Good wife, wise mother, and Americanised consumer

This chapter addresses the making of the modern Japanese family and pays attention to the roles envisaged for women and the economic impacts of these changes. It also discusses several related issues, such as the Japanese family and social change from the Meiji period onwards, Occupation policy, the occupiers' understanding of Japan in general, as well as the impact of their policies in the long run. General Headquarters (GHQ) policy expected women to be well educated and politically engaged, and to fulfil the role of a good wife, mother, and American-style consumer. In viewing themselves as the liberators of Japanese women from pre-war 'feudal' oppression, many within GHQ expected Japanese women to be a key element in the new postwar Japan. After World War Two, Japan experienced an enormous socioeconomic transformation with two striking aspects at its core: land reform and salarimanisation.