other · Korea and Japan
Occupied Japan
Origins
Japan accepted the Potsdam Declaration on 15 August 1945 and signed the instrument of surrender on 2 September aboard the USS Missouri. Allied, overwhelmingly American, forces occupied the home islands under the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, General Douglas MacArthur.
Rule and society
The occupation ruled indirectly through the Japanese government and the emperor, who renounced his divinity. It disbanded the armed forces, tried war leaders at the Tokyo tribunal, purged officials, broke up the zaibatsu, carried out a sweeping land reform, gave women the vote and in 1947 introduced a new constitution renouncing war. From 1947 a reverse course favoured economic recovery and anti-communism, and the Korean War of 1950 turned Japan into a supply base.
Decline and legacy
The San Francisco Peace Treaty, signed in 1951, took effect on 28 April 1952, restoring Japan's sovereignty alongside a security treaty with the United States. Okinawa remained under American control.
Lineage
On the connections map
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- Occupied Japan was a protectorate of United States1945 CE – 1952 CE
More states of Korea and Japan →
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Occupied Japan. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/occupied-japan
- MLA
- “Occupied Japan.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/occupied-japan. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Occupied Japan.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/occupied-japan.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Occupied Japan’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/occupied-japan (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