Japanese occupation of Indonesia during the Second World War lasted from March 9, 1942 to August 17, 1945. Japan easily captured Indonesia without encountering resistance local population, since the country itself at the time of occupation was a colonial possession of the Netherlands and was called the Dutch East Indies. Since Japan was unable to control huge territories from the Aleutian to the Solomon Islands, it relied on the creation of a native administration with the involvement of the local population in management. Ideologically, Japan sought to show that it was committed to creating a Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. These ideas found sympathy among Indonesian independence fighters. It was during the years of Japanese occupation that the “sprouts of independence” appeared. The future president of the country, Sukarno, began his career in the Japanese colonial administration. The national flag, anthem and language gained legal status. Indonesian armed forces appeared.
Pre-war situation in the Netherlands East Indies
May 24, 1937 radical nationalists and some members of the underground Communist Party created the Indonesian People's Movement (Gerindo). The Gerindo movement, without proclaiming the principle of non-cooperation, advocated the political and economic independence of the country, as well as the fight against fascism. Due to the spread of rumors that Germany and Japan had agreed to partition Indonesia under the Anti-Comintern Pact, in 1939 Gerindo demanded that measures be taken to develop the Indonesian economy and to create a people's militia for the defense of the archipelago.
The implementation of the propaganda campaign was entrusted to the propaganda department of the 16th Army. The plan developed in Tokyo was called “Tiga-A” (“Three A”), which stood for the three hypostases of Japan in Asia: “light”, “leader” and “patron”. The purpose of the campaign was to prove to the Indonesians the commonality of their interests with Japan, after which they had to work for Japanese army and support the Japanese war.
Creation of a national administration
Soon after the Japanese occupied Sumatra, Colonel Fujiyama, who commanded the division stationed there, ordered Sukarno to be found and brought to him. After some hesitation, Sukarno agreed. He himself later recalled:
Our people hated the Dutch, especially now that they fled like rats, leaving us at the mercy of the victors. None of them even tried to protect us or our country... I knew the cruelty of the Japanese, I knew how they behaved in the occupied territories, but what can we do - we had to put up with this for several years.
Having learned how Fujiyama was using Sukarno, the commander of the 16th Army stationed in Java, General Imamura, also tried to attract local nationalist leaders to his side, but they pointed out that without involving Sukarno himself from the Tiga-A movement in work in Java, it won't work. Therefore, in July 1942, Sukarno was transported to Java. Immediately after his arrival, Sukarno met with the main leaders of Indonesian nationalism, Hatta and Sharir, and offered them cooperation until the Japanese were expelled. Sukarno's plan was to use all legal possibilities to strengthen the Indonesian liberation forces and the creation of national organizations. As Sukarno said, “We have planted the seeds of nationalism - now let the Japanese grow them.”
Putera
All Europeans living on the archipelago - about 62 thousand people - ended up in concentration camps by the end of 1943, only a third of them were men, the rest were women and children. In addition to them, about 45 thousand people were kept in prisoner of war camps.
For monetary payments in the territory of occupied Indonesia, the Japanese issued special occupation guilders. Their real value was rapidly falling, which led to this unusual result, as the Indonesian peasants repaying their debts to the landowners: the peasants began to repay debts exclusively with occupation money, and the landowners could not help but accept them, because in this case the Japanese could intervene, forced to act on the side of the peasants so as not to admit that their money was fiction.
PETA
We, the Indonesian nation, hereby declare the independence of Indonesia. Issues related to the transfer of power and other issues will be resolved in the most thorough manner in the shortest possible time.
Immediately after the text of the declaration is distributed by means mass media Mass demonstrations began throughout the country, during which demonstrators tore down Japanese flags. On August 19, the first government of independent Indonesia was formed. Since the Japanese did not deny Indonesia's right to independence, they did not take any actions aimed at overthrowing the Sukarno government, but continued to fight radical Indonesian groups, thereby clearing the way for moderate elements who collaborated with the Japanese during the years of occupation. The Indonesian government continued to maintain a low profile towards the Japanese administration, and on August 29, 1945, it passed a resolution declaring that Dutch rule over Indonesia ended on March 9, 1942, as the Dutch government had failed to ensure the safety and welfare of the Indonesian people.
