Japan Since 1945

After a 15-years long war and the atomic bombardments of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States, Emperor Hirohito himself announced the surrender of the Empire of Japan in a radio broadcast on August 15, 1945.

Post-war and reconstruction

Consequently, the country is occupied from September 1945 to April 1952 and under the authority of the SCAP (Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers) lead by American General McArthur.

At first, the SCAP is working to demilitarize and democratize the country through deep-rooted reforms, such as:

• Dissolution of the army and the navy in November 1945;
• Purges in the police, the government and industrial groups, of anyone involved in Japan’s warmongering;
• Stripping the Shinto cult of its status of state religion.

Moreover, the Tokyo Trial (or International Military Tribunal for the Far East) is convened between May 1946 to November 1948, mirroring the Nuremberg trials, to try Japanese politicians and militaries involved in the war.

A new constitution is promulgated in November 1946 and comes into effect in May 1947, according to which:

• The emperor is not an absolute monarch anymore but only the symbol of the nation’s unity;
• The country renounces war and use of force to settle conflicts (article 9);
• Women obtain the right to vote.

However, the start of the Cold War in 1947 causes a political turn of events: Japan is then considered at the forefront to contain the rise of communism in Asia. Several reforms are abandoned, such as:

• The dismantling of the zaibatsu, whose financial power is now handled by the state;
• The devolution of the police; and,
• Several aspects of the labor laws reforms, such as the civil servants’ right to strike.

The beginning of the Korean War (1950 - 1952) sparks Japan’s economic recovery, as the country becomes an arm factory for the United States. However, high inflation also hinders the country between 1945 and 1950, and the living conditions, that were already poor, further deteriorate with the repatriation of about 7 million Japanese (both military and civilians) who had been deployed in Asia.

The Golden Age of the Showa Era (1950s - 1970s)

The 1950s to the early 1970s is a period of record economic growth, in which Japan quickly got out of poverty to a certain wealth. Like the rest of the world, Japan’s recovery is accompanied with an economic boom, but it is of such a magnitude that historians call it an "economic miracle." During this time period, Japan indeed becomes the 3rd economic power, behind the United States and the U.S.S.R. This feat is allowed by a favorable international context along with major investments in new technologies and production factories. The military expenses are kept low thanks to the US troops stationed in the archipelago, mainly in Okinawa. Moreover, the country’s workforce is educated and qualified, and makes a lot of savings, but does not hesitate to purchase high-value added goods: the "3 jewels" owned by 90% of Japanese households in the 1960s (washing machine, fridge and TV). The consumption of meat also increases in the general population.

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Japan’s recovery also encompasses the international stage with the promotion of a more positive image through the organization of large popular events:

• Tokyo Summer Olympics in 1964, thought out to be a display of Japan’s modernization and recovery, and the inauguration of the Shinkansen, the fastest train in the world at the time;
• Osaka’s 1970 Universal Expo;
• Sapporo Winter Olympics in 1972.

However, while this time period is fondly remembered and idealized nowadays, it was far from being peaceful. It is indeed marked by many demonstrations, sometimes very violent, and several scandals of industrial pollution.

A large political opposition includes students organizations (very powerful and politicized in the 1960s) and union movements, all against the Anpo (Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan), a treaty signed in January 1960 by the United States and Japan.

Demonstrations also target:

• The construction of Narita airport: the opposition has been active since 1966 and the infrastructure is still officially uncompleted;
• Health / industrial scandals: cadmium poisoning (Toyama) and mercury poisoning in Minamata and Niigata, respiratory diseases in connection to oil refineries (Mie, Yokohama, Kawasaki, Amagasaki in Osaka Bay).

A vibrant culture

The Japanese artistic scene of the Showa era Golden Age is on a quest for a definition of the Japanese identity, that was shaken to the core by the war and the evolution of society. Tendencies for extravagance mixed with dark undertones and violence are shared by artists such as Yayoi Kusama (born in 1929), the contemporary art collective Gutai (in activity from 1954 to 1972) that was a precursor of artistic performances, and the creation of the Buto dance in the 1960s.

