US has successfully transformed an enemy nation into an ally and gained a most important Bastion against communism in the Far East the urgent need for a military foothold in the orient grows more apparent with each passing month all over eastern and southern Asia the end of World War II was followed by eruptions of nationalism eruptions which the Soviet Union in some areas turned to its own purposes [Music] andice the [Music] for in the let every