The Potsdam Diet

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After the Potsdam Declaration, atomic bombings, and their “unconditional” surrender, Japan was left in terrible shape. With at least 2.7 million military and civilian deaths after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan was in need of military, political, economic, and social reforms. Life during post-war was nothing but a challenge for the Japanese citizens. Food prices increased by an unbelievable 539% in 1946, which made it hard for people to spend their income on anything other than food, and because of this, Japan’s people relied on U.S food aid. There were also many living on the street, even in 1948, when there were around 3.7 million families without homes. With disease taking over, high infant mortality rate, and the post-war problems at …show more content…
SCAP was given certain powers that allowed them to disestablish the Diet, censor the press, disband political parties, as well as issue administrative directive without needing the approval of the Diet. Although Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and China had the role of an “Allied Council, “ MacArthur had the final say in making decisions. The overall reform guidelines were then set up to try and get Japan back on track. This Occupation had three steps to reach their goal of “Demilitarizing and Democratizing” Japan. This began with discipline and reforming, then resurrecting Japan’s economy, and then finally ending with a peace treaty and alliance. Revising the Meiji Constitution and creating a new one was the most impactful step of all. With the new constitution downgrading the Emperor, strengthening the Diet, guaranteeing fundamental human rights, outlawing discrimination, and renouncing war as a sovereign right, they were able to really make an impact on reforming …show more content…
The SCAP allies were punishing Japan for its militarism and expansion by holding war crime trials in Tokyo. The Allies also disassembled their Army and prohibited previous military officers from being in positions of political leadership in the new government. Then SCAP introduced the Land Reform Bill on October 21, 1946, that was a major restructuring of the former land taxation system, and also established the right of private land ownership for the first time in Japan. This benefited most of the tenant farmers and decrease the power of rich landowners and by 1950, 90% of the land was farmed by resident owners, which helped Japan’s economy field. The allies ordered that Japan’s leaders were to have a new constitution which included changed like downgrading the emperor’s status to basically having no political power and placing more in the parliamentary system. There were also campaigns to promote a new image of the Emperor as a symbol of peace and democracy, as well as their declaration of humanity which SCAP understood this as a “renunciation of divinity”. The Democratization of Japan included freedom of speech, press, and assembly which helped many minority groups surface. This also affected civil and political rights to women, which was proven successful in the first post-war election in 1946, where there were 39 female Diet members. The revision of
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