ABSTRACT
The history of non-communist East Asia can therefore be seen as the result of the influence of both the Pacific War and the Cold War. Within Japan the dire outcome of the Pacific War inculcated a desire among the populace never to repeat the follies of that conflict. In fact, its relationship with the Cold War was far more extensive and significant than this image would imply in terms of both Japan's international relations and its domestic politics. This becomes even clearer if Japan is seen in its regional context, for in East Asia, as the histories of South Korea and Taiwan attest, the Cold War was a permanent and inescapable fact of life. During the Korean War the Japanese economy had begun to recover, due largely to the American need for trucks, clothing, bedding and other goods for its armed forces.
