The Fifteen-Year War was a time of great turmoil and uncertainty in Japan. Various facets of the country were tested and driven to their limits. During the occupation, race and gender began to evolve in ways that had not exactly be seen before. War had a tremendous impact on every part of the life of a Japanese citizen. Both men and women began to fill roles that were completely novel to them. Race became a part of the definition of who people were. As the war progressed and American troops landed on Japanese soil for occupation, more drastic changes occurred. Economic hardship and rations befell the people of the Land of the Rising Sun. Prostitution began to rear its ugly head and rape transpired. Through memory, research, and vivid creativity, the evolution of Japan during the Fifteen-Year War can be analyzed with great scrutiny.
The Japanese government used police forces in order to keep anyone from speaking out about the war; this keeps the citizens optimistic about the war and helps their nationalistic pride. Japan, who was once a rising power in the world had its citizens proud to be Japanese. This national pride only led to their downfall because they could only see the positive side of the war. Even in today’s world, you will find many Japanese people who are proud to be Japanese because of the pride that all of the citizens possess. This could possibly be traced back to the censorship that the government imposed on its people.
There has not been a downward spiral with weapon usage since then either. No country has used a more destructive weapon on another country since the two bombings so the United States has not caused an even more violent Earth. President Harry S. Truman made the right call and ended the war. Japan has moved on since then. They now have become one of the world's wealthiest countries and one of the United States' most powerful allies. Although Japan was hurting for a while, they overcame their struggles which is testament to how strong the people of Japan are, just ask Tamiko Tamonaga and Sachie Tashima.
Japan’s defeat was seen as a relief to some Japanese citizens and hard to swallow by others. Some individuals were even willing to kill their entire family and commit suicide after learning of Japan’s defeat . Japanese citizens, especially in Manchuria, faced hostility from Russians, Korean, and Americans who came and occupied parts of Japan . The defeat of Japan brought with it humiliation the country had not been prepared for. After World War II, the Imperial government had ended which made way for a new, peaceful era in Japan .
Japanese soldiers were trained in all types of conditions to prepare for war. People in Japan grew up with very nationalistic ideals. Many were passionate for their country and would sacrifice anything for their Emperor, even their own lives. This concept was reinforced during many Japanese soldier trainings. They were taught to never give up or surrender to the enemy. At this point, dropping the atomic bomb was needed to end the war in the Pacific, as it is the only way to defeat the Japanese. As the Japanese are very prideful in ethics, a war would occur on Japanese soil if it were not for the bomb. Japanese men would fight American troops, and ultimately, the Japanese would win the battle (The 1). The attacks on Pearl Harbor exemplify their dedication towards the war. Moreover, one can see the extent of nationalism through the negative effects of the Kamikaze pilots. They sacrificed their own lives for the better¬ o...
Modern Japan: A Historical Survey is written by author Mikiso Hane. This book was published in 1986 by Westview Press, Inc. in Colorado. Mikiso Hane was a Japanese History Scholar who was distinguished internationally for his works. He acquired his bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in history from Yale University and became an acclaimed Emeritus of History professor who worked in Yale, University of Toledo, and Knox College. Not only did he teach Japanese history, he taught Chinese, Russian, Indian, and western history. He also went to Germany and Japan for research after he attained his doctorate. As a child, he moved to Japan from Hollister California, where he was originally born in 1922. During the war, he went back to the states and was sent to a Japanese internment camp. However, he earned money by teaching Japanese in Yale to put himself through college. Hane is the author of 14 books, educational articles, and college text books, many of which are highly respected works of his. He also gained National Council membership for his widely respected contributions to the humanities.
Japan towards the year 1905 became a very powerful military power capable of carving out its own empire for itself. This power is still in act and very strong to present date. This is due to the Meiji Restoration and Japans military development, the war with China and the Anglo-Japanese alliance and Russo-Japanese War.
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a tremendous gamble — and though the short-term battle was successful, the long-range war was lost because the Japanese were wrong about the American reaction. Before Pearl Harbor there was another, earlier miscalculation. Ever since Commodore Perry's fleet opened Japan in 1853, in an era of great colonial expansion, the Japanese had watched the European powers dominate East Asia and establish colonies and trading privileges. China was carved up by Western powers establishing their spheres of influence on Chinese territory. Japan was quickly able to develop the economic and military strength to join this competition for dominance of the Asian mainland. When Japan defeated China in 1895 and Russia in 1905, in battles over Korea, then later joined the allies against Germany, Japan’s optic was framed for dominance in the region. The Japanese nation and its military, which controlled the government by the 1930s, felt that it then could, and should, control all of East Asia by military force. Domestic politics, ideology and racism also played a role in Japan’s prewar preparation. Since the interdiction of Western powers in 1853, the Japanese were treated like second citizens. The suppression and inequality throughout caused nationalism to rise up, giving Japan their voice. The Japanese were proud of their many accomplishments
Reischauer, Edwin O., and Albert M. Craig. Japan, Tradition & Transformation. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1978. Print.
