The US Occupation of Japan: 1945–1952

The United States led the Allied occupation of Japan from September 2, 1945 (formal surrender aboard the USS Missouri) until April 28, 1952 (Treaty of San Francisco taking effect). Under General Douglas MacArthur as Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP), the occupation pursued sweeping reforms:

• Demilitarization: Disbanded armed forces, dismantled war industries, and enacted a pacifist constitution (Article 9).
• Democratization: Introduced universal suffrage, labor rights, civil liberties, and a new peerage system.
• Economic restructuring: Land reform broke up large estates; zaibatsu conglomerates were dissolved; anti-monopoly laws enacted.
• Education reform: 6-3-3-4 system, coeducation, decentralized control.

The occupation ended with the San Francisco Peace Treaty (signed 1951, effective 1952), restoring full sovereignty. The U.S.-Japan Security Treaty, signed simultaneously, allowed U.S. forces to remain, cementing a strategic alliance that defines the region today.