In this period of high economic growth, architecture is very dynamic and Japanese architects have completely mastered and adapted the Western techniques and forms to their local situation. Their designing works on the city of the future give birth to the Metabolism movement, of which one of the last surviving constructions is the Yoyogi National Gymnasium (Shibuya).

The Nobel Prize in Literature is awarded to Yasunari Kawabata in 1968; and Yukio Mishima shocks the world in 1970 with a coup d’etat attempt ending in his demise by traditional-style suicide. Popular culture is also quite productive: Godzilla debuts its reign of terror in theaters in 1954; in the 1960s the manga industry starts to develop with peoples who are now household names like Osamu Tezuka or Mizuki Shigeru, also participating in the early days of the anime industry that starts to export in the 1970s.

From the energy crisis to the end of Showa Era (1973 - 1989)

The high growth period brutally ends due to the 1rst oil crisis in autumn 🍁 1973, that highlights Japan’s dependency on oil. This crisis spurred the nuclear and hydroelectric power plants construction programs.

Starting 1974, Japan becomes part of the organization later called the G7 (group of the 7 countries owning 2/3 of the world’s riches at the time of its creation). The country has an important political role at the international level, despite intermittent stormy relationships with:

• The United States, one of its main partners as the economies of the 2 countries are mutually dependent;
• Asian countries, for which the war reparations question remains a sensitive issue; and,
• The U.S.S.R., that claims the ownership of part of the Kurile Islands in the east of Hokkaido.

Official relations with South Korea only resumed in 1965, but both countries built up economic ties to the point that South Korea became the 3rd commercial partner of Japan in 1990. However, political tensions remain high, due to the controversy on Japan’s actions in Asia during WWII and to the revisionism growing louder in the archipelago’s political spheres in the 1980-1990s.

In the 1980s, Japan appears as a country at the forefront of modernity, especially regarding electronics. Japanese people consume without restriction, international leisure (albeit rushed) travels develop and are allowed thanks to their spending power. A new cliche of Japan starts to spread: an anthill nation, with people crammed into overcrowded trains 🚅 and whose children have to spend long hours studying at private evening classes (juku) to enter the school competition and get a better place in society.

Entertainment is nonetheless a rising industry: Nintendo is growing thanks to video games at the end of the 1970s and launches the famous Famicom console game in 1983. Sega releases the Master System in 1986. Studio Ghibli is founded in 1985 by Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata.

The passing of Emperor Hirohito in January 1989 officially closes the Showa Era, and coincides more broadly with the end of an era for Japan as well as for the world of the late 1980s- early 1990s.

Heisei Era (1989 - 2019)

Akihito succeeds his father on January 8, 1989, a date chosen for the beginning of the Heisei Era, that is marked by events such as:

• The burst of the economic bubble and a brutal stop of the Japanese growth;
• The first Gulf War in 1991, that reveals Japan’s status of "economic giant, political dwarf";
• The Great Hanshin earthquake in January 1995 (heavily hitting Kobe, with its epicenter in the north of Awaji-shima island);
• The Tokyo subway sarin attack by the Aum Shinrikyo sect in March 1995;
• The signature of the Kyoto protocol aiming at reducing greenhouse gas emissions starting 1997;
• 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano;
• Soccer World Cup in 2002, co-organized with South Korea;
• Aichi International Expo in 2005 (near Nagoya), in the park where is now established the Ghibli Park;
• The 2011 Tōhoku earthquake on March 11, 2011, that spurred a devastating tsunami and the accident of Fukushima nuclear power plant;
• Several earthquakes in Kumamoto, that damaged its castle in 2016.

At the beginning of the 2000s, Japan is still governed by a conservative cabinet, however the image of politicians is refreshed by Prime Minister Jun’Ichiro Koizumi (serving between 2001 and 2006), who appointed more women in his ministries, thus following the times’ international trends. He was a partisan of reforming the constitution, especially its Article 9, and while he managed to make some diplomatic progresses with North Korea, his visits to Yasukuni shrine triggered tensions with China and South Korea.