The occupation of Japan was, from start to finish, an American operation. General Douglans MacArthur, sole supreme commander of the Allied Power was in charge. The Americans had insufficient men to make a military government of Japan possible; so t hey decided to act through the existing Japanese government. General Mac Arthur became, except in name, dictator of Japan. He imposed his will on Japan. Demilitarization was speedily carried out, demobilization of the former imperial forces was complet ed by early 1946.Japan was extensively fire bombed during the second world war. The stench of sewer gas, rotting garbage, and the acrid smell of ashes and scorched debris pervaded the air. The Japanese people had to live in the damp, and col d of the concrete buildings, because they were the only ones left. Little remained of the vulnerable wooden frame, tile roof dwelling lived in by most Japanese. When the first signs of winter set in, the occupation forces immediately took over all the s team-heated buildings. The Japanese were out in the cold in the first post war winter fuel was very hard to find, a family was considered lucky if they had a small barely glowing charcoal brazier to huddle around. That next summer in random spots new ho uses were built, each house was standardized at 216 square feet, and required 2400 board feet of material in order to be built. A master plan for a modernistic city had been drafted, but it was cast aside because of the lack of time before the next winte r. The thousands of people who lived in railroad stations and public parks needed housing.All the Japanese heard was democracy from the Americans. All they cared about was food. General MacAruther asked the government to send food, when they refus ed he sent another telegram that said, "Send me food, or send me bullets."American troops were forbidden to eat local food, as to keep from cutting from cutting into the sparse local supply.No food was was brought in expressly for the Japanese durning the first six months after the American presence there. Herbert Hoover, serving as chairman of a special presidential advisory committee, recommended minimum imports to Japan of 870,000 tons of food to be distributed in different urban areas. Fi sh, the source of so much of the protein in the Japanese diet, were no longer available in adequate quantities because the fishing fleet, particularly the large vessels, had been badly decimated by the war and because the U.
Since the late 1800s, Japan had been working to establish a "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere" under Japanese hegemony with relative success. Japan had been able to achieve regional victories using surprise attacks to shape and maintain limited warfare. In 1895 and in 1905 Japan had gained significant objectives against China and Russia by striking the enemy and forcing negotiations for settlements. It is no surprise that in 1941, Japan sought to achieve the destruction of American military power in the Pacific using a similar military strategy. The operational strategy that the Japanese had so successfully applied for half a century would ultimately limit their options and eventually end with their unconditional surrender.
In Embracing Defeat: Japan in the wake of World War Two, it explains how the people of Japan suffered from the war. Dower explains it was not only economical property damage or the loss of life cost that the Japanese suffered from but psychological damage.
The militarization of Japanese society during the 1930s and 1940s was total and absolute. Military rule dominated nearly all aspects of life, from politics to education, a shift that seems incongruous with the democratic attitudes that defined the preceding Taishō era. However, this shift was in fact not so radical; rather, militarism progressed naturally out of the rapid modernization that Japan had undergone in the decades prior, and the fundamental values that formed the basis of the Meiji Revolution and Taishō democracy would continue to power Japan’s war engine through World War II.
Firstly world war two was just years away from commencement, and Japan was on a socio-political up swing. The nation of Japan had assaulted the mainland, and begun butchering the local populations. It would go on to commit countless atrocities in the name of unifying the Asiatic countries under herself. To Japan these actions weren't treated in such a negative light, or even highly questioned by the Japanese at home. Differing greatly from the relationship between Germans and the holocaust.
The horrific events of March 20th 1995 will forever haunt the nation of Japan much as September 11th 2001 is an eternal moment for Americans. Many similarities can be made of both attacks as they were meant to destabilize each respective government. Both attempts failed and both encouraged and empower each country to become proactive about dealing with terrorist organizations and a realization on how to respond when it happens again. By understanding risk assessments that include all the capabilities of a nation’s enemy, foreign and domestic, and hardening those vulnerabilities coupled with policies, with teeth, we as a society are taking corrective measures to deal with true adversaries of the state.