Post-World+War+Two+Japan

After the world war, Japan was devastated. Much of its cities suffered severe damage and food shortages were a major issue for many years. Japan was temporarily occupied by the Allied Powers, led by the US with contributions from Australia, India, New Zealand, and the UK. The Kurile islands were occupied by the Soviet Union, and the Ryukyu Islands, including Okinawa was taken by the United States. The San Francisco Peace Treaty, signed on September 8, 1951, marked the end of western occupation, but only took force starting April 28, 1952.

Japan's postwar constitution, adopted under Allied supervision, included a "Peace Clause", which banned Japan from maintaining any armed forces. This was intended to prevent the country from ever becoming an aggressive military power again. During the occupation, Japan's secondary education system was changed to incorporate three-year junior high schools and senior high schools similar to those in the U.S.: junior high became compulsory but senior high remained optional.

The emperor lost all political and military power, and was solely made the symbol of the state. Universal suffrage was introduced and human rights were guaranteed. Japan was also forbidden to ever lead a war again or to maintain an army

Japan's media was subject to a rigid censorship of any anti-American statements and controversial topics such as the race issue.

Japan's economy flourished once again after the Korean War, and its per Capita increased over 10 times from the 1900's to 2008. the above is taken from: []

Emperor Hirohito