ABSTRACT

The Japanese people at the outset of the second Showa decade stood at the entrance to a double national disaster, in both domestic and foreign policy. Many people when they discuss the triple disaster of 11th March 2011, combining a great earthquake, a great tsunami and a nuclear reactor accident, naturally compare it with a revival of the national disaster of the 15th August. The Japanese, who resuscitated Japan, a wasteland at the defeat, believed that they could conquer the national disaster of 11th March. In Japan, confronting the third national disaster of 11th March 2011, there was no hope of 'reform' nor any trust in leaders. In order to overcome the 'national disaster' that began on 11th March 2013, the emergence of new leaders is essential. The Meiji Restoration and the Post-war Reform both promoted Japan's development, but the 'Showa Restoration' merely deepened the crisis and led to 'breakdown'.