The American Occupation of Japan: The Origins of the Cold War in Asia Book + PRICE WATCH * Amazon pricing is not included in price watch

The American Occupation of Japan: The Origins of the Cold War in Asia Book

Michael Schaller argues that the reconstruction of postwar Japan not only shaped the future of that country, but also the future of U.S. policy throughout postwar Asia, leading up to the controversial interventions in China, Korea, and Vietnam. In this detailed study, he shows how the U.S., after the war, sought to develop Japan as a stable bulwark against both Soviet expansion and Asian revolution. In particular, he depicts the intense conflict that raged among American officials, with the flamboyant Occupation Commander, General Douglas MacArthur, against virtually all civilian and military planners in Washington, including President Truman. Lauded by the public as a hero, and initially given free rein to shape the future of Japan, MacArthur was gradually undermined in a series of bureaucratic and personal manoeuvres. His plans were replaced by a new Occupation programme, which provided U.S. aid to rebuild Japan as a major industrial power at the hub of a subordinate Asian trading network. This was done in the hope that Japan's regional dominance would simultaneously ensure recovery, bolster world trade, and stabilize the fragile arc of Southeast Asian states in transit from colonialism to independence. Michael Schaller's fascinating account is indispensable to anyone seeking to understand the United States's complex postwar history.Read More

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  • Product Description

    In this novel and intriguing book, Michael Schaller traces the origins of the Cold War in Asia to the postwar occupation of Japan by U.S. troops. Determined to secure Japan as a bulwark against both Soviet expansion and Asian revolution, the U.S. instituted ambitious social and economic reforms under the direction of the flamboyant Occupation Commander, General Douglas MacArthur. MacArthur was later denounced by the Truman Administration as a "bunko artist" who had wrecked Japan's economy and opened it to Communist influence, and power was shifted to Japan's old elite. Cut off from its former trading partners, which were now all Communist-controlled, Japan, with U.S. backing, turned its attention to the rich but unstable Southeast Asian states. The stage was thus set for U.S. intervention in China, Korea, and Vietnam.

  • 0195051904
  • 9780195051902
  • Michael Schaller
  • 18 February 1988
  • Oxford Paperbacks
  • Paperback (Book)
  • 368
  • New Ed
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