His successor, Shinzo Abe, becomes Prime Minister for a 1rst term in 2006-2007 and a 2nd one between 2012 to 2020, after the Tohoku earthquake. He launches the "Abenomics", a pack of reforms aiming at reducing the country’s abysmal debt and modernize it, especially by making a larger place to women in the work place and trying to curb the declining rate. He is on the same line as Koizumi regarding the revision of the Article 9 of the Constitution.

The Japanese soft power is steadily growing thanks to a worldwide boom of anime and manga in the early 2000s, that constitute part of the touristic communication surrounding the "Cool Japan". Contemporary Japanese architects are also awarded several Pritzker Prizes:

• Fumihiko Maki in 1993,
• Tadao Ando in 1995,
• Shigeru Ban in 2014,
• Arata Isozaki in 2019.

Several monuments and historical sites are enlisted in the UNESCO World Heritage: in Kyoto and Nara in 1993, the historical villages of Shirakawa-go and Gokayama in 1995. Mount Fuji 🗻 is enlisted in 2013, the same year Japan is designated host for Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics 🏅. In 2016, Emperor Akihito conveyed his wish of stepping down his imperial duties due to his age and health condition. His abdication takes place on April 30, 2019 and marks the end of the Heisei Era.

Reiwa Era (since 2019)

Naruhito, the son of the previous emperor, ascends to the Chrysanthemum Throne on May 1rst, 2019, and his reign’s early days are quite agitated:

• Japan is hosting the Rugby World Cup in October 2019, an international event prelude to the Tokyo Olympics scheduled the next year;
• Violent typhoons Faxai (in September) and Hagibis (in October) hit Japan and provoke destruction to such extend that the traditional enthronement ceremonies scheduled in fall are cancelled;
• Shuri Castle in Okinawa, enlisted in the UNESCO World Heritage, is completely destroyed by a fire at the end of October 2019;
• Carlos Ghosn, former CEO of Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi, arrested in November 2018, detained then placed in probation, escaped from Japan on the night of December 31, 2019, hiding in a musician trunk.

Covid and closed borders between 2020 and 2022

In the beginning of 2020, Japan is quickly impacted by the Covid-19 🦠 pandemic with the cruise ship Diamond Princess quarantined in Yokohama Port in February. Then, staring in march, the country suspends all international travels and closes its borders to foreign tourists until mid-October 2022. Several successive states of emergency are put in place, but the population was never confined, however the Tokyo Olympics are delayed by 1 year, to summer 2021 and takes place without spectators.

In September 2020, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe resigns, officially due to his health condition. He is later killed in July 2022 during a political meeting in Nara. In October 2021, Fumio Kishida becomes the 100th Prime Minister of Japan.

March 11, 2021, commemorates the 10th anniversary of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and of Fukushima power plant’s accident. The Japanese government allows the release of Fukushima’s radioactive water in the Pacific Ocean, which increases tensions with the neighboring countries.

In 2023, "normality" comes back to the world and finally to Japan with the gradual lifting of all restrictions related to the Covid-19. Most traditional festivals resume in summer and tourists flow back in the country almost at pre-pandemics levels.

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Following the airing of a BBC documentary in March, a report on Johnny Kitagawa, the founder of the boys’ bands factory Johnny & Associates, is published in August 2023 and proves that he sexually abused his proteges. This resounding scandal involves large Japanese broadcasting groups that have actively ignored the accusations since the 1960s.

2024 (Reiwa 6) begins with unfortunate events in Japan:

• The Noto Peninsula earthquake, on January 1rst, hits the western coast of Japan with a magnitude 7,6 tremor and several high magnitude aftershocks, causing more than 200 casualties, 100 missing and 665 injured;
• The next day, January 2nd, in Haneda airport, a JAL aircraft collides with a Japanese coast guards aircraft on its way to bring disaster relief to Ishikawa.