The British Parliament and Occupied Japan, 1945–52

IN THE IMMEDIATE postwar years British governments were besieged by difficulties. Fear of the Soviet Union dictated a search for new alliances. Economic crises threatened European stability. Problems of industrial weakness were unrelenting, while nationalization and the creation of the welfare state absorbed much parliamentary time and energy. These varied problems often pushed Japan to the margins of British politics; but at times both houses of parliament paid serious attention to the former enemy and their debates reveal important changes and continuities in British domestic and international policy. ¹