ABSTRACT
The defeat of 1945 is often regarded as a watershed that heralded the beginning of a new Japan. The dark past was left behind and a fresh start was made with new institutions and economic structures, set up from scratch under the guiding hand of the U.S. occupation. The pictures of burned-down cities, destroyed factories, and ruined bridges sometimes give the impression that a new era started in the ashes of August 1945. The U.S. occupation, officially in charge until 1952-longer than in Germany-implemented the U.S. program of reeducation and democratization of the Japanese people. It provided Japan with a new constitution, political parties, free elections also for women, and a market-oriented capitalist economic system. MacArthur's reforms allowed labor unions, broke up the zaibatsu, and introduced sweeping land reforms.
