Occupation policy and postwar Sino-Japanese relations: Severing economic ties

Nominally a multi-national enterprise implemented through collective decision-making mechanisms (the Far Eastern Commission and the Allied Council in Tokyo), the Allied occupation of Japan was for all practical purposes a project in nation rebuilding executed single-handedly by the United States. Because of the overriding U.S. dominance in the post-surrender occupation, Japan was spared the misfortune of prolonged national partitioning and extended occupation that befell jointly-occupied areas such as Korea and Germany. On the other hand, the reframing of the Japanese state and social reforms undertaken during the postwar occupation were almost completely shaped by America’s national priorities.