The Allies did not have troops available for an immediate landing in Indonesia, and therefore Lord Mountbatten could only send a telegram to Marshal Terauchi in which he assigned responsibility for maintaining order in Indonesia until the Allies arrived there. Japanese troops. At the same time, Mountbatten sent a mission from Admiral Peterson to Jakarta, which was supposed to ensure that the Japanese did not capitulate to the “impostors.” Arriving in Jakarta on September 15 on the cruiser Cumberland, Peterson discovered that the Republic of Indonesia already existed, not only in the capital, but also in the provinces, that a civil administration was operating, ministries and departments had been created, and even a civilian police force. He tried to force the Japanese garrison of Surabaya to hold out until the British arrived, but the Japanese flatly refused to fight, and by the end of September they surrendered to Indonesian troops.
On September 29, 1945, the first English small landing force landed in Jakarta. Its commander, Lieutenant General Christison, made an official statement that the landing force had arrived to disarm the Japanese. Sukarno, speaking on October 2, asked the Indonesians to remain calm: if the goals of the British are as officially announced, then the Indonesian government will not interfere with them. However, Petersen stated that English troops will maintain order in the country until the legitimate government of the Netherlands East Indies begins to function. Arrived October 4 new batch British troops, as well as the first Dutch units transferred from Europe, who viewed the Indonesians as collaborators who needed to be disarmed along with the Japanese. Under these conditions, on October 5, Sukarno published a presidential decree establishing National Army Indonesia.
Realizing that in order to further control the country it was necessary to seize the naval base in Surabaya, on October 25, 1945, the British landed troops there. Indonesian troops refused to surrender their weapons, and
The post-war history of Japan can be divided into five main stages: 1) 1945-1951. - the period of American military occupation; 2) 1951 - 1960 - the period of “post-occupation policy”; 3) 1960-1973 - period of high rates economic growth; 4) 1974-1989 - a period of moderate economic growth; 5) 1990-2010s - post-bipolar period.
Period of American military occupation
After signing the act of complete and unconditional surrender on September 2, 1945, Japan found itself under the control of the American occupation administration. To implement the occupation policy allied powers created two bodies: the Allied Council for Japan, which operated in Tokyo to directly advise the commander-in-chief of the occupation forces, and the Far Eastern Commission, which worked in Washington, which determined the political line regarding the implementation of the terms of surrender. In reality, however, the command of the American occupation forces in Japan played a key role in carrying out the occupation policy. The commander-in-chief issued memoranda and directives to the Japanese government, which were binding and were formalized in the form of relevant laws or regulations on behalf of the Japanese authorities.
At the first stage of the occupation(1945-1948) large-scale democratic reforms were carried out in the country, affecting economic, political and social sphere. In May 1947, a new democratic constitution came into force, the draft of which was prepared at the headquarters of the commander-in-chief of the occupation forces, General D. MacArthur.
It was important for the United States to eliminate the military threat from Japan, minimize even the theoretical possibility of the emergence of a new militaristic regime, for which it was necessary to create solid foundations for the development of democracy in the country. Therefore, the reforms were aimed at the radical demilitarization and democratization of Japan. First of all, the issue of sovereignty - the source of power - had to be resolved. Unlike the pre-war constitution of 1889, which identified the emperor as the source of power, the preamble of the Japanese constitution of 1947 noted that sovereignty belongs to the people, who exercise it through a popularly elected parliament.
The institute was liquidated "State Shinto". The emperor renounced his divine origin, for which he spoke on this occasion with special speech on the radio on January 1, 1946. According to the constitution, the emperor became “a symbol of the state and the unity of the people.” The emperor's prerogatives now became purely ceremonial. As part of the ongoing education reform from school programs provisions were removed that promoted a sense of national exclusivity of the Japanese nation, loyal duty towards the emperor, etc.
In the field public administration was introduced cabinet-parliamentary system, within which the parliament is elected by popular vote, and the head of the executive branch is chosen by the country’s parliament from among its members (Article 67). He forms the cabinet of ministers, which, as stated in the constitution, must consist in the majority of members of parliament (Article 68). Each member of the cabinet heads one of the ministries, and bills are introduced into parliament mainly on behalf of the government. An important point was the provision of Art. 66 of the constitution that the cabinet of ministers, which is central authority executive branch bears collective responsibility to parliament.
An extensive series of constitutionally formalized provisions was intended to consolidate central role parliament in the political system of the country. Fundamental in this regard was Art. 41 of the constitution, which defined parliament as “ supreme body state power" and "the only one legislature states." The Constitution determined bicameral parliamentary system, generally uncharacteristic of unitary mononational states with democratic principles government system. For Japan, the raison d'être for a bicameral system is to create a more balanced parliamentary configuration by special status the House of Councilors, which is more resistant to fluctuations in the political situation, since, unlike the House of Representatives, it is not subject to dissolution by the executive branch. In both houses of parliament a system of committees and commissions was created on various aspects public policy who became main arena holding parliamentary discussions.
A special place in the series of political transformations has become introduction of guarantees political rights and freedoms: freedom of speech, assembly, association, right to form trade unions, political parties and public organizations (under the old constitution, the rights of subjects could be limited by existing laws). An important step towards democratization was the introduction of universal suffrage. Unlike the electoral law of 1925, the new law extended voting rights for women and lowered the age limit for active suffrage from 25 to 20 years. The equality of all citizens before the law was proclaimed, all types of discrimination based on race, religion, gender and social origin. The goal was to guarantee open expression any political views, not contrary to the law, to prevent the pre-war situation in which state power was freed from criticism.
Great place in general series post-war reforms take steps to demilitarization political, economic and public life. Imperial Army was disbanded, and a unique for modern constitutional law Art. 9, according to which the Japanese people renounced war as a means of resolving international disputes. Another guarantee against the revival of militarism was the provision that the head of government and members of the cabinet of ministers must be civil servants (Article 66 of the constitution). The Ministry of Internal Affairs, whose powers in pre-war Japan included the protection of public order and police activities, elections of all levels, including prefectural governors, as well as issues of activity, was eliminated local authorities authorities.
The centralized system of state power was replaced by a two-tier system, within which, along with the central government, a system was created local government, having an independent financial support. All heads of local authorities at all levels became elected.
Was held judicial reform: the civil code was rewritten on the basis of democratic rules of law, in order to increase the independence of the courts, the prerogatives of the Ministry of Justice regarding control were weakened judicial system, and at the same time the powers of the Supreme Court were strengthened.
In 1946-1948. The victorious powers held the International Military Tribunal for the Far East ( Tokyo trial), which adopted a resolution on the criminal nature of the policies of the Japanese government during the Second World War. Wartime figures who held key positions in the government, political parties and major economic structures of Japan, were prosecuted and jailed, and seven people, including two former prime ministers, H. Tojo and K. Hirota, were sentenced to death penalty and hanged.
This is important!
It should be noted, however, that despite the large scale of repressive measures (these measures, which had a wide range of application - from criminal liability to prohibition from holding public office - affected approximately 200 thousand people), political purges were not comprehensive, as was the case in post-war Germany as part of the denazification policy, and did not affect the backbone of the pre-war civil bureaucracy.
It was from the pre-war bureaucracy that personnel for the highest political elite were subsequently drawn. This was facilitated by the formation in Japan over many centuries Confucian tradition of high public credit towards officials. Given the fact that any alternative political institutions, including political parties, were weak at that time and did not enjoy much trust in society, the occupation authorities, in need of institutional tools for carrying out their policies, were forced to rely on existing government structures. The fact that the limited purges carried out by the occupation authorities primarily affected the leadership of the pre-war political parties in power, as well as the top of the military administration, also played a role. Thus, the civil bureaucracy filled the power vacuum that formed in the wake of these purges.
At the first stage of the occupation policy, a special arrangement occupation authorities who sought to find a political alternative to the discredited pre-war parties, were used by the left parties, in to the greatest extent victims of pre-war repressions. The country's Communist Party, founded in 1922 and forced to go underground under the conditions of severe pre-war repression, was completely legalized. In November 1946, the Socialist Party of Japan was created, whose leader T. Katayama briefly headed the government in 1947. A number of measures were taken to establish in the country civil society. It started active development trade union movement.
Financial and industrial groups were dissolved zaibatsu, which played a key role in the pre-war economy. Thus, conditions were created in the country for the development of free competition and market relations. Was held land reform , designed to end landownership. Within its framework, a ceiling was established for the maximum size of individual land holdings, which averaged less than 3 hectares for the country (for Hokkaido the average was up to 12 hectares). Structural reforms in the economy had great political consequences, laying economic fundamentals for the development of a democratic system. At the same time, these transformations were not radical in nature, but continuity with pre-war period later manifested itself in the formation of a limited market economic model specific to Japan.
This is important!
In general, we can conclude that the adoption of the 1947 constitution and the democratic reforms of the 1940s. had crucial For further development all political system. The results of these reforms were welcomed by the people of Japan.
On second stage of occupation policy(1948-1951) in the context of aggravation of contradictions between the USSR and the USA, the beginning of " cold war", as well as the coming to power of the Communist Party in China, Washington began to view Japan in the context of the policy of containing communism. In this regard, significant adjustments were made to the political component occupation regime. The United States began to support moderate conservative forces, which were encouraged in their fight against the leftist movement, and especially the communists. In Washington, it was decided to actively promote economic development Japan in order to prevent the spread of communist ideology and create in its person a kind of showcase of capitalism in the Far East. In addition, a course was taken to rearm Japan, behind which was the idea of turning it not only into a political, but also a military ally. New accents in the policy of the occupation authorities became known in historiography under common name"reverse course".
Vigorous stabilization measures economic situation countries known as the “Dodge Line” - named after the American banker J. Dodge who developed them - included strict controls over budget spending and monetary emission, freezing wages and the release of previously regulated prices in the consumer market, the introduction of a fixed yen exchange rate, etc. At the same time, tax reform was carried out, aimed at abandoning the archaic and confusing pre-war taxation system and increasing its efficiency, which was carried out in accordance with the conclusions of a group of American specialists sent to Japan - the “mission of C. Shoup”. As a result of the consistent implementation of the recommendations of American consultants, by mid-1950 the government managed to significantly improve the balance state budget, reduce inflation, liberalize prices and stabilize the exchange rate of the national currency.
Since 1950, Japan began economic boom associated with the outbreak of the Korean War. Since the territory of the country was used as a rear
Being the base of the American armed forces, Japanese enterprises received a large volume of “special orders” related to both the supply of goods and the provision of a large volume of services. Combined with good conditions on world markets, this made it possible not only to speed up the process post-war reconstruction, but also to achieve an increase export potential Japanese economy. During Korean War Washington has finally formalized its course towards turning Japan into its strategic ally. Work was accelerated to end the occupation rule and preparations were intensified for the signing of an alliance treaty with Japan, which would provide a legal basis for the deployment of American military bases on its territory.
From September 4 to 8, 1951, a conference dedicated to the conclusion of a peace treaty with Japan was held in San Francisco. Representatives from China and Taiwan were not invited to the conference, which was attended by 48 countries. various reasons Representatives from India and Burma were absent.
On September 8, the San Francisco Peace Treaty was signed by representatives of 49 countries. The USSR sent its delegation, but refused to sign the agreement, largely out of solidarity with communist China, which was its strategic ally at that time, and was absent from the conference. The Soviet representative stated at press conferences that Moscow views the agreement as separate.
This is important!
The treaty contained a declaration of an end to the state of war and annulled the results of Japanese aggression in the Pacific. The issue of reparations was resolved in a manner that was not burdensome for Japan. Japan recognized the independence of Korea, renounced all rights to Formosa (Taiwan), the Pescadores Islands, as well as rights and claims to the Kuril Islands and that part of Sakhalin, over which it acquired sovereignty under the Portsmouth Peace Treaty. At the same time, the text of the treaty does not mention why Japan is giving up these territories, which, given the USSR’s refusal to sign the treaty, was subsequently used by official Tokyo as one of the arguments to justify its position in the territorial dispute with Moscow.
not only to "maintain peace and security in the Far East", but also to suppress at the request of the Japanese government internal unrest in the country. One of the articles of the treaty prohibited Japan from providing military bases to third countries without the consent of the United States.
Signed in January 1952 "administrative agreement" specific conditions of placement were agreed upon American troops who were given the opportunity to create their own military bases in any area of Japan and use civilian infrastructure. American military personnel and their families were granted the right of extraterritoriality (soon, however, under pressure from the Japanese public over American military personnel stationed in Japan, along with US jurisdiction, Japanese jurisdiction began to be recognized).
Japan's signing of the peace treaty returned it to the system international relations as a full-fledged subject. The occupation period is over. As part of the “security treaty” with the United States, Japan became one of the links in the system of agreements with Washington’s key allies in the Pacific, concluded by the United States within the framework of the doctrine of “containing communism.” At the same time, the peculiarity of the agreement with Japan was that, unlike other US allies ( South Korea, Philippines, Australia and New Zealand), had no obligation to defend American territory, being bound by constitutional restrictions on sending troops abroad.
On August 15, 1945, Japanese Emperor Hirohitopo addressed the nation and announced Japan's surrender. The American course towards democratization has deprived it of the army, the old order and even God. Emperor Hirohito was replaced by the cult of General Douglas MacArthur.
Emperor's order
Japan's withdrawal from the war and the adoption of the Potsdam Declaration was the sole decision of the monarch, Emperor Hirohito of Japan. Even despite the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9 and the entry of the USSR into the war, many commanders-in-chief advocated for the continuation of the war. They knew that well-trained, still powerful armed forces with the ideology of “heads for the emperor” would go to the end.
However, after listening to the report of Prime Minister Suzuki, the emperor announced unconditional surrender in the form of an ultimatum: “... I ordered the Potsdam Declaration to be adopted. I command everyone to join me... Accept the terms immediately. So that the people can know about my decision, I command that an imperial rescript on this issue be urgently prepared.”
Further protests were futile. When one group of fanatical officers, the “Young Tigers,” tried to steal the film with the emperor’s corresponding address to the people and disrupt the adoption of the declaration, they were sentenced to death by hara-kiri.
Japanese official propaganda emphasized and emphasizes “ special role Emperor" in Japan's exit from the war. According to her statements, the capitulation was announced only at the insistence of the emperor, and the military defeat and the need for capitulation were either not mentioned at all or were considered secondary reasons.
Remembering the past
On September 2, 1945, the signing of the Japanese surrender took place on board the American battleship Missouri, which entered Tokyo Bay. The ceremony was given special pathos. The emphasis was placed on the fact that this victory, as it were, sums up almost a century of US policy on Pacific Ocean. It began, accordingly, with the Treaty of Kanagawa in 1854, when Commodore Matthew Perry opened an isolated Japanese market “under the guns.” To once again remind the Japanese of this, the Americans removed from the museum, delivered to the Missouri and placed in a prominent place the very flag that first appeared on the shores of Japan a hundred years ago.
Horrors of occupation
The American public perceived the “course towards democratization of Japan” in its own way. In the book “The American Occupation of Japan,” Michael Schaller writes that as the end of the imperial victories approached, the fantasy of American “patriots” was rampant, dreaming of taking revenge on the Japanese for the shame of Pearl Harbor and the Philippines, for defeats in the Pacific.
