WWII and After
Although Japan had instigated a confrontation in order to justify taking territory in Manchuria in 1931, her entry into a more general war began in 1937 in an encounter between Japanese and Chinese troops in Northern China.
This incident escalated into battles. With each victory Japan became more committed to a final defeat of China. However, Chinese forces simply withdrew deeper and deeper into China dragging out the war and making ultimate victory for Japan highly unlikely.
Undeterred, the Japanese laid larger plans and in 1938 announced they would form the New Order in East Asia (China and Manchukuo) and in 1940 expanded this idea into the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere that would include S-E Asia, New Zealand and Australia.
Japan also decided in 1940 to ally with Germany. This led to an embargo on Japan by the U.S. and ultimately to Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.
In the beginning of the Pacific War Japan was highly successful, but after losing the Battle of Midway in 1942 was ultimately forced to retreat to her home islands where the military called for a fight to the death.
The USA dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the war ended with an unprecedented radio address by the Emperor (Aug. 14, 1945) calling on the Japanese to surrender and “to endure the unendurable and suffer what is insufferable.”
The Allies – essentially America – under General MacArthur (1880-1964) as SCAP set out to rebuild Japan. The reforms included a new constitution in 1947, the trial and purging of prominent Japanese military leaders, land reform, breakup of the zaibatsu, educational reform, encouragement of labor unions, etc.
The constitution was based on the emperor’s renunciation of his divinity and the assertion that the power rested in the people.
These acts, which
have been controversial among certain circles in
Japan, have formed
a major impetus for the development of present-day Japan. While many aspects of
traditional Japanese culture live on, there is also much in the thought, art,
literature, and human relations of Japan today that seems irreversibly changed.
The traditional Japanese diet is centered around rice. Protein is derived almost exclusively from fish and soy products. Pickled vegetables are also a common item.
This diet was altered slightly by the influence of the Portuguese and other early Western visitors with the introduction of sukiyaki(?), tempura and a few other items, but, since the end of WWII, the Japanese have eaten a diet that grows more and more Western and includes less and less traditional Japanese food.
For some time the Japanese government encouraged the production of rice and made a policy of keeping Japan self-sufficient in rice production. This was both a cultural decision and a political one, since the farmers were a major power base for the political party that has ruled Japan for most of the years since the war. However, maintenance of the traditional diet is proving increasingly difficult, and, as the rural base grows proportionately smaller the political importance of rice is no longer so great.
THE FAMILY
There is an old saying in Japan: “The three things to be feared are thunder and lightning, an earthquake and one’s father.”
Japan still observes many of the distinctions of rank, age and sex that held in the Confucian ideas of the Tokugawa period. This is less true than it was, but still in business, politics and formal social situations much weight is given to consideration of these factors. The Japanese language often defeats those who try to break this mold. As Japanese has special vocabulary and verbal conjugations that reflect status, it is very difficult to ignore the distinctions.
One area where old-fashioned authority has broken down is the family. Modern Japanese business calls for a selfless dedication to the company. Men are expected to be at some function connected with the job from early morning to late evening. In many families father is seldom seen. Mother and children eat together and father eats alone when he returns – probably at 8 o’clock or much later.
The job of raising the children and managing the household finances is the mother’s. This often leads to children knowing little about their fathers and mothers being solely responsible for management of the household.
LOVE AND MARRIAGE
Until quite recently arranged marriages were the norm in Japan. This reflected the great importance given to maintaining the family.
Families often consulted go-betweens to discover suitable partners for their children.
When a suitable prospect was found the families and the pair met at a restaurant or some other neutral ground where everyone could size each other up. If impressions were good, the couple would perhaps date and if this went well marriage could follow.
Recently the majority of marriages in Japan have been “love marriages.” However, with the change in status of women, many young women are not eager to marry. The burdens placed on wives and the new employment prospects have combined to lower rates of marriage, decrease the number of children in Japan and give Japan the world’s oldest population.
HISTORY AND RESPONSIBILITY
Although the Japanese constitution renounces war, Japan has not dealt well with the aftermath of her actions in WWII. There is still a reservoir of resentment towards Japan in South-East Asia, Korea and China that Japan seems unable to deal with.
The atrocities committed by Japanese troops during the war are glossed over or ignored in school history texts. Right-wing politicians are known to make statements that Japan’s colonization or occupation of various Asian countries led to their improvement.
Within Japan, politicians, including some prime ministers, pay controversial “unofficial” visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, the shrine honoring Japan’s war dead.
Japan remains unable to resolve its problem with its Korean residents. Koreans brought to Japan as forced laborers during the 30s and 40s are treated as a kind of outcast group. They are officially permanent residents who may take Japanese citizenship. Most Koreans see no advantage to this, as it does nothing to change the attitudes of the Japanese.
There has been some thrust to grant permanent residents the right to vote. An agreement was made between the majority parties to do so recently, but as in the past the conservative wing of Japan’s leading party reneged on the deal.
INTERNATIONALIZATION
Japan has always been a country that was open to new ideas and products. On the other hand, she has traditionally been slow to allow new non-Japanese to remain permanently.
Internationalization has become a buzzword in Japan in the last 20 or so years. The government has set up scholarships and exchanges to increase the number of foreigners studying in Japan, there is talk of allowing more foreign workers, education reform is much talked about, many Japanese are working or have worked abroad and many young people are studying in foreign countries.
Perhaps as result of these actions, the scene is changing. Until a few years ago, Japanese companies could not sell the goods they manufactured abroad within Japan because the Japanese consumers did not trust the quality of foreign-made goods. Companies were forced to maintain higher priced production in Japan to service Japanese consumers only.
In the 1960s when the first foreign-born sumo wrestlers appeared, commentators including retired sumo wrestlers, decried this development and were often racist in the comments they made. Today little of that kind of commentary is heard.
SUMMATION
Japan is an interesting, sometimes perplexing, mix of tradition and innovation. If difficult to understand for foreigners, understanding is often just about as difficult for the Japanese themselves. Japan has modernized quickly with more success than any other Eastern nation, but a great many questions remain to be resolved regarding social and political consequences of that modernization.