ABSTRACT
When Japan surrendered on 15 August 1945, nearly every major city in Japan lay in ruins. As colonists repatriated and babies boomed, the population growth on shrunken territory wreaked havoc on a nation already on its knees from incendiary damage, food deprivation, spiritual demoralization and physical exhaustion. Forfeiting the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, Japan lost access to raw materials and the market for Japanese goods. Price controls and rationing came to an abrupt halt, leaving a black market to flourish.
