Partners for Democracy Crafting the New Japanese State under MacArthur

by Moore, Ray A.; Robinson, Donald L.

• ISBN13: 9780195151169
• ISBN10: 019515116X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-10-03
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

In 1945, Japan surrendered unconditionally to the United States and its allies, thereby planting the seed from which would spring one of the world's most successful and stable democracies. In an age when democracy is often pursued, yet rarely accomplished, in which failed democracies are found throughout Africa, Latin America, and Asia, Japan's transformation from an utterly defeated military power into a thriving constitutional democracy commands attention. It has long been assumed that postwar Japan was largely the making of America, that democracy was simply imposed on a defeated land. Yet a political and legal system cannot long survive, much less thrive, if resisted by the very citizens it exists to serve. The external imposition of a constitution does not automatically translate into a constitutional democracy of the kind Japan has enjoyed for the past half-century. Apparently Japan, though under military occupation, was ready for what the West had to offer. Ray A. Moore and Donald L. Robinson convincingly show that the country's affirmation of democracy was neither cynical nor merely tactical. What made Japan different was that Japan and the United States-represented in Tokyo by the headstrong and deeply conservative General Douglas MacArthur-worked out a genuine partnership, navigating skillfully among die-hard defenders of the emperor, Japanese communists, and America's opinionated erstwhile allies. No dry recounting of policy decisions and diplomatic gestures, Partners for Democracy resounds with the strong personalities and dramatic clashes that paved the way to a hard-won success. Here is the story of how a devastated land came to construct--at times aggressively and rapidly, at times deliberately and only after much debate-a democracy that stands today as the envy of many other nations.

Author Biography

Ray A. Moore is Professor of History and Asian Studies at Amherst College. Donald L. Robinson is Charles N. Clark Professor of Government and American Studies at Smith College. Together they edited The Constitution of Japan: A Documentary History of its Framing and Adoption, 1945-1947.

Table of Contents

Abbreviations and Japanese Terms	xiii
Introduction: ``A New Order of Things''	3	(20)
Fall 1945
``Negotiated Surrender'': American Planning and Occupation	23	(13)
``This Fundamental Problem'': MacArthur Saves Hirohito	36	(14)
``In Good Faith'': Japan Considers Constitutional Reform	50	(14)
``A Rational Way'': Konoe and Matsumoto on Constitutional Reform	64	(17)
Imposing the American Model
``Only as a Last Resort'': The Americans Take Over	81	(12)
``A Liberal and Enlightened Constitution'': The SCAP Model	93	(18)
``A Very Serious Matter'': The Cabinet's Initial Reactions	111	(13)
``Do Your Best'': The Marathon Meeting	124	(18)
``Grave Danger'': The Allies Challenge MacArthur	142	(13)
``Seize This Opportunity'': Reworking the March 6 Draft	155	(10)
``No Choice But to Abide'': The Privy Council and Bureaucrats Prepare	165	(20)
Transforming a Draft into a Constitution
Preview: The Diet Goes to Work	183	(2)
``Along Democratic and Peace-Loving Lines'': Yoshida Presents His Draft	185	(7)
``Free and Untrammeled Debate'': The Emperor's Prerogatives	192	(19)
``Fervent Hopes'': Pacifism and Human Rights	211	(20)
``Complex and Labyrinthine'': The Structure of Government	231	(9)
``Fresh Trouble'': The House Subcommittee Frames Amendments	240	(11)
``Fundamental Principles of Democracy'': Human Rights and Imperial Property	251	(18)
``Sincere and Steady Efforts'': Denouement	269	(13)
``Last Service to the Fatherland'': The House of Peers Addresses Constitutional Revision	282	(12)
``A Borrowed Suit'': Peers Accept the Inevitable	294	(23)
Sequel
``Broaden and Deepen the Debate'': Fifty Years without Revison	317	(12)
Conclusion	329	(10)
Notes	339	(46)
Bibliography	385	(8)
Index	393