ABSTRACT
The American Occupation of Japan from 1945 to 1952 either altered the life of the country profoundly or accomplished almost nothing. Assessments vary by writer and subject (Passin 1990: 119). For those who claim that the American Occupation had little lasting effect, it would be obstinate to ignore seven and a half years of massive penetration and infusion of foreign influence and foreign ideas. The occupying power introduced an impressive list of changes, including a shift in the locus of sovereignty from the person of the emperor to the people, the emperor’s renunciation of divinity, extension of suffrage to women, revision of the legal codes, renunciation of war in the constitution and a reformed education system.
