ABSTRACT
Political parties—actually political associations—first appeared in Japan in the 1870s. The party system was to be sorely tested when the relatively tranquil period of the Taisho era came to an end with the death of the Taisho Emperor in December 1926, and the tumultuous Showa era of Emperor Hirohito began. As a result of the victory of the democratic powers in World War I, articulate Japanese experienced a new respect for and desire to emulate democratic models. The occupation of Japan became, for all practical purposes, an American operation, due to MacArthur’s determination not to abide interference from the Soviets. The mandate for reform objectives of the Occupation was the Basic Initial Post-Surrender Directive, from which the United States forces in Japan operated. This document set the political and economic tone for the MacArthur interregnum. Under pressure from various Occupation authorities, the new constitution was concurrently announced to the Japanese people on March 6, 1946, by MacArthur and the emperor.