Senator Theodore Bilbow, for example, demanded that all Japanese be sterilized. A project was even developed to breed a “new breed” of residents of the Country rising sun: "eradicating the innate barbarity of the Japanese" by "crossing them with the quiet and docile inhabitants of the Pacific Islands."
All these sentiments led to waves of fear in the occupied country. Even before the end of the war, the authorities began distributing tablets with potassium cyanide, which the workers had to accept in case they were humiliated by the occupiers.
The terrible projects of those “offended by Pearl Harbor” are over civilian population Japan. Credit must be given here to Douglas MacArthur, who quickly distanced himself from the radical 13 percent who demanded ruthless retribution. This gesture was presented as a natural manifestation of MacArthur’s nature, his inner world, decency.
"Paragraph No. 9"
Following the example of the “Napoleonic Code,” an American general in Japan created the “MacArthur Code.” New law reshaped traditional Japanese customs, religion in the American way. For example, in a conservative country, women suddenly received voting rights: “The elections (in Japan) were not without funny incidents,” Douglas himself recalls. “The day after the election results were announced, a very respectable leader of Japanese legislators called me, discouraged by something, and asked audiences. “I’m sorry, but something terrible happened,” he said, “a prostitute was elected to parliament.” I asked him, “How many votes did she get?” The Japanese legislator sighed and said, “256,000.” I said as solemnly as possible: “Then I am forced to assume that there must be something more hidden here than her dubious occupation.”
However, a miscalculation new constitution, according to MacArthur himself, was not that fringe elements gained access to government. Researchers claim that Douglas, until the end of his life, could not forgive himself for allowing “Article No. 9” into the country’s basic law. He ruled out war and the armed forces for Japan as a means of its policy on international arena. Subsequently, this deprived the United States of a strong ally in the fight against the USSR and China. Japan has long received the nickname " political dwarf with a big wallet."
It must be said that MacArthur took this step not so much for the sake of peace as for security reasons. In the United States, memories of the crimes of Japanese militarism and the atrocities of its generals and soldiers were still fresh.
Man, not God
The MacArthur Code was entirely directed against the person of the emperor, who at the time of the occupation was still a “descendant of the sun goddess.” Each of the reforms of the American governor directly or indirectly landed the emperor. For example, an order to remove portraits of the emperor from schools or a ban on bowing towards his palace.
Even Douglas’s very behavior before the emperor was aimed at belittling the “divine personality.” So, during the first reception of the emperor, who was before late XIX centuries could only be seen by a select few, MacArthur came out to him not in an official uniform, but in an everyday uniform shirt with an open collar. Historians compare this meeting with how “a doorman dressed in braid at an expensive hotel slavishly opens the door to a long-haired tourist in faded jeans.”
Through the efforts of propaganda, he began to turn into a new idol for a country that was accustomed to living in the radiance of a monarch.
He became the new idol of the Japanese bourgeoisie. Rumors began to spread that MacArthur had the blood of Japanese emperors in his veins, that he had a beloved Japanese woman, with whom he had a daughter. The 62-page brochure “General MacArthur” was constantly republished. He presented himself as absolute power. The Tokyo newspaper Zhizhi Shimpo wrote: “MacArthur is made into a god.” People even saw healing powers in it. Women wrote letters to him, begging him to bless them before giving birth so that the child would become great; police officers sought permission to wear American soldier boots, chronically ill and crippled people called upon magical powers in the guise of MacArthur to become healers. Foreign delegations paid their first visit to MacArthur.
Delusions of grandeur never rewarded Douglas with the main prize - the presidency in Washington. And his radicalism, multiplied by overconfidence in itself, led to defeats during the war on the territory North Korea. In 1951, President Truman dismissed Douglas, and soon, in 1952, the occupation of Japan ended as a result of the San Francisco Peace Treaty